With so many serious issues and crisis in our world, I thought it was time to bring another hard core problem to the table and try to haggle out a solution.
Stuffing or dressing? Which is the correct term to use for that once-a-year mixture of deliciousness cooked inside the Thanksgiving turkey and served with the meal?
Personally, I could skip the turkey altogether and be happy with stuffing—or dressing—mashed potatoes and gravy and a nice variety of salads and vegetables on Thanksgiving. To me, turkey is more appealing in a casserole, soup or sandwich slathered with Heinz 57 and mayo than as a centerpiece protein source on a holiday. Sure, the bird looks nice all cooked to a golden color served on a platter the size of Maine, but I still gravitate to the stuffing—or dressing.
Maybe the stuffing—or dressing—debate has its roots in geography. And sure enough, here is what a google search produced from the Butterball website: "If you call it dressing, odds are you cook it separately from the turkey—and you live in the southern region of the United States. Otherwise, you're a stuffing family, and you cook it in the turkey."
Now to debate the base for the stuffing—or dressing. Cornbread, day-old bread or croutons? I've tried all three. Cornbread, while I love a warm piece of the stuff slathered in butter with a hot bowl of chili, is too grainy for me in the stuffing—or dressing. Day-old bread or croutons or a mixture of the two is my choice.
Moving on to the ingredients, how about a little meat for flavor. Giblets? Yes, please. Except for the liver, which will be a little treat for the dogs and cats. Sausage? Bacon? Oysters, perhaps? I've tried them all and anything but the oysters is a win in my book.
Next for some vegetable choices. Onions, celery and carrots are a must. Anything else is just for show.
Yes or no to a little sprinkling of fruit? Apples, dried cherries, cranberries or raisins are a nice complement next to the savory, as long as the fruit isn't too exotic and can be found at the local grocery store.
I haven't even begun to mention other add-ons like water chestnuts, nuts, rice or fresh herbs. Now we're really going off on a culinary adventure, and in my experience, some of those trips haven't turned out so well. I'm better off staying on the tried and true trail that is familiar to me and save exotic adventures for non-holidays when there aren't crowds of people to pretend they like something that is plain awful. While it may sting, at least your family will tell the truth. And you can dispose of that recipe.
There's never enough room in the cavity of the bird for all the stuffing—or dressing and there's always extra that needs to be cooked outside the bird. My favorite? Mix the two to get a combination of the soft, moist stuff cooked inside the bird with the crispy, baked-outside-the-bird stuffing—or dressing. Mmmm. Perfect.
In case you can't live without knowing, my go-to stuffing recipe is bread and croutons as a base, celery, onions and a little bit of carrot; sausage and an apple combined with a little seasoned salt, poultry seasoning and pepper. Nothing exotic, easy to get ingredients and always turns out.
However you choose your stuffing—or dressing—I hope when you start counting your blessings, you find more to be thankful for than you realize. My wish for you is that you not only have a blessed Thanksgiving but that you are a blessing for which someone is thankful for this season and all year long.
Bev Berens is a mom to 4-H and FFA members in Michigan. Do you have a story to share? Email her at uphillfarm494@yahoo.com.