I was born and raised in the Northeast, and as far back as I can remember, Thanksgiving dinner was cooked by my mother and held at our house. At the grown-ups table were my parents, my mother’s parents, her 13-years-younger sister, my father’s mother and a couple of unmarried aunts. The kids table was me and a growing number of younger siblings. The menu remained comfortingly the same year after year: roast turkey, pan gravy, mashed potatoes, sliced canned cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, pineapple-lime gelatin mold (our “salad”), rolls and bread stuffing, cooked in the turkey with extra in a pan.
I left home at 19 to move to New York City, and when I finally had a kitchen big enough and began cooking what is now known as Friendsgiving in my Manhattan apartment, I called my mother to ask about her stuffing. She mailed me a recipe card titled “Mom’s Stuffing,” which actually originated with her mother.
This is a very basic and easy recipe, one I have tweaked over the years using various types of bread (Martha Worley at 67 Biltmore advises no rye in the mix), fresh herbs (my mother used dried), homemade stock rather than canned broth, sometimes adding mushrooms, apples, dried fruits and bacon. As Joe Scully says, it’s what you add that makes stuffing/dressing delicious and your own.
One thing not to do? Cut the calories. There is nothing to gain in losing the fat from the one meal of the year that licenses indulgence. — Kay West
12 cups cubed, dry bread
1 cup butter
1½ cups chopped yellow onions
3 cups chopped celery
2 cups chicken broth
2 eggs, beaten
2-3 teaspoons dried sage
Salt and pepper to taste
Place bread in big bowl. Melt butter in skillet and sauté onion and celery until tender. Add to bread; season with sage, salt and pepper. Stir beaten egg and broth into bread mixture and work with hands to make a moist mix. Stuff into turkey just before roasting.
*For safety’s sake, stuff the room-temperature bird just before placing in the oven to roast. Do not pack the cavity, but fill loosely as it will expand.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.