HUNTER FAMILY FAVORITE RECIPE 
(Article and Recipe as featured in a Post-Dispatch article of November 27th, 2002)
Article Text:
* Julius Hunter has found many ways to update his grandmother's recipes, but sometimes things are best left alone.
In a kitchen steeped in Southern tradition, Julius Hunter has made a few adjustments.
Where his grandmother, Hattie Coates, had time, Hunter has convenience items.
Where Coates had the ingredients at hand, Hunter has the modern knowledge of healthful eating.
"I try as best I can to make these things half healthy," Hunter says. "My grandmother lived to be 102. Cholesterol was not a concern in her lifetime. I try to watch it, but I don't do much. I think it's genetics. And I always have my cholesterol in the 130s. We do on-air checks, and mine is always the lowest."
His 28 years as a news anchor at KMOV (Channel 4) ended Tuesday to great fanfare. He begins a new job next month as vice president of community affairs at St. Louis University. With the move, Hunter anticipates having a bit more time for the things he loves. He is a musician who guest-conducts for many area organizations and the author of several books. His latest project is a 2003 calendar: "Professor Julius K. Hunter's Stuff You Never Knew About St. Louis History."
And then there's cooking.
"Cooking uses all five of your senses," he says as he puts a lid over a skillet of sauteing vegetables and stirs some sausage for an updated version of his grandmother's corn bread-sausage stuffing.
"Smell, of course, tells you a lot. I try not to taste my cooking because I know what it's supposed to be like when it's done. Sometimes I am surprised at the table. Touch is important, like when you touch a corn muffin and see if it bounces back.
"But hearing is the one a lot of people don't think about. The sound of searing. Or that glop-glop, like gravies. That glop-glop sound can tell you a lot."
There is no exact measuring in Hunter's cooking.
"I've got those cute little doodads over there," he says, pointing to measuring spoons. "Should I use one?"
He moves quickly, comfortably through the recipe.
"I would do this in my sleep," he says. "I've made it so often." He combines the sausage and the veggies, puts one pan in the dishwasher and begins seasoning.
"Purists will drain the grease off that, but are you kidding me!" he booms. "What's the point? Look at this." He combines the veggies and sausage with bread crumbs. "This is the good stuff now. Mmm! Mmm!"
With the pan of stuffing in the oven, he shares the secrets to this recipe's versatility. It's wonderful with pork chops or in the center of a crown roast. If you prepare greens, pour the pot liquor (the juices from the greens) over the stuffing.
He freezes leftovers, then uses them to thicken chicken soup. "Take that baby out of the freezer, and plop it in the pot," he says. "Stir it a little, and bring it to a boil. It makes the soup a nice, hearty consistency.
"But nothing, absolutely nothing under the sun is better than this stuff with eggs," Hunter says. Friday morning, his leftover stuffing will be under two eggs cooked over-easy.
====== JULIUS HUNTER'S CORN BREAD-SAUSAGE STUFFING ======
Yield: 12 to 16 servings. 2 cups coarsely chopped onion
2 cups coarsely chopped celery
2 cups coarsely chopped green bell pepper or a mixture of red and green bell pepper
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound mild pork sausage, crumbled (see note)
Ground sage to taste (Hunter uses about 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups herbed seasoned dried bread crumbs for stuffing
2 cups dried corn bread crumbs for stuffing
1 egg (see note)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups turkey broth (see recipe)
Saute onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil until the onions are transparent. Meanwhile, brown sausage in another skillet.
Combine vegetables and sausage. Add sage, pepper and oregano; mix well. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit 7 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine bread crumbs, egg and baking powder; stir until egg is absorbed. Add sausage mixture; mix well.
Slowly stir in broth until bread crumbs are just moistened. Let stand about 15 minutes so that broth can be absorbed. Transfer to a greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake about 1 hour or until the sides and bottom are brown and bubbling and the top bounces back when pressed lightly.
PER SERVING: 292 calories; 14g fat (43 percent calories from fat); 3g saturated fat; 56mg cholesterol; 13.5g protein; 28g carbohydrate; 4g sugar; 3g fiber; 997mg sodium; 88mg calcium; 335mg potassium.
Note: Temper the stuffing by choosing your favorite sausage. Hunter enjoys spicy food and so usually uses hot sausage. "I say, 'Go for it,'" he says. "It shouldn't overwhelm the turkey, but it should be flavorful." For a more cakelike texture, use 2 eggs.
====== TURKEY BROTH ======
Yield: About 3 cups.
2 quarts water
3 ribs celery, including leaves
1 medium onion, quartered
2 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 (1-inch) piece fresh fennel, optional
4 bay leaves, crumbled
Salt
Ground black pepper
Giblets and neck of 1 fresh turkey or 1 pound smoked turkey necks
Combine all ingredients in a large pot; bring to a boil, then reduce to a bare simmer and cook for at least 90 minutes, skimming any scum that accumulates. Strain broth to remove turkey and seasonings.
PER CUP: 31 calories; 1.5g fat (43.5 percent calories from fat); 1g saturated fat; 4mg cholesterol; 3g protein; 1.5g carbohydrate; 1g sugar; no fiber; 107mg sodium; 15mg calcium; no potassium.
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