Joshua Murray, Conrad Washington, DC’s food and beverage director, reminds us why stuffing is the queen of Thanksgiving dinner. | By Leanne Philip | November 17, 2022
Thanksgiving: A time for family, friends and feasting! Joshua Murray couldn’t agree more, though as director of food and beverage at Conrad Washington, DC, he’s usually the one preparing the feast for his family and friends — and a hundred or so lucky hotel guests.
Says Murray, “I didn’t have a lot growing up, but I had amazing parents and a great family. The one thing I could always count on was the dinner table. We would have friends over and … the feeling of sharing, talking about life — good or bad — and being grateful was what it was all about.”
That warmth and gratitude is exactly what chef Murray hopes guests experience when they enjoy a meal on-property — especially for Thanksgiving. He says, “When [guests] dine with us on the holidays we want to invoke their memories [of past holidays] and create lasting new ones. With our open kitchen we want them to feel like they are part of our family here at Conrad.”
Whether you’re celebrating at home or in Estuary’s elegant dining room, a memorable side dish for any Thanksgiving table is the stuffing. Murray’s stuffing recipe combines flavorful ingredients like rich croissants, earthy mushrooms and a velvety cream and beef stock (though you can easily sub in vegetable stock!) mixture. Slivers of sage, thyme and parsley add a bright look and taste to this hearty stuffing recipe.
Oh, and a tip for home chefs charged with making Thanksgiving dinner: If you cook your stuffing inside the turkey, stuff the bird with it warm right before it goes in the oven. This helps get the internal temperature of the stuffing up quickly and ensures a moist bird.
So grab your apron and get ready to make mushroom-stuffing memories of your own. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
- 21 ounces croissants
- Olive oil, as needed
- 10 ½ ounces mushrooms, chopped or sliced
- 7 ounces onions, chopped or julienned
- 2 ¾ ounces garlic
- 1/3 ounce thyme, chopped
- 1/3 ounce parsley, chopped
- 1/3 ounce sage, chopped
- 13.53 fluid ounces beef stock
- 5.07 fluid ounces heavy cream
- 3 whole eggs
Pre-heat oven to 375 F (190 C).
Tear croissants (or bread if you’re using) into bite-sized pieces and set aside in a bowl.
Place a sauté pan over medium high heat.
Coat pan with olive oil and add mushrooms, sauté until they begin to caramelize.
Add onion and garlic and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes.
Add in herbs.
Fold the mushroom, onion, herb mixture into the bread. Set aside.
In a saucepan, add beef stock, heavy cream and whole eggs, mixing until all incorporated. Note: you can also substitute with vegetable, chicken or turkey stock.
Place the pan on medium heat and stir constantly. The mixture is ready when you can dip a spoon into it, run your finger across the back of the spoon and the track of your finger remains.
Add the stock-cream mixture to your bread, mushroom and onions.
Combine well.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Portion your stuffing into baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and firm.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
(Recipe from Conrad Washington, DC director of food and beverage Joshua Murray, 2022.)
Leanne Philip is a content marketing manager at Hilton. She has written for numerous print and digital platforms, including Travel + Leisure, The Atlantan and Barneys New York.
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