Life is funny I had posted on Facebook the other day that I was going to need someone to give me #Dressing or #Stuffing on #Thanksgiving because Charlie wanted Chicken Alfredo instead of Ham & Turkey and all the Fixin’s.
Then I get up this morning to find out November 21 National Stuffing Day #NationalStuffingDay and David called to ask me what I wanted for dinner this evening. Now, I know. I want Homemade Bread Dressing not #Cornbread and no, not Stove Top Stuffing/
Before you ask what is wrong with Stove Top Stuffing there is nothing wrong with it but one time a year I prefer Homemade made from Scratch Dressing ie Stuffing like my Grandmother and Parents used to make every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I don’t know about you but I believe November 21st is an ideal day for National Stuffing Day with Thanksgiving right around the corner. We are already thinking about the delicious Turkey Stuffing that is a traditional part of Thanksgiving dinner.
Cooks may choose to stuff the Turkey with crusts of Bread, Vegetables (not my family), Herbs, and Spices. Others prefer to prepare a similar dish alongside the Turkey using the drippings to moisten the Stuffing. Either way, each preparation is a personal preference or family tradition. The difference is the first is called a Stuffing, but the latter is referred to as a Dressing. Which I never new. Did you?
National Stuffing Day Activities
- Invite friends or family to come for a Stuffing ie Dressing tasting party. Not only can others pre-test their Stuffing, but also a whole group of people can benefit from the taste testing! Who ever argued with getting to try lots of Stuffing varieties? Not me because one of our friends might have our next Stuffing recipe.
- There’s a whole world of Stuffing out there, and yet, we only tend to make Stuffing for the holidays. Today’s the day to stray away from that boring Turkey Stuffing and try some of the other recipes like adding Oysters or Mushrooms to your dressing. If anyone in your family turns up their noses, tell them you made it all for yourself and you’re not sharing!
- Go back into vintage Julia-Child-Land and watch her prepare Stuffing. Or you could visit your favorite food blogger’s page and see what Studding or Dressing recipe they use because there’s no shortage of places to look for stuffing inspiration.
Why People Love National Stuffing Day
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, National Stuffing Day is the day to perfect your Stuffing recipe. No, matter the Stuffing your making which could be a traditional Apple and Onion Stuffing use today to hone your ratios of Caramelized Onions to tart Apples to Thyme. If you’re hosting a holiday for the first time, test that fabulous Stuffing recipe before it’s too late.
There’s an endless variety of Stuffing recipes online but if you want a simple formula for making Stuffing here it is: Start with a grain, add liquid and/or fat, spices and herbs and something with flavor and texture. For example, start with cooked rice, add chicken stock, season with thyme, garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper and add dried cherries and cranberries with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts.
Stuff the whole mixture into pork chops and you have stuffed pork chops! Are you more of a traditionalist? Start with cubed stale bread, add turkey stock and melted butter. Throw in some rosemary and parsley, and cube some apples for texture. Mix together and stuff the entire mixture into your favorite member of the fowl family. Roast and relax until dinner is ready!
With the holidays on the way, you’re going to need refrigerator space and Stuffing is a great way to use up some of the leftovers taking up refrigerator space. Take those Croutons left over from last week’s Salad, a little Butter, those sad looking Celery Stalks and half an Onion and mix it together using a little Hot Water and stuff them into those Red Peppers that are going to go bad if you don’t use them soon. Pop the whole the whole thing into a casserole dish with a little Olive Oil on top and bake in a hot oven and no one will ever guess that last night’s leftovers have become tonight’s dinner.
Recipe for Bread Stuffing
Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hour 5 mins Total Time: 1 hour 25 mins Servings: 16
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 ½ cups chopped celery with leaves
¾ cup chopped onion
9 cups soft bread cubes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, or to taste
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Gather all ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir in hot butter until onion is soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
Put bread cubes in a large bowl. Season with salt, sage, thyme, poultry seasoning, and black pepper.
Add cooked onion-celery mixture to bread cubes; stir.
Pour bread mixture into a large casserole dish; cover the dish with aluminum foil.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 1 hour.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
