Man, that’s a loaded blog title if I ever saw one! Years ago, I read an article about how a Thanksgiving stuffing recipe credited to Marilyn Monroe was discovered. Apparently, she could cook–and she was good in the kitchen as well. Wha! (Thanks. Drive safely. Try the veal.)
Dated around the time she was married to baseball great Joe DiMaggio while living in San Francisco, it was decided that the recipe was authentic for, among other reasons, its lack of garlic, which DiMaggio reportedly despised!
I tried the recipe years ago and tweaked it, adding garlic, of course. This makes a family sized platter of stuffing. Using a food processor to chop makes things much easier.
20 ounces sourdough bread (gluten-free bread will make this stuffing totally GF)
1 lb. chicken livers
1 lb. ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 stalks celery, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups chopped parsley
4 eggs, hard-boiled, chopped
1/2 cup chopped prunes or raisins
2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 cups chopped walnuts, pine nuts or roasted chestnuts…or a combination
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
4 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons salt, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons black pepper
Break the sourdough into pieces and soak them in a large bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. Wring the excess water out over a colander and shred the bread into pieces.
Boil the chicken livers for 8 minutes in salted water, then chop them into small pieces, placing them in a food processor and pulsing until you get smaller pieces.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the beef in the olive oil, stirring occasionally. Break up the meat into small pieces.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sourdough, livers, ground beef, celery, onions, parsley, eggs, prunes or raisins, Parmigiano Reggiano and nuts, tossing gently to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the rosemary, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper and scatter over the stuffing mixture. Mix again. Taste and adjust for salt.
Refrigerate, covered with foil, until ready to bake.
To bake: Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook 1 hour with foil on top. Remove the foil and cook for 1 hour more at 300. Keep an eye on it. Ovens vary, and you want it out of the oven before it gets too dry. If it does get dry, sprinkle a little chicken stock or water on it, cover with foil, and heat for 10 minutes.
Live the Live ™ 