Marilyn Monroe’s Stuffing
Updated November 4, 2015
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
A 10-ounce loaf sourdough bread
½ pound chicken or turkey livers or hearts
½ pound ground round or other beef
1 tablespoon cooking oil
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups chopped curly parsley
2 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
1 ½ cups raisins
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 ¼ cups chopped walnuts, pine nuts or roasted chestnuts, or a combination
2 teaspoons dried crushed rosemary
2 teaspoons dried crushed oregano
2 teaspoons dried crushed thyme
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon salt-free, garlic-free poultry seasoning (or 1 teaspoon dried sage, 1 teaspoon marjoram, ½ teaspoon ground ginger and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg)
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving
27 grams carbs; 109 milligrams cholesterol; 303 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 307 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 12 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Split the bread loaf in half and soak it in a large bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. Wring out excess water over a colander and shred into pieces.
- Step 2
Boil the livers or hearts for 8 minutes in salted water, then chop until no piece is larger than a coffee bean.
- Step 3
In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef in the oil, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat, so no piece is larger than a pistachio.
- Step 4
In your largest mixing bowl, combine the sourdough, livers, ground beef, celery, onion, parsley, eggs, raisins, Parmesan and nuts, tossing gently with your hands to combine. Whisk the rosemary, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper together in a bowl, scatter over the stuffing and toss again with your hands. Taste and adjust for salt. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use as a stuffing or to bake separately as dressing. To serve as a dressing, pile about two quarts of the mixture into a 9-inch square baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until the top is evenly browned, about 1 hour.
Private Notes
Comments
I just read Ms Monroe's handwritten recipe online. She writes "add butter" if cooked "outside" the bird.
I love dried cranberries in my dressing, but if you go with raisins, use golden ones (soaked in boiling water for five minutes) for a much lighter taste than the dark ones.
A 10-inch skillet is certainly suitable, and the baking time won’t change but check after a half-hour or 40 minutes to make sure the bottom isn’t browning too quickly. Such a skillet will only hold about 6 - 8 cups of the stuffing/dressing mixture; and this recipe yields 20 cups. It is designed to stuff a large turkey and then have extra to bake alongside (as dressing).
A few modifications for what I had on hand: -half a bag of dried cornbread stuffing soaked in chicken bouillon instead of sourdough/water. -no salt (due to bouillon). -golden raisins and craisins instead of raisins. -a stick of unsalted butter. This recipe is great. Ate a bowl for dinner before I even baked it.
How many days can you make this ahead of time?
Easily one of the greatest stuffing/dressing recipes I’ve ever made, or had. Made it exactly as written except I had to sub butcher bacon for liver bc my partner is anti-liver. But I will be making a batch this week with liver. Because liver is delectable. Sorry, sweetie.