Dressing?

[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.

[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!!

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. 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!
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.