Dressing?

[SouthernBelle]

Not clothes this time. The kind you eat.

I'm a southern girl so I hafta have my cornbread dressing (or stuffing).

[Tuckervill]

I was raised in Chicago on white bread dressing. I moved to Arkansas at 11 and learned to love cornbread dressing. My kids know no other kind and rarely like it when I make it from white bread. So, cornbread dressing for us!

Karen

[pll]

I grew up in Peru, so stuffing for the turkey (at Christmas... not Thanksgiving celebration) is Spanish style and based on ground meat with onions, olives, raisins, hard boiled eggs, garlic, cumin... I cannot tell you how shocking it was the first time I saw soggy bread on the table rather than what I understood as stuffing. :eek:

[snapdragen]

Mom insists on keeping Thanksgiving traditional (for us) so it's the little bags of cubes. :rolleyes: This year I bought french bread cubes, I'll make your basic onion, celery, bread, sage dressing.

Now, at Christmas I get to go all out. I found a wild & brown rice, with dried apricots, pine nuts and other stuff I'm going to make. Unlike my mother, I love doing untraditional things when I cook.

[Brandi]

I am not a big fan of it. But my dh does so for him I make it. I who love to make things from scratch have not made stuffing. Maybe that is why I don't care for it? Anyway.... I got some this year that I reallly liked it was from Trader Joe's. I highly recommend it!

[Pax]

I love traditional white bread stuffing (celery, sage, onion...)!! I could eat it every day, even if it's crappy stove top.

[maillotpois]

DH also likes those little bags of cubes.

I prefer a wild rice and sausage stuffing my mom used to make.

[bmccasland]

First you make a cornbread, in a cast iron skillet. Turn out and let cool and dry out overnight....

But Pll - yours sounds really tasty!

Anyone ever had a Turducken? Better bought than trying to prepare one at home. Debone a turkey, a duck, and a chicken, but leave the leg bones in the turkey. Stuff the chicken with your favorite stuffing/dressing, stuff this inside the duck, and stuff the whole thing inside the turkey. Tie together with string. Roast.

[HillSlugger]

don't like it, don't make it, don't eat it...

[OakLeaf]

Chestnuts. Mmmmmmmmm. They are enough of a PITA that it only happens once a year, but man, it's worth it!

[kelownagirl]

I think I've only tasted cornbread once, way back in highschool cooking class.

[sundial]

I make old fashioned southern dressing with yellow cornbread and biscuits.

[SouthernBelle]

A while back they were making cornbread on one of those PBS cooking shows. I was appalled. It had flour and sugar in it. They cautioned it wasn't traditional Southern cornbread. I was going, "No s%#@!"

:eek:

[SouthernBelle]

Paula Dean is about to make a turducken right now.

[smilingcat]

First you make a cornbread, in a cast iron skillet. Turn out and let cool and dry out overnight....

But Pll - yours sounds really tasty!

Anyone ever had a Turducken? Better bought than trying to prepare one at home. Debone a turkey, a duck, and a chicken, but leave the leg bones in the turkey. Stuff the chicken with your favorite stuffing/dressing, stuff this inside the duck, and stuff the whole thing inside the turkey. Tie together with string. Roast.

OMG!!! The oil from the duck keeps the turkey meat from drying out. but still its soo much work. When you debone the duck, chiken and turkey you do not want to cut it open. So when its deboned its like a tube. I think its easier to stuff the duck in turkey first then the chicken then the stuffing last.

too too much work. besides I'm not on Atkin diet.

I may not do the turkey this year. I might just butterfly open a cornish game hen. and pan roast with weight over it. Not sure which sauce I want to make... Besides, my home oven is kaputts. not doing the deep frying of turkey or roasting on our outdoor grill. Gallons of hot oil scare the heck out of me.

smilingcat

[Tuckervill]

A while back they were making cornbread on one of those PBS cooking shows. I was appalled. It had flour and sugar in it. They cautioned it wasn't traditional Southern cornbread. I was going, "No s%#@!"


It's called Johnnycake--it's more a Yankee thang. But my cornbread has flour in it, too. Doesn't yours?

Oh, at Lowe's a while ago I saw a turkey "fryer" that uses infrared and NO oil. huh?

Karen

[GLC1968]

When my brother and I were little, we wouldn't eat the ends of a loaf of bread, so my mother used to tuck them away in the freezer and use them to make stuffing at Thanksgiving.

Now I do the same thing (though not because I won't eat the ends, it's just that they are usually stale by the time we get to them because we so rarely eat bread!). My stuffing uses my mom's same recipe (onions, celery, sage...), but my bread tends to be an assortment of types. We rarely eat white bread, so the assortment is usually, wheat, oatmeal, rye and other whole grain varieties. I was terrified that my mom and my brother were going to turn their noses up at it last year (breaking with tradition and all), but they loved it.

