November 16, 2009
Dressing, stuffing--whatever you call it, turkey without it isn't Thanksgiving. My grandmother always said "dressing" but by the time I was making it myself, years later, I had begun to call it "stuffing" most of the time. It's weird, but I make stuffing for the bird, and yet refer to it as "turkey and dressing."
A number of years ago, our son--the one who delivers all those excellent Edaleen dairy products from Lynden WA (especially the butter and the Heavy Whip pure cream) to many of our local restaurants and bakeries--took over the preparation of the turkey and dressing, a task I was most willing to hand over. He makes this same stuffing which has been our family favorite for the past forty-four years. My sister in California made it then and it has been our stuffing recipe ever since. And although the packaged stuffing mix contains some ingredients I no longer use--high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oil-- for this once a year meal, I'll stick with it.
Turkey stuffing: The ingredients aren't listed in measurements. Amounts vary by size of the bird. The ingredients remain the same, however. Roast the turkey according to standard roasting procedures.
Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing Mix. Crumbs, not cubes, which don't produce the same results.
Onion, garlic, celery: liberal amounts sauteed in oil (used to be butter)
Broth made from turkey gizzard, heart and neck. No liver.
Gizzard, heart and neck meat, cut into small pieces
Slivered almonds, lightly toasted
One or two eggs, well beaten and mixed with broth. Canned broth will do in a pinch.
Mix everything together except broth and egg mixture. Then add the broth mixture.
Stuff the bird lightly.Tie legs together. Put stuffing inside the neck skin and secure with skewers or picks.
Bake excess stuffing in a separate pan. Good hot, cold, as a snack or for breakfast, along with a piece
of leftover pumpkin pie.
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