Until Thanksgiving-which means I had better start my planning. The only given is the turkey, the blueberry pie and the pecan pie. Everything else is up in the air for me so far, as I really have not been thinking about it. Shame on me! So as my thoughts begin to sway towards turkey talk, I thought today would be just as good of a day as any to revisit stuffing. Or dressing. Or… whatever it is you want to call it (I’m totally blanking on what else you’d call stuffing). I don’t stuff my turkey, personally. It adds to the cook time, and I just get worried about under-cooking and salmonella, and really not wanting to poison anyone at my table. So I guess it would technically be called dressing, except that I’m not making it this year.
I’ve tried, time and time again. Year after year I tried different stuffings, and none of them could even come close to comparing to the stuffing I grew up with. Mom’s stuffing was the key- it’s what made Thanksgiving Thanksgiving! It was always one of the first aromas to waft through the house, declaring the arrival of Thanksgiving. Her stuffing begins with celery and onions softened up in plenty of butter- and that is what heralds the arrival of the mighty feast day. That scent of onions and celery mingling with butter is what makes my knees wobble and my mouth start watering. And I have yet to be able to re-create it.
However. Sometime last March we threw a Thanksgiving in March for our friends and made a turkey dinner. I had to have stuffing, so I gave it a go, and wouldn’t you know, I came remarkably close to Mom’s stuffing! The obvious change I made is I added some sausage to my stuffing to give it some smoky flavor. (By all means, leave out the sausage for a meat-free stuffing experience. ) One taste, and I knew I had a stuffing that I could proudly serve guests. It may not be as good as Mom’s, but I doubt mine ever will be, or could be. Those touches that only Mom can bring to the stuffing will remain hers- but in the off chance that Mom wouldn’t be able to make it on Thanksgiving Day, I can hold my head high with my Celery-Onion Stuffing. It’s very good- feel free to use the bread I called for in the recipe, or go ahead and buy some unseasoned stuffing cubes. Either way, your stuffing will be delicious.
Celery-Onion Stuffing
Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
Cook celery and onion in 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the kielbasa to the skillet and give it a brief toss. Add the rest of the stick of butter to the pan and let the butter melt completely, set it aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add the bread pieces, followed by the seasonings and eggs. Add the celery and onion mixture and mix all the ingredients together. Add about half of the chicken broth, and stir gently to combine. If the stuffing looks too dry, add more broth, 1/4 cup at a time. The stuffing should look moist, but not soggy.
Scoop the stuffing into the 9 x 13 pan. Cover with foil and bake at 325ºF for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the top gets nice and golden brown.
I can’t believe it is so soon!! Time is flying this year. I better get my recipes in order!
It’s definitely coming up way too fast!
I don’t know if I’ve ever had “stuffing.” We always do cornbread dressing. Mmmmmm!
I tried cornbread dressing once… I think I used too much liquid, or my cornbread/white bread ratio was off, because it really wasn’t good!
Interesting article. Were did you got all the information from… 🙂