Week 21 Finalists: Best Stuffing Recipe

Photo Slideshows

Ciabatta Stuffing with Chorizo, Sweet Potato, and Mushrooms

Ciabatta Stuffing with Chorizo, Sweet Potato and Mushrooms by melissav

Melissav has bucked tradition with this recipe, and we're all for it. She starts with homemade garlic herb croutons and recommends nibbling on them as you cook. Then you saute chorizo until crisp, followed by sliced shiitakes, which take on a russet hue as they absorb the paprika-tinted fat from the sausage. Red onion and sweet potato are gently caramelized, and finally everything is tossed together with some stock and an egg and baked. At the last minute you broil the stuffing so that the crust becomes crunchy and golden while everything underneath stays soft and tender. The contrasting flavors of the salty chorizo (you can use hot or sweet) and rich sweet potato really complement each other, and we love the variety of textures in the finished stuffing. At melissav's recommendation, we tried some the next day with a fried egg on top; all of a sudden leftovers got a whole lot more exciting. - A&M

This color is fantastic, and tinges the whole dish.

Into the fridge. (There's room just below Amanda's left hand -- promise!)

What We Call Stuffing: Challah, Mushroom, and Celery

What We Call Stuffing: Challah, Mushroom and Celery by MrsWheelbarrow

No one would ever guess that this is a vegetarian stuffing, and why should it matter? It's rich yet light and teeming with fresh herbs -- a wonderful dish for everyone. Most memorable of all is its texture -- the challah soaks up the vegetable broth and melted butter and then puffs up in the oven, creating a stuffing with a thick, crisp top and fluffy, almost pudding-like interior. We baked it in a large cast-iron skillet because we didn't have right casserole dish. The stuffing didn't suffer a bit -- in fact, it looked like something out of Little House on the Prairie. - A&M

The recipe said to leave the challah cubes out overnight (or even two!) We didn't have that kind of time, so we dried the cubes (but did not toast them) in a 350 degree oven. It took about 20 minutes, checking every 5.

An excellent way to use up all of those ends of butter in the fridge.

Be sure to season and taste the mixture before you bake it.

Amanda uses a spoon, Merrill her hands. Typical.