Monday, November 22, 2010

STUFFING/DRESSING.....what's in a name?

I LOVE "whatever you call it"...  We call it stuffing around these parts, I know some call it dressing.   Whatever.  I've scarcely found a stuffing I didn't like.   Odd, because I can't stand Panzanella, a cold salad with wet bread and, let's face it, stuffing IS largely wet bread!
In the past here or at my political blog, I think I've admitted that I never liked my dear Aunt J's stuffing and we have Thanksgiving at their house every year, so I used to bring stuffing for the non-gizzard-loving relatives amongst us, mostly ME :-)  THIS year, Aunt J's having Thanksgiving catered....I can't wait because she uses these caterers for lots of parties they have at their home for  fund raisers or parties of their own over 50 people, etc..and they have really delicious food! (Although Aunt J is just as wonderful cook and a fabulous hostess. it'll be fun to see what the caterers come up with, I'll let y'all know)  I'll bet THEY don't put gizzards in their stuffing!  (Pray for me, will you?!)  (Now I have to 'fess up that, very recently, I actually had started to not HATE Aunt J's gizzard stuffing after about 40 years...!)

SO.................give me your best shot;   WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE STUFFING?   You don't need to put the recipe in comments, but list main ingredients, those ingredients which set it apart from another stuffing (or dressing!).

Thanks!!

z

32 comments:

sue said...
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sue said...
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Z said...

do you put any sausage or apple in it?

I really like the boxed stuff, too...I ADORE sage and that's in most of them.
Thanks for the dressing/stuffing answer!

Always On Watch said...

I used to make my own stuffing from Pepperidge Farms bread cubes. I added lots of sage and onions and celery! No sausage, no apples, but lots of cooked-from-scratch cranberries on the side.

Now, I mostly used boxed stuffing.

Anonymous said...

I like stuffing but it must have corn bread for me. I love everything with corn. Not a fan of bread based stuffing. With sage, cranberries. Sausage or bacon in it sounds good to me :)

FrogBurger

Z said...

I love cornbread stuffing, too, FB....and with sausage..mmm!!

AOW, why no sausage, just what you're used to?
I have done the same thing when I've taken stuffing to my aunts (cuz of the gizzard stuffing she usually makes!)...just the Pepperidge Farm stuffing but I add sausage and apple and it's very good!

tha malcontent said...

Most defiantly use sausage, Italian sausage and some apples & bacon won't hurt.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Z said...

I have to admit the bacon thing leaves me cold but I LOVE sausage in stuffing.

Anybody do OYSTER STUFFING!??

sue said...
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(((Thought Criminal))) said...

My dad's cornbread dressing will make you wish Thanksgiving was everyday. He won't share the closely guarded family recipe though, probably because he stole it from Heaven.

I don't have anything but an appetizer recipe for ya...

"Pineapple Rumaki"

you need...
1 can chunked pineapple
1 pint of chicken livers
1 bottle of organic soy ginger sauce
1 pound of sliced bacon
wooden toothpicks

Wrap a chicken liver around a chunk of pineapple.

Wrap a strip of bacon around the chicken liver and pineapple chunk.

Wrap another strip of bacon around that perpendicularly (so there's bacon around on all sides of it) It should look like a little ball or pillow of bacon, maybe with liver peeking out of the corners.

Pin together with a toothpick through the middle.

Repeat until you run out of livers and bacon.

Put the soy ginger sauce and the juice from the canned pineapple chunks in a bowl, and put the raw rumaki in the sauce. Cover and refridgerate overnight.

Ready to cook... preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put rumaki on a cookie sheet and bake until the bacon is reddish-brown. You may have to drain the grease halfway through cooking.

When done, let the rumaki drain on a paper towel. Serve warm.

Nobody will know you served them liver, and it's daaaaaaaaamn good.

JINGOIST said...

AOW:
"I used to make my own stuffing from Pepperidge Farms bread cubes. I added lots of sage and onions and celery! "

That's the way i make it! Have you ever had oyster stuffing? I know it sounds rough, but I had it once and thought that I'd died and gone to heaven.

My mashed potatoes are always a hit.

1. Boil potatoes
2. Add lots of real butter
3. Salt and pepper (small amount of garlic) to taste.
4. Add milk to thin.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Z said...

Beamish, if you love liver, that sounds GREAT (I don't)...I do rumaki with dates surrounded by bacon and that's good, too, but your recipe DOES sound fantastic.

