Please remember I'm not an adventurous cook. Soooo...this dressing you speak of goes on the stuffing? We've never used anything other than gravy on ours.

My family would consider it Thanksgiving without my oyster stuffing. Since we live on a river that's known for it's oyster harvest that's distributed across the country, our Thanksgiving oysters are common fare.

My stuffing is similar to yours in that I don't measure my ingredients: breadcrumbs, sweet onions, celery, broth, butter, eggs and spices such as thyme, sage, S & P. I also combine the dry ingredients the night before, and add a pint of well drained oysters last. For stuffing that's going to be baked in a dish, I add additional broth. The remainder of the stuffing goes in the turkey.

Stuffing. I have to write down the recipe this year. I know it has sausage, celery, onions, and sauted almond slivers.

I'm sorry Shee - I had to laugh! I guess I could have worded it better! What I meant was, do you call it stuffing or dressing.

Nanny and Boop - yours sound good (other than nanny's oysters), Boop I hope you will share yours after you write it down. I never thought about almonds, but I bet that is good!

No stuffing the bird here, I bake the dressing in a pan. Actually we all prefer the white meat so I do a turkey breast.

YUM, I'm getting hungry already!!

tina

Oops. *blushing* Well as you can see I only know it as stuffing (or filling), lol. :)

Ours is pretty basic with onions, celery, egg, butter, broth, s&p. We stuff the turkey.

I have an excellent stuffing recipe exactly the way you like, but I don't add eggs. Eggs tend to "flatten" the stuffing which makes it more quiche like. Nix the eggs. I learned the hard way and it was embarrassing! lol

I like the old-fashioned cornbread stuffing.

Two round cake pans of cooked cornbread, crumbled but not into fine pieces.

7 or so slices of white bread, toasted and broken into crumbs.
Sage - 1 or 2 t.
Melted Butter, about a 1/4 cup.
Sauteed onions and celery
Chicken broth, have at least 5 cans just in case.

I bake it in a 9x13 pan until it's slightly moist, and I fluff it up so it's....fluffy. lol

The hardest part though is how much chicken broth to add to it. Some years it's perfect, other's not so much.

Oh I have to disagree about the eggs. I generally use no more than 2 (depending on the size of plan I'm making)and it's never been "quiche like" at all. I like to use the turkey broth (liquids) if possible. Like I said above, I like a very moist dressing. (A very fattening dressing too I suppose!)

tina

Dressing. I don't use any standard measuring implements, but taste as I go. No eggs, because I don't like what that does to the texture. The breads are better when made with buttermilk. I try to make the breads a few days in advance and let them get stale, so that they absorb more of the flavorful broth.

1 pan cornbread (No sugar, not a lot of flour. It's coarse, not sweet and cakey.)
1 pan biscuits
Onions and celery
Sage (lots, because I love it!)
Salt and pepper
Turkey broth (a really strong, rich broth is a must)

For those who prefer oyster dressing, omit the sage, reduce the turkey broth, add oysters and oyster liquor.

Yogacat - I've never tried biscuits - good idea. Yes, I agree about making the bread ahead of time, I'm making cornbread tonight. Always use buttermilk too.

tina

I call it whatever Pepperidge Farm prints on their blue bag!

Recently on The View, Rachel Rae mentioned cooking the stuffing in muffin cups, so they're individually portion-sized. Sounds too crunchy for me, tho!

We call it stuffing although I bake it in a separate pan. I have never tasted cornbread in my life and never heard of using eggs in stuffing before. Funny.

We use mashed potatoes in ours which I see no one mentioned. Also never heard of using broth before. Wouldn't it all be runny with all that liquid, or is that what the cornbread is for?

I'm guessing it's a regional thing ctlane. Could you tell us what else goes into your stuff/dressing?

I'm posting a recipe from Paula Deene, queen of southern cooking LOL. (I'd never use that many eggs.)

No, the dressing is not runny.

tina

Here is a link that might be useful: Paula's stuffing/dressing

After reading Paula's recipe I think the cornbread is used instead of mashed potatoes.

