Stuff your stuffing

No turkey dinner is complete without stuffing. It belongs on every plate: a huge, moist mound, dripping with gravy and filled with comforting flavors.

Sage and thyme are the tried-and-true seasonings, but savvy cooks can take stuffing from savory to sweet. For a subtle, sweet bite, for instance, you can sub orange or apple juice for a bit of the chicken stock.

Just be careful, advises Blacky Smith, owner of Blacksmith’s Bistro in St. Elmo. Too much of a good thing can hurt instead of help.

“You can get crazy with it and add too many things to it, which will hurt it, but a couple of different things make it interesting,” he said.

Here are suggestions from five area chefs.

Joseph Black, Blue Plate Diner: “We always have it on the menu. In the past, it’s been basic cornbread, but we’ve just changed it by adding apples and pecans. Everybody seems to love it. I like figs, too, or maybe some Bartlett pears. Pistachios go good with figs and pears as well.”

Susan Moses, 212 Market: “We like to keep our stuffing traditional. We make our own corn bread and turkey stock, then add sautéed mushrooms, garlic and onions. Chestnuts are good mixed in, too.”

Michelle Huffman-Wells, Palate Cafe and Events With Taste Catering: “Being a good Southerner, I use corn bread and biscuits and throw in extra sautéed mushrooms and roasted or sautéed butternut squash, cut into chunks, with the celery and onions. I once tried adding foie gras, but my family didn’t like it.”

Blacky Smith, Blacksmith’s Bistro:“Any kind of shellfish, shrimp or crawfish, as well as the traditional oyster stuffing. You could also add fruit, like chopped pears or apples. Whenever I make it, I try to do something different.”

Nick Kyriakidis, Niko’s Southside Grill: “I like traditional stuffing but sometimes kick it up with oysters or sausage. Apples are always good, too. We’re thinking of putting a fresh sage, sausage and apple stuffing on the menu to serve with our quail this season. Roasting the apples before you add them to the stuffing helps intensify their flavor.”