Jingo..it's the BUTTER! If you want to prepare in advance and not have that 'heated over potatoes' taste, add creamed cheese to it when you mix them...it's divine and tastes wonderful for days.

I wish SOMEONE would tell me about OYSTER STUFFING...I've never had it and like oysters very much....is it real live (dead!) oysters and ...what kind of herbs/spices/bread?? Please tell!!!

Always On Watch said...

Jingoist,
My aunt used to make oyster stuffing, but I never tried to fix it myself. Surely, the recipe is in a cookbook I have!

Always On Watch said...

Well, I LOVE chicken livers.

I might have to try that recipe.

Anonymous said...

FrogBurgerette and I are going to Craft tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. Yum!

FrogBurger

Karen K said...

Uh... Stove Top cornbread stuffing is always good. :-)

Z said...

FB, what's CRAFT? A new restaurant?

AOW..yes, I'll Google oyster stuffing or look into my cookbooks, just thought it would be fun to get someone's personal recipe.

enjoy the livers!

Z said...

OK..I checked and oyster stuffing seems to be nothing but regular stuffing with oysters IN it...well, it still sounds good..weird, VERY WEIRD for turkey, but if so many like it, it must work!

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

You can make rumaki with anything, except you can't leave out the bacon and the LIVER!!!

The secret prize inside can be anything. Pineapple, water chestnuts, onion and green pepper slice... the possibilities are endless.

Heck, you don't even have to marinade them in anything. I used to make quickie rumaki after school. One chicken liver wrapped in bacon, pop it in the oven. Bam!

tha malcontent said...

Straight from the Chef’s ( My Wife) special Thanksgiving Recipes!
Be Sure To Use ONLY Fresh Oysters.
Throw a half of a stick of the butter in a large pan over a medium flame Add celery, and onion, salt, and cook for about 10 minutes.
2. Add a dash of thyme and cook, while stirring for about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper, and put it all into to a large bowl, and mix in about 9 cups of cornbread crumbs, crumbled and toasted along with. 2 cups of pecans, coarsely chopped.
3. Mix in the oysters and their liquid, along with 3 eggs, parsley, and salt and pepper.
4. Now throw in another half of a stick butter, cover it all with foil, and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake again for about another 12 minutes until it all gets that Golden brown color and you are ready to go.
courtesy of Ms. Malcontent.

Z said...

Beamish, you MUST leave out the liver :-) It's fabulous with a date wrapped in a bacon slice and broiled! trust me!

malcontent, thanks! So she adds THYME...that makes good sense; I love the sound of that with oysters. THANK YOU for taking this time to share this because I"ve always wondered about this kind of stuffing. Blessings to you and yours this year and always. z

Brooke said...

I've never liked stuffing... :S

Lisa said...

not stuffing but my sister in law makes this great cranberry sauce. She makes raspberry jello in a jello mold and puts fresh cranberries,orange slices,pineapple and walnuts in it.
you can always use whatever fruit you like or or use pecans.

Z said...

Brooke, you're out of the club :-)
Lisa, I've had something like that before, it's really good!

Anonymous said...

I'm late to the party.
I like corn bread dressing with celery and sage. I've never had sausage or bacon in it, but I'm thinking that would be good!

All I know is...a little goes a loooong way. I feel like I've gained 10 pounds after one serving!

sue said...
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Z said...

I just saw this now..in February.
I don't think I, in any way, participated in insulting you or your grandchildren or anything else....If I had, I would certainly apologize. Please show me if I'm wrong, I don't even know which post it was on.
Thank you for your apology.

Jos said...

Z - Let's drop it. I recently read the post again when at my daughter's and I believe it was November 23. As I said, there is a block on geeeez! so I can't read it or comment.

As you can see, however, I can read your food blog. Hope you are rid of the shingles. I know they are excruciating.

I don't know why this is coming across as 'JOS'. That is another name I used for a presidential blog.

Oh, and I fixed Mexican food for the SB (but am not watching it.)

sue said...
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Z said...

Sue, I'm just seeing this comment now.
I miss you and would absolutely like to write to you. Thank you for this and I'm sorry I'm getting back to you so late...I just didn't think to look here! I hope you see this.

sue said...
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Z said...

Hi, Sue...email me at geeez@earthlink.net.....that's my direct line.
You're moving? Houses and cities??
I wish you the best and am glad I felt I should look at my food blog right now! :-)