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I am constantly amazed at how animated and talkative people get when you mention food. The mere aroma of certain foods can evoke memories that transport us back to a special place and time. Food can bridge the gap between all ages, races and ethnicities.
Let's face it, the only thing that should ever come between people is a table and some serving bowls.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Stuffing My Face


                                          
                                                                                                 Photo/Rak/Flickr

For me the absolute best part of Thanksgiving dinner is hands down the stuffing. If that is all that is served for dinner I will be just fine....well, I will require just a little bit of gravy to pour over the top. We all have our holiday favorites, for me it just happens to be the stuffing and a close second would be the crispy skin of the turkey.
You can actually be quite creative with stuffing just by changing the types of bread that you use. I was watching Rachel Ray the other night and she made her stuffing using store bought pumpkin muffins and then just changed up the spices a bit.
If you think about it we have also been enjoying stuffing as a dessert for years; "Bread Pudding"! Bread pudding is really just the sweet rather than savory version of stuffing.
All I know is any way you slice it, cube it, season it, moisten it "Ima gonna stuffa my face with it"!

FYI- People often ask what the difference is between stuffing and dressing, they are technically both the same. The term stuffing came about because we use to actually stuff the stuffing into the cavity of the bird to bake (before it became so dangerous) and it was always referred to as dressing when it was being cooked in a separate pan outside of the bird. Just call it whatever it is you are accustomed to calling it you will not be breaking any culinary laws.

Apple Sausage Stuffing

1 lb. mild sausage (roll not links or patties)
1/2 lb. hot sausage roll
2 lg. onions, chopped
9 sm. stalk celery, chopped
1 1/2 pkg. cubes for stuffing
3 eggs, beaten
4 lg. red apples with skin, chopped
Apple cider

Mix everything together. Add enough apple cider to dampen the stuffing. Stuff as usual. This is enough for an 18-20 pound bird.

Old Fashioned Corn Bread Dressing

2 (8 in.) pans cornbread, already made
1 lg. pkgs. Pepperidge Farm bread stuffing
2 to 3 cans Swanson chicken broth
1 tbsp. sage
1 tbsp. parsley flakes
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 stick of butter, melted
2 eggs
Chopped celery
Chopped onions

Mix cornbread with bread stuffing. Add plenty of chopped celery and onions. Add eggs, butter and all seasonings. Add cans of soup. Add enough chicken broth to make mixture almost runny. Pour into large baking pan that has been greased. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cover with aluminum foil at first. Take off and brown for last 15 minutes.

Oyster Stuffing

3/4 c. chopped onion
1 1/2 c. chopped celery
2 tbsp. butter/butter
9 c. dry bread cubes or Pepperidge Farms
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. crushed sage leaves
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. chopped parsley
2 (8 oz.) cans standard oysters, chopped
2 eggs
1 3/4 c. oyster liquid and milk

In large pan, melt butter. Cook and stir onion and celery until tender but not brown. Add bread cubes, seasonings and mix. Stir in chopped oysters. Beat eggs into oyster liquid and milk. Add liquid gradually and toss lightly to evenly coat.





6 comments:

Rochelle R. said...

My 83 year old Mom has always made oyster stuffing as did her Mother. She is from Nebraska. It seems like oysters would have had to be shipped in from quite a way off, and back in the day would have been expensive. So I wonder how that type of dressing became popular.
Have you ever noticed that some families like their stuffing moist and others like it rather dry and crunchy?

Little Ol' Liz said...

Stuffing. Yummmmm.
I just watched an episode of Alton Brown where he finally tackled stuffing a turkey and kept it "safe." Essentially you put the stuffing in a cheesecloth bag and nuke it in the microwave to get it up to temp before the bird gets started. It seemed pretty fussy to me -- who wants to handle something that hot and try to stuff it into the bird? I like mine moist, but with the crust that comes from cooking it in a dish next to the bird. Happy Thanksgiving!

Julie said...

I definitely like mine on the moist side too, Little Ol' Liz!

Julie said...

I do prefer mine moist Rochelle but I am not opposed to it having just a few crunchy bits. My whole family tends to like it on the moist side. I do have a few friends who like it so dry it almost seems inedible.

joe@italyville said...

there are never enough recipes for a good stuffing. I miss Thanksgiving already!

Julie said...

I always miss stuffing, Joe