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DRESSING
(Meat)
A California Version
When people speak of Thanksgiving Dinner, Dressing seems
to be the most discussed item on the menu. Many cooks say
that they make twice as much as needed, because their
families love to raid the icebox for leftover Dressing
and Gravy. It is one thing which a gracious guest must
praise lavishly; the usual expression being that it is
preferred to the Turkey. Of course, it is good at any
time of year, and I recommend having it as a treat on
other occasions.
If this is your first year preparing the feast, and you
are entertaining relatives from both sides of the family,
choose a Dressing which is different from that used by
either Mother-in-Law. Anything else will be seen as an
implied criticism to someone's culinary skill. You must
NOT use one family's recipe in preference to the other's.
Do not take this bit of advice lightly; a tactful choice
of Dressing is essential to a happy holiday meal.
The most important decision to be made about Dressing is
which base material to use. Preferences about this are
often regional, and usually inflexible. In the Northeast
and Midwest, Bread Crumbs or Potatoes are the norm. In
the South and Far West, Cornbread Crumbs or Wild Rice are
more popular choices. If the creative cook wishes to vary
things a bit, it is best to stick with the base which is
traditional for your family, particularly because
children like to see things the same each time.
With all of this in mind, I offer my own version of the
festive delicacy. It should be used as an inspiration. If
you dislike something, leave it out. If an ingredient is
dear to your heart, add it. The basic combination of
Starch, Sage, and Thyme: maybe varied in a hundred
delightful ways.
The trick to a good Dressing is to have as many things in
it as possible. Some of the ingredients I suggest may
seem incongruous, but they do work together. I always
cook the Dressing in a separate casserole from the
Turkey. A process that lets you do it the day before, is
much safer than stuffing the bird, and also makes the
roasting time of the Turkey considerably less.
The special taste of dressing baked in the Turkey comes
from the fat which is absorbed during roasting. You can
duplicate that by using rendered Chicken or Turkey Fat to
brown the ingredients which will be added to the base.
Ingredients
4 cups Wild or White Rice cooked in Chicken Broth,
Or
6 cups Bread or Cornbread Crumbs,
Or
4 cups diced boiled Potatoes
2 large Onions, chopped
1 cup thinly sliced Celery
1 bunch Parsley, minced
1/2 pound Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chopped Pecans or Walnuts, toasted
1 cup Dried Apricots, chopped
3/4 cup Raisins
2 large Apples, diced
2 large Orange, peeled and diced
3/4 pound Turkey Sausage, cooked, drained, and crumbled
2 cups Chicken Broth if using Bread, 1 cup with other
bases
2 generous tablespoons Poultry Seasoning
Seasoned Salt and Lemon
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Chicken Fat or Margarine
Method
Get out a large Dutch Oven and put it on top of the
stove. Put in the Chicken Fat, or Margarine. Start by
browning the Onions, Celery, and Mushrooms. Toast the
Walnuts or Pecans by stirring in a dry skillet until
brown and add them to the mix. Add the Apples and
Parsley, and then cook until the Apples are slightly
tender. Add the remaining ingredients, and stir to mix
them. Herbs become more mild with prolonged cooking, so
do be generous. Now, add the chosen Starch base, and mix
until thoroughly incorporated. The mixture should be wet.
At this point, you can put it in a well-greased casserole
until you want to bake it. Just spoon it in, don't pack
it or it will lose texture and turn to paste. It will
shrink quite a bit in volume while baking. This can be
baked the day before and reheated in the microwave. When
you are ready to bake, cover and place in a 350 degree
oven for about 1 1/2 hours, until brown on the top and
sides.
This is an excerpt from .It's
Not Just Chicken Soup.
copyright 2001 by Eddy Robey
Eddy Robey M.A.
Author It's Not Just Chicken Soup. Like all Jewish
mothers, I feed everyone in sight, and have been at work
in the kitchen for over 25 years. Correspondence should
be addressed to eddyrobey@aol.com
and will be read as soon as the dishes are done. You can
find many of my recipes online at Gantseh Megillah
Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think
would enjoy it, as long as you include my copyright.
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