Ready and waiting....

Happy Wednesday to all!  The day before Thanksgiving is here!   Have you spotted any turkeys running around your place?

Some of you call today's recipe "stuffing," and others call it "dressing."  I have always called it dressing, probably because I rarely stuffed it in the turkey.:-)  Through the years, my method has evolved to what I have been doing for the past several years. 

While in the past, I have used all sorts of bread crumbs - always homemade - cornbread has been the base for at least 25 years.  Yikes!  Let's not talk about how long!:-)  This has become the favorite for those at our house (The Husband).  Oh - and I have been known to enjoy it as well.:-)  So, using for a guideline - long ago - just in my first apartment - Betty Crocker has these instructions from a Dinner For Two cookbook.  I am printing it the way it appears in the cookbook.

BREAD STUFFING

1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup minced onion
4 cups (1 qt.) coarse or fine bread crumbs or cubes
1/2 cup chopped celery (stalks and leaves)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage, thyme, or marjoram
poultry seasoning to taste

- Melt butter in large heavy skillet.  Add onion and cook until yellow, stirring occasionally.  Stir in some of the bread crumbs.  Heat, stirring to prevent excessive browning.  Turn into deep bowl.  Mix remaining ingredients and rest of bread crumbs lightly.  For dry stuffing, add little or no liquid; for moist stuffing, mix in just enough hot water to moisten crumbs.  One quart makes enough stuffing for a 4-lb. fowl.

In the interest of decreasing fat from our diet, I have begun cooking the onion in a bit of chicken broth rather than the butter.  I usually add a cup of broth to the crumbs, just enough to moisten it a little.  Then, it is baked at 350 degrees F. until brown on top, usually 30-45 minutes.  Oh, we often are able to have fresh sage for this, and that makes it really good.:-)

Ready and waiting.

I apologize for the darkened photograph.  I just don't seem to be able to consistently have luck with getting the lighting just right.:-( It appears to have already been baked, and that isn't the case.

Anyway, the dish of dressing is now made and waiting to go into the oven for our mid-day meal on Thursday.

Dressing has always been one of my favorite dishes.  I cannot relate any stories about being with any family members when they were making their dressing, therefore learning from them.  However, my paternal grandmother had a version that I truly enjoyed.  It wasn't baked in a pan, but made in little patties (similar to salmon patties) before being baked in the oven.  Very tasty to me as I was growing up!  My sister, who follows this blog, may have some idea how our grandmother achieved this.

Hopefully you are able to relax a bit and enjoy this time with those whom you love.

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.