I do love cornbread stuffing, too. And I dated a guy who's mom used to make a stuffing with sausage and pork which was ok tasting but too greasy for my stomach. I've also had a stuffing with cranberries and nuts in it, and that was super tasty too....

[Tuckervill]

for T'giving, try it this way. I found it somewhere (can't remember where) and tried it, and then I sent this email to my sons and my dad and they all tried it and loved it. I love it. It's incredibly easy and no fuss. You can doctor the skin anyway you like and even put some butter under the skin, but it's so not necessary. The part about cook for an "hour"--use your judgment...if the leg is loose, it's pretty much done.

3-6 lb whole chicken
Salt
Pepper

Heat oven to 450. Yes, 450.
Rinse the chicken inside and out. Do what you will with the spare parts (I usually throw them away or cook them up for the dogs)
DRY the chicken inside and out with paper towels. (Do this because you don't want any steam.)
Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper.
Throw the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan or whatever else you have. I used my 12" iron skillet. You can tie up the legs or whatever, but it's not necessary.
Cook it for an hour or so (if you get a chicken with a pop-up thing, cook until the thing pops up). If you have a meat thermometer use that.

Put it in the bottom of the oven. Because of the high temp it will spatter a bit, so cook it down low to keep the oven from getting too dirty.

The skin will be CRISPY and salty and peppery and the inside will be divinely juicy.

[SouthernBelle]

But my cornbread has flour in it, too. Doesn't yours?

Karen

Nope, never!

[sundial]

Here's a delicious crock pot dressing recipe:

1 8 inch pan of cornbread
8 slices of day old bread
4 eggs
1/2 cup celery, chopped and sauteed
1 medium onion, chopped and sauteed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp sage or poultry seasoning
2 cans chream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
2 tbs butter

Crumble breads. Add all ingredients except butter. Pour into the crockpot and dot with butter. Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 3-4 hours. Makes 16 (6 oz) servings.

I like to stew a fryer and use the meat and broth in the recipe.

[Blueberry]

My dressing never has cornbread in it - and I live in the South!!

Nope, sage, celery, etc. Sometimes Oyster Dressing - YUMMY!!!

CA

[Eden]

The stuffing I grew up with (I'm a northerner) had bread, sausage, onion, celery and corn in it. Plenty of spiciness in the sausage, so no need to add more.

[Pax]

My dressing never has cornbread in it - and I live in the South!!

Nope, sage, celery, etc. Sometimes Oyster Dressing - YUMMY!!!

CA

I was soooo excited to be having Thanksgiving dinner a friends family when I was in college, my folks were traveling and being with a family was great. They served up the dinner and I took a huge portion of stuffing (as I've said I LOVE stuffing)...took a BIG bite and almost gagged, who puts oysters in stuffing???? :( So there I was, huge portion on my plate trying to figure out how I was going to choke down stuffing with fishy stuff in it, I was so sad about that...although their beagle was tickled pink with the under-the-table buffet. :D

[Blueberry]

Queen -

LOL! I can imagine that would be an unpleasant surprise if one wasn't expecting it:)

I didn't like it *at all* as a child, but now I make it as a separate dish:)

CA

[SouthernBelle]

Queen, that's so funny.

I had an aunt from upstare NY who made regular bread dressing. I remember when I was little I couldn't figure out why hers was so different.

[7rider]

Dressing?? I prefer blue cheese. On the side, of course.
Oh...STUFFING!! ;) :D

Grew up with the stuff outta the red box. That's what I prefer, I guess, as it's what I'm used to. One year, I made some with sausage and it was pretty good. DH doesn't like any of it, really. Well, he'll eat home made stuff...but, uh....won't make it. Since I cook....he eats what I give him! Either way...it's gotta be covered with LOTS of gravy!

This year, since there's just two of us (maybe a 3rd, won't know until Tuesday), I bought a small stuffed turkey breast from Trader Joe's. So...stuffin' is done and I only have to worry about the other stuff.

[MomOnBike]

I bake a loaf of (yeast) bread that has a high percentage of corn in it, cut it into cubes, and leave it over the pilot light over night.

The stuffing has chorizo, red bell peppers, onions, corn, that bread, and um, bunches of other stuff. And cheap white wine. In abundance.

I'm hungry. When do we eat? I'm supplying the cranberry-jalepeno relish. :)

[SlowButSteady]

Cornbread Dressing with giblet gravy & cranberry sauce on the side!

I make my cornbread fresh from scratch in a cast iron skillet.

The family is funny about it though. I have to make two versions: one without the celery & onion and one with. And I have to dose my mama with tagamet or she can't eat it at all.

