To Stuff Or Dress, That Is The Question

…a confusing dilemma indeed. So, I turned to my trusty food dictionary, sort of a foodie’s Bible if you will, Food Lover’s Companion (from now on referred to as FLC). Under dressing it says, “A mixture used to stuff poultry, fish, meat and some vegetables. It can be cooked separately or in the food in which it is stuffed. Dressings (also called stuffings) are usually well seasoned and based on breadcrumbs or cubes-though rice, potatoes and other foods are also used.” It also refers to dressing as “a sauce, usually cold, used to top salads-some cold vegetables, fish and meat dishes”. I will be referring to the first one.

Clear as gravy? My thinking is a stuffing is anything you stuff into something, of course that could be a wad of cash you put in your bra or what you do when you put your jeans on following Thanksgiving. Anyhow, I digress when I am suppose to be clarifying this muddle for the home cook, perhaps even for an Iron Chef.

Back in the day of going out and killing your own game for dinner/supper (yet another quandary) the hunter would need to “dress” his catch. “Meaning to prepare game, fowl, fish and so forth by plucking, scalding, eviscerating, and so on.” It also can mean, “to dress a salad, which simply means adding a dressing”(FLC). This had nothing to do with being dressed by Tim Gunn, although a girl can dream.

So whatever you want to call it, I love it. I even like Stove Top, but at Thanksgiving I have to make the real thing. It doesn’t take long and you can experiment with it. Below is a basic recipe that you can build upon, following it one of my favorites. What FLC didn’t define is stuffing yourself!
Happy Thanksgiving.

To my sister Alyssa who asked for recipes:

Basic Stuffing:
1 16-oz bag stuffing (I prefer Pepperidge Farm’s Herb Seasoned Stuffing)
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter (12 Tablespoons)
4-6 stalks celery with leaves, medium dice
1 large yellow onion, diced
4-6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
10 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stem
10 fresh sage leaves chopped

Preheat oven to 350’. Butter 2-quart baking dish.

Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in skillet and sauté’ onions and celery until soft. Add remaining butter, thyme and sage. Add broth and season to taste with salt and pepper, heat through. Pour over stuffing mix, toss well and place in buttered dish. Bake 30-40 minutes until browned on top. Let set 10 minutes before serving.

Sausage, Cherry and Sage Stuffing
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, remove casings
1 stick butter
3 cups onions, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
1 T. fresh sage and thyme, chopped
2 T. fresh parsley, chopped
6 cups croutons or Pepperidge Farms Herb Stuffing
½ t. allspice
¼ cup maple syrup (the real stuff)
2 cups dried cherries
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
2 cups chicken broth (low sodium) may need more
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven 350’

Sauté’ sausage in large skillet, crumbling until cooked through. Remove sausage with slotted spoon to a large bowl. Discard sausage fat. Melt butter in pan and add onions and celery. Sauté’ until tender 10-15 minutes. Add sausage, herbs, stock, allspice, maple syrup and warm through.

In bowl, place croutons, cherries and pecans. Pour stock mixture over and toss to coat. Mixture should be moist, not soggy. Add salt & pepper to taste. Place stuffing in buttered baking dish and cover with foil. Bake 1 hour then uncover and bake another 20 minutes until top is golden.