Sunday, November 15, 2020

Thanksgiving dressing--or stuffing without stuffing it in the bird, and gravy.

What do you call the side of bread with veggies?  I grew up with it called "stuffing" but some say it's 'dressing' since it 's not cooked inside the bird.  Cooking inside the bird is often said to not be good as it can inhibit the flow of warm air through the cavity of the turkey. 

I also think it's just a loss *less* work to bake it in a pan than it is to stuff it in a turkey, then remove it to a dish before serving.  

One of my fond memories as a child was sitting at the table in the days before Thanksgiving (it may have been the weekend before), where I opened loaves of (gluten) bread and tore them apart into small pieces.  This was my first lesson in making stuffing. 

When I have time, and we can prep, I usually buy UDIs bread to dice into cubes, and let dry out a bit via placing it on cookie sheets in the oven for a day or two.  Then I put it in the off oven and let it sit for a day or two. 

For things needed for stuffing, my mom always used onion, celery, and carrots. I had some fennel in the fridge, so I added that this time as well.  Other things needed, salt, pepper, sage.   We always used milk as the wetting agent, but you can use turkey or chicken broth as well. 

The vegetables for the stuffing need to be cooked ahead of time on the stove top. This is something you can do the day or two before, or the day of. 


I know the cooking shows always talk of finely chopping onions. Guess what, they're going to be cooked and put into stuffing and I like it a little larger, and carefree/not uniform pieces.  
Plus, I'm not making a soup where they need to be very small and uniform. 
Partial onion I already had, cut the bottom off, sliced body in half, then had a flat surface for  each half to cut into slices and then dice. 
I always use the red onions when I can after watching Christina Cooks say that they have antioxidants, and they add more color to the dish!  

Three ribs of celery. I cut the bottom and top off. 

Then slice the ribs in half. Larger pieces get sliced into three. 

Then dice into pieces about the same size as the onions. 


Carrots.  Peel

Then trim off the top and the tips.


I cut the carrots then lengthwise to make narrower, and then chip into small pieces. 

The fennel got it's top chopped off, and discarded. 
I then sliced it in half and then into matchstick size pieces, as then into small pieces. 
Fennel tastes a little bit like licorice. It isn't too powerful and just adds a subtle flavor. 

The Mike always thinks I have too many small bowls. 

Do I?  
I like being able to put things into small bowls when necessary. Sometimes we only use one, sometimes we use all six. 

This all needs precooked. Preheat a skillet with butter or olive oil.  Then add in the diced vegetables.  

Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the items.  
Cover the skillet and let cook for a few minutes. 
Then stir, cover, cook some more. 

About five to seven minutes total. 


I used the Aleia's kitchen ready to bake croutons as they were on sale last week when I was at the store. Otherwise, as above, I would have just cubed bread or bread heels I had. 
I used the plain version, so I could add the seasonings we wanted. 

This is my mom's stuffing that I had gotten from her shortly after her stroke. I wish I had thought to do so before in the years, so I could have a recipe with her handwriting. 

On top of the vegetables, the seasoning is added:  thyme, sage, pepper. 

After mixing the seasoning and vegetables together, I put into a large mixing bowl to rest/cool a little. 

After ten minutes or so, I add the bread crumbs to the mixing bowl. 


Fold together well to mix the vegetables and croutons. 


I reused those vegetable bowls because I didn't need to dirty even more dishes!   Two eggs, and a cup of liquid. I used milk. You can use turkey or chicken broth, or a different type of 'milk' if you'd like.  Mix these together in the small bowl. 

Grease your pan. I used a 9x13 pan, but have also put this in a shallower jelly roll pan. I use butter, but you can use the fat of your choice if you need to be dairy free.  

Add the milk and eggs to your croutons. Add more liquid if you think it is necessary. I like it a little drier. If you like it more moist, use two cups of liquid. 


Add to the pan, smooth, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350F.  For the last ten minutes go ahead and remove the cover and let bake uncovered. 

One thing that I just have not been able to perfect since being gluten free (14 years) is gravy.  However, these days Simply Organic / Frontier Coop has plenty of mixes for making the holiday a little simpler!  

I make stuffing a few times a year. While we usually have it with turkey, we have it with meatloaf as well (and we will have leftovers of this with meatloaf this weekend). 

Served with sliced turkey and cranberry sauce.  


What else do you have for Thanksgiving?  




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