I also have to serve two versions of the cranberry sauce: a whole berry, usually with some citrus added AND the jellied stuff that comes out of the can.

We also cook our turkey outdoors on a stake with a trash can turned upside down over it and coals banked up around the sides.

Yum.

[Zen]

Mom insists on keeping Thanksgiving traditional (for us) so it's the little bags of cubes. :rolleyes: This year I bought french bread cubes, I'll make your basic onion, celery, bread, sage dressing.

Now, at Christmas I get to go all out. I found a wild & brown rice, with dried apricots, pine nuts and other stuff I'm going to make. Unlike my mother, I love doing untraditional things when I cook.

i'm with you, Snap.
My Mom never eats the stuff I make so I quit trying. One year I even made some really good chutney.

Your stuffing sounds good.

I've been wanting meatloaf and macaroni and cheese for Thanksgiving. I doubt if I'll get that wish.

[7rider]

Chutney?? One year, one of my cousins made some chutney at Thanksgiving.
My father took a look at it, kind of scrunched up his face, and exclaimed "Chutney??? What the hel* is chutney??" Everyone bust out laughing, and the line has become a standing joke in our family! :p
Back when my grandmother was alive...every holiday...Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, whatever...had grandma's home made manicotti and meatballs. Oh, boy! Those went faster than ANY turkey or ham with our family.

[Pax]

My brother, SIL, and niece are going to see my folks for Thanksgiving...I'm skipping it because I'll make the next trip down to help my folks in December.

It looks like it'll just be my honey and I, we'll probably go to a restaurant for dinner and hit the gym on Friday. I'm going to buy a box of Stove Top though after reading this thread. :p

[Zen]

Here's a delicious crock pot dressing recipe:

1 8 inch pan of cornbread
8 slices of day old bread
4 eggs
1/2 cup celery, chopped and sauteed
1 medium onion, chopped and sauteed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp sage or poultry seasoning
2 cans chream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
2 tbs butter

Crumble breads. Add all ingredients except butter. Pour into the crockpot and dot with butter. Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 3-4 hours. Makes 16 (6 oz) servings.

I like to stew a fryer and use the meat and broth in the recipe.

That's four cans of liquid. I'm a big fan of the crockpot but this just doesn't sound right for dressing.

Doesn't it come out all gloppy?

[bmccasland]

Pickled Peaches (spiced peaches). Boy I miss those. They were always on my grandmother's table at Thanksgiving or Christmas, in a pretty crystal serving dish.

Zen - the crock pot recipe - two of those soup cans are condensed soups, which are pretty viscous, so I don't think the recipe would be that gloppy.

[short cut sally]

I buy a bag of seasoned croutons and some red box stuffing, cook up the celery and onion in lots o' butter, add some water and pour over the croutons and red box contents and I do add a can of drained minced clams. Bake fast and furious so the outside is crisp and crunchy and the inside is moist, its gone in no time.

[Pax]

I buy a bag of seasoned croutons and some red box stuffing, cook up the celery and onion in lots o' butter, add some water and pour over the croutons and red box contents and I do add a can of drained minced clams. Bake fast and furious so the outside is crisp and crunchy and the inside is moist, its gone in no time.

Clams? http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb217/Deepliquid/Smilies/puke.gif

Why oh why do people put fishy things in something as glorious as stuffing?? http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb217/Deepliquid/Smilies/bncry.gif

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm going to buy a box of Stove Top though after reading this thread. :p

I make great "dressing" from StoveTop stuffing- it's no different from using those stale bags of Peppridge Farm bread crumbs- except it's just better.

I throw some chopped celery into the hot water I'm boiling up for the stuffing mix.
I also add extra poultry seasoning and fresh black pepper. I also add some chopped walnuts, and if I'm inspired, some chopped apple too. YUMMY!!!
I make the huge pot of stuffing stuffing on the stove top while my twin chickens are roasting. Then I take out 2 chickens when done and let them sit on top of the stove just staying warm with a sheet of foil laying over them while I roast the pan of garlic potatoes. When the roasted potatoes come out of the oven, I put the stuffing in a glass lasagna pan in the hot oven for a few minutes to get a bit crisp and browned on top while I'm setting out the food.

I serve not only cranberry sauce with the chicken and stuffing, but also mango chutney and rosemary-garlic jelly....:D :D :D

[Hub]

Y'all, there's a reason she called it dressing . . . . 'cause it ain't stuffing!

When i was a child Momma fixed (that's right, she didn't cook it- she fixed it) Chicken and Dressing- she would boil a big baking hen- more breast meat- fix a washtub (literally) of dressing- mostly cornbread, a few slices of lightbread, leftover biscuits, etc- broth from the chicken, poultry seasoning, sage, eggs, onion, and then put the chicken into the pan of dressing- not stuff anything into the bird.

