I have a confession. I have never hosted Thanksgiving dinner. The Thanksgiving after my mother passed away I was responsible for buying the turkey. I didn’t know that it needed to thaw ahead of time, so no turkey for us that year. Though I have never hosted Thanksgiving, I always bring something when I go to someone’s house. This year I know what I’m bringing; fig and pancetta stuffing. The salty, fatty pancetta and sweet dried figs go together perfectly with the rest of the ingredients in this tasty stuffing.
My Thoughts On Mad Hungry Family
I came upon this recipe in a copy of Mad Hungry Family (affiliate link) that I received through #WeekdaySupper and Workman Publishing. The author Lucinda Scala Quinn was a former executive food director at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and is the author of four cookbooks. I really enjoyed thumbing through this cookbook for the following reasons:
- Recipes look great and taste great. Lucinda has so many good recipes I want to try. This week I’ve already made her rag soup (which happens to be low carb) and the caramelized orange pork roast which my family loved!
- I didn’t know that cooking tip. She offers tips throughout the book about substitutions, shortcuts and helpful ways to cook family meals. For instance with the caramelized orange pork roast, I didn’t have any sriracha sauce. Luckily she listed substitutions for many of the ingredients in that dish. I used crushed pepper flakes by the way.
- I want to be Lucinda. I could also relate to her stories about her sons. Each of her 3 sons wrote a paragraph at the end of the book about their mom and her cooking. It actually made me cry. I hope my Max thinks of me like that when he gets older. Lucinda believes that the family meal and home cooking are great gifts you can share with your loved ones. I feel the same way.
- I can make that and it’s inexpensive. The recipes in Mad Hungry Family are Lucinda’s tried and true recipes for feeding a hungry family. They are also budget friendly and uncomplicated which is a plus for me.
- I need to host a holiday dinner soon. There is a holiday celebrations section in this book, with simple recipes that I know will be helpful to me or anyone that’s not very confident in cooking for the holidays.
Today I picked her fig and pancetta stuffing to share with you today. The flavor combination sounded so good to me and it seemed pretty straight forward. I also thought it would be something I would be proud to take to my sister’s for Thanksgiving this year.
Fig And Pancetta Stuffing
You start by sautéing the pancetta and onions for about 10 minutes. Next you add the figs, chicken broth, sage, orange juice and zest. You let that sit for a while so the figs get nice and plump. Then you just mix it with stale bread and a couple eggs and bake until done. The author also explains how to use this to stuff a bird instead of serving as a side dish. Luckily I’m not in charge of the turkey anymore so I’m just going with the side dish. 🙂
I was very impressed with this cookbook and I’m anxious to check out her other Mad Hungry cookbooks. To learn more about Lucinda and the Mad Hungry Family you can follow Lucinda Scala Quinn here: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook and check out Workman Publishing.
I hope you like this recipe as much as I did. Who knows maybe I’ll host Thanksgiving next year! There are more wonderful recipes from this cookbook below. And best of all we are raffling off 10 free copies so make sure to sign up below.
Fig and Pancetta Stuffing (or dressing)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- plus more for the baking dish
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 6 ounces pancetta chopped into ¼-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces black Mission figs coarsely chopped
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons orange liqueur such as
- triple sec or white wine (optional)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
- 12 slices whole wheat bread torn or cubed and dried (6 to 8 cups)
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten (use if cooking the stuffing outside the bird in a baking dish)
Instructions
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Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, pancetta, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta begins to render its fat, the onions become translucent with lightly caramelized edges, and a cheesy scent develops, 8 to 9 minutes. Add the broth and figs and bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes to plump the figs, stirring occasionally.
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Add the orange zest and juice, liqueur (if using), and sage to the pan and stir to combine.Pour the contents of the saucepan over the bread pieces in a large bowl and stir until well combined. If using to stuff a bird, cool the stuffing and follow the cooking instructions for that recipe. If using as a dressing (or if you have extra after stuffing your bird), stir in the beaten eggs and transfer the mixture to a buttered 2½-quart baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown and crispy, to 15 minutes more.
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Makes 1½ quarts
This post is sponsored by Workman Publishing Company in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.
Shelley
I assume this uses dried, not fresh figs based on the ‘plumping’ required, correct? Also, can this be made in advance and reheated?
Denise
Hi Shelley, yes it’s dried figs and not fresh. And I’m not sure about making it in advance. I think you could make it earlier in the day and reheat it but I have not made this in quite some time. I’m sorry I’m not much more help. I do have that cook book and I checked but there is no more information other than what I included in the recipe card.
Here is an article about reheating stuffing without drying it out. Hope it helps. https://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/thanksgiving/reheat-stuffing
Denise
April
This looks extremely yummy. Great photos. Can’t wait to try it.
Jenni
YUM! This looks awesome!
Denise
Thanks Jenni! It turned out really good!
Julie
This sounds like a great flavor combination! Sweet figs and salty pancetta. Yum! This cookbook looks like a fun read. Thanks for bringing it to our attention 🙂
Denise
It really has some great recipes!
shelby
This stuffing looks and sounds fabulous! I really love the combination of fig and pancetta!
Denise
Thanks Shelby. It’s a great recipe!
Jenna
Oh my! This really takes stuffing to the next level doesn’t it? I love that you added figs!
Denise
Thanks Jenna! It does …. and it was so easy to make.
Christie
That looks amazing! And your photos are GORGEOUS!! I am definitely putting this one down on my list of recipes to make from this cookbook. It is one that I will keep on hand for simple and delicious meals on the quick and cheap.
Denise
Thanks Christie! It’s a great cookbook. There are a lot of simple yet elegant recipes. Like in this recipe she used figs and pancetta which have the salty and sweet component. But then there is the orange zest and liquor that makes a heavier dish seem lighter. I’m anxious to see her other cookbooks.
Patti Estep
I love figs and this looks amazing!
Denise
Thank you Patti! I really liked it.
Katrin
This is such an interesting combination! It sounds delicious. Must take a look at that cookbook!
Denise
Hi Katrin,
The fig and pancetta combination is nice in this stuffing and I like the orange zest in it too! If you get a chance, enter our raffle for the free copies of the cookbook. I really like and have made a number of recipes from it that my family loves. Thank you for stopping by!
Renee @ReneesKitchenAdventures
Oh my…this combination sounds absolutely mouthwatering! I love the sweet salty flavors in it. I may have to add another stuffing to my holiday table this week!
Denise
Hi Renee, thanks so much! I really, really like how it came out. I took love that salty / sweet combination.