I melt butter and saute onion and celery. In a bowl I put cut up bread (cubes), poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, add mashed potatoes and butter mixture. Mix all together and put in the oven.

I am so hungry for stuffing/filling/dressing now. C'mon Turkey Day!

My favorite food at Thanksgiving is the dressing. I use cornbread, biscuits, broth, sage, eggs, salt & pepper. I also bake the cornbread and biscuits in advance. I like the dressing moist inside, but browned on top.

I say stuffing. Because that is what the store bought container says in the frig. (It is so danged good that I have no reason to try to compete with it.)

Dressing. My ingredients are cut up cooked chicken, bread cubed & toasted, shredded raw potatoes, shredded carrots, chopped celery, chopped onions, lots of eggs - around 8, chicken broth, milk, salt, pepper, parsley flakes. Don't really have a recipe, just a list of ingredients. I brown this mixture in a skillet with butter & then put in a crockpot for an hour. I also taught my son to make this dish. He & I make enough for our extended family Thanksgiving dinner & have a lot of fun - trying to have the 'best tasting dressing'.

Stuffing Recipe (Dressing Recipe, technically)

1 1/2 pounds bulk Italian sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces pancetta bacon, diced
2 onions, chopped
7 large stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups day-old French bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 cups crumbled cornbread
1 1/2 tablespoons rubbed dried sage
1 1/2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted pine nuts
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 ounce shaved Parmesan cheese
Directions

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Grease a deep 9x13 inch baking dish or roasting pan.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the sausage. Cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease. Place the browned sausage into a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pancetta begins to brown, stir in the onions and celery, and cook until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook another 3 minutes until the aroma of the garlic mellows.
Scrape the onion mixture into the bowl with the crumbled sausage. Add the French bread, cornbread, dried sage, poultry seasoning, salt, and pine nuts; stir well. Pour in the chicken broth and mozzarella cheese; stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the bread and the stuffing is evenly mixed. Pack the stuffing into the prepared baking dish, and dot the butter overtop. Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, then remove the foil, and continue baking until the top has turned golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Sprinkle with the fresh sage and shaved Parmesan cheese to serve.

***
Not so great for vegetarians but it is yummy for everyone else.

Oh my goodness - I'm hearing so many new things here! I've never heard of mashed potatoes in dressing/stuffing or cheese (YUM!). And never ever heard/thought of putting it in a crock pot!

ctlane - you've really never tasted cornbread?

I'm like Shee - having a hard time waiting!! I did make my cornbread tonight.

tina

Happy Thanksgiving!

My family's version of New Orleans' Oyster dressing. Sorry I don't have measurements or a strict recipe, but most find this dressing is the highlight of the feast. Even non oyster lovers really enjoy this. No eggs or cornbread ever.

Brown ground beef. Remove from pan. Add onions and sweet peppers and cook until onions are nearly translucent. Stir in chopped celery and garlic. Add cubed, stale French bread. (For years I used prepackaged but was so disappointed this year to finally read the label and see it includes high fructose corn syrup -- yuck! so I guess will have to go back to the old fashioned method). Add minimal sea salt, good black pepper, cayenne, poultry seasoning, chopped fresh green onions, parsley and some rich poultry broth. Tear apart oysters while feeling for and removing any shell or pearls. Add with oyster liquid and stir thoroughly. Although I enjoy Louisiana oysters, if unavailable NW Pacific oysters are a wonderful, really flavorful substitute. I use a minimum of 1 pint but depending on how flush I feel will use a lot more.

Before baking the amount required for the meal, I put some aside for the freezer as it's just as easy to make a big batch and less time consuming than constantly preparing portions for single meals. I try to always have some dressing in the freezer as my DH craves it at least once a month. I freeze single serving amounts as I often prepare Cornish hens although it also comes in handy when I roast turkey thighs.

I used to stuff the bird, whether turkey or cornish hens, but find that the poultry stays more moist if roasted unstuffed, so now I just bake the dressing separately. Add more pan drippings as necessary to increase the moisture content and flavor. Enjoy!