[kaybee]

For us Cajuns from down in the bayous of South Louisiana, it's rice dressing. However, since I've moved to Georgia I've learned to like and make cornbread dressing. The best of both worlds! Happy Turkey Day everyone.

KB

[SouthernBelle]

Y'all, there's a reason she called it dressing . . . . 'cause it ain't stuffing!

When i was a child Momma fixed (that's right, she didn't cook it- she fixed it) Chicken and Dressing- she would boil a big baking hen- more breast meat- fix a washtub (literally) of dressing- mostly cornbread, a few slices of lightbread, leftover biscuits, etc- broth from the chicken, poultry seasoning, sage, eggs, onion, and then put the chicken into the pan of dressing- not stuff anything into the bird.

Ya know, in 52 years of holidays, I don't remember ever eating any that was cooked stuffed in the bird. My aunt's might have been. But I don't remember it if it was.

I still fix supper. That's supper, not dinner.

[kaybee]

I still fix supper. That's supper, not dinner.

It's supper at our house too! :)

KB

[SadieKate]

Blech!

However, if I can make it. . . lots of dark peasant, sourdough and french breads. Dried fruit - apricots, cherries, cranberries, whatever. Nuts - filberts or pistachios. NO FRICKIN' SAGE!

Chutney - you betcha. My own homemade cranberry-apple, thank you very much.

However, fresh cranberry dressing - finely chopped cranberries and whole satsumas and/or tangerines, and a dollop of triple sec - sugar to taste.

Triple cranberry sauce - cranberry juice, dried cranberries and fresh cranberries cooked with tangerine or orange zest and another dollop of triple sec.

Who needs stuffing when you have cranberries?

And, for goodness sakes, forget the gravy. Double blech! :eek:

[deidre]

I'd like to eat the pan of cornbread :D

I don't like cornbread dressing. That being said, cornbread dressing was on the menu for our family's Thanksgiving; however, we usually had "rice" dressing dish as well.

This 2nd dressing dish was always on the menu because my mother didn't/doesn't eat cornbread dressing either.

[Tuckervill]

I always always stuff the bird, and save that part for me! :)

Karen

[Hub]

I can't make it through the day without the word fix and it is supper at my house- We only eat dinner on Sundays and holidays.

[Deanna]

I prefer stuffing because it's so moist, but due to fears of food poisoning, I will eat dressing. I love all types actually. I once had some that the cook put liverwurst into. I was horrified when I saw her mixing it up, but it made for a really rich and moist dressing. My step mother's from Louisiana, so I've learned to love cornbread and other bread stuffing. Theres an awesome artisan bakery in the area that sells a stuffing mix from the different breads they make at this time of year--they sell out FAST so I've only gotten to enjoy stuffing made from it once. The thicker crust makes a great chewy texture in the stuffing.

When I crave turkey dinner in the middle of the year I make a meatloaf using turkey, Stove Top and cranberries (this is a rolled up jelly roll sytle).

[michelem]

This is the one I made last year, and it was a big hit with the whole family. Sadie Katie - you get dressing AND cranberries in this one! :)

Wild Rice Dressing
From Real Simple

1 32-ounce container low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup wild rice
1 1/4 brown rice
1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh sage, finely chopped
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 cup dried apricots or cranberries, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oven to 350° F.

In a pot, over medium-high heat, bring the broth and 2 cups water to a boil. Add the wild rice and brown rice, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer until tender, about 45 minutes.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cooked rice, parsley, sage, pecans, apricots or cranberries, salt, and pepper and toss. Transfer to a buttered casserole. Cover and bake for 25 minutes.

In Advance: Assemble the dressing but do not bake it. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bake as directed, adding 10 minutes to the baking time.

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

CALORIES 377 (53% from fat); FAT 22g (sat 8g); SUGAR 8g; PROTEIN 8g; CHOLESTEROL 35mg; SODIUM 377mg; FIBER 5g; CARBOHYDRATE 39g

[SadieKate]

Sounds yummy until I get to the SAGE! :eek:

I love the smell of sage in the high desert, but in food! Blech! :p

Otherwise, it does sound good.

[Tuckervill]

I can't make it through the day without the word fix and it is supper at my house- We only eat dinner on Sundays and holidays.

When I was married to someone else, in Central Arkansas, dinner was the midday meal. Supper was the light meal you had after you got home from work.

Dinner on Sundays was always at midday, too, because we went back to church around 5 o'clock in the evening.

Karen

[SouthernBelle]

I think the dinner/supper thing goes back to farming. The farmer ate a big mid-day meal for the energy to get his work done.