Stuffing? Dressing? Cornbread? Oyster? When it comes to the side dish that you serve with your Thanksgiving turkey, most people have very specific opinions as to not only what type is the best, but what it should be called. According to Southern Living, the only difference in dressing and stuffing is where you live. Kinda like "coke" or "soda", or "pop". So, down here in Texas, it's all about the dressing. With our cokes. Here in the office, we have two dressing camps; cornbread and sage. Deciphering the recipes with their vague measurements (how much IS a smidge, really?) to a point where we could share them and have them actually turn out OK was a bit of a challenge, but we managed. Hopefully. The third dressing type we've heard rumors of but no one has actually tried is an Oyster Dressing. Or Stuffing, considering it has it's roots in the northern states. We believe in fair play, so even though it's not SGD Kitchen tested, we've got one to share with you. T-2 weeks, y'all. 

Shauna's Cornbread Dressing
Serves 10-12
1 bunch celery, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1 stick of butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp herbs de Provence
4 boxes Jiffy cornbread, prepared as directed on box.
½ loaf bread, cubed
6 eggs (3 hard boiled, 3 beaten)
1 carton chicken broth (32 oz)
Set oven to 350. In a large skillet, saute onions & celery over medium heat until soft. Add in salt, pepper and herbs de Provence. Set aside.
Hard boil 3 eggs. Drain and set aside to cool.
Spread bread cubes on baking sheet and toast in oven until golden brown.
In large bowl, crumble prepared cornbread and toasted bread. Add onion mixture and chopped hard boiled eggs. Mix well. Add chicken broth and 3 beaten eggs and stir to combine. Mixture should be very runny, like soup. Add more chicken broth if needed. 
Pour mixture in to large baking dish and bake at 350 for one hour. 

And when you have leftovers, which you will. Put the leftover dressing in a bowl, whisk in an egg or two and slap in to a waffle iron. Top with shredded turkey and a fried egg and some gravy and voila. Brunch is served. 

Grandma Whitley's Sage Dressing
Serves 8
Turkey giblets and neck
1 ½ loaves French bread
2 eggs, beaten
3 stalks celery
1 white onion
½ stick butter 
1 tbsp fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley
¼ c fresh sage or 1 tbsp dried sage
½ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
In a large saucepan, add turkey giblets and neck and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add more water if necessary. Set aside and reserve broth. In large skillet, saute onions and celery in butter until tender, about 10 minutes. Tear bread in to bite-sized pieces and place in to large bowl. Add onion mixture, beaten eggs, parsley, sage, salt and pepper to bowl. Mix well. Chop giblets in to small pieces and add to bowl. Stir to combine. Add broth to bowl and mix until just moistened. If mixture is too dry, add water. Bread pieces should not bounce back when pinched. Do not over mix. Transfer mixture in to buttered casserole dish, cover and bake at 325-350 for one hour. Remove lid during last 10 minutes to brown top. 

Old Fashioned Oyster Stuffing
Serves 8-10
​½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped onion
¼ cup butter
6 cups dry bread crumbs
1 tbsp chopped parsley
3 cups chopped oysters
1 bay leaf
1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¾ c milk and oyster liquid
Cook celery and onion in butter until golden. Transfer to large bowl. Add bread crumbs and parsley, mix thoroughly. Add oysters, bay leaf, seasonings and eggs. Add enough liquid to moisten. Stuff in to 10-12 lb. turkey or bake in casserole dish at 325 for 1 hour. Remove bay leaf before serving.  

Speaking of food. We are having a pie contest! Email us your favorite pie recipe for a chance to win $100! Winning recipe will be featured in an upcoming blog post. 

We've been setting a LOT of fall tables lately and thought we should share with you some of the details on where you can find some of these great pieces. We love to layer in festive pieces with china, stemware or other pieces our clients already own. Just add a fun new salad plate or colorful table runner and some accessories and you have a brand new look! 
This first table is more on the traditional side and all came from Pottery Barn.

Resources: All from Pottery Barn
Charlotte Dinner Plate
Watercolor Leaves Salad Plate
Monique Lhuillier Glass Charger
Bamboo Flatware
Kenaf Table Runner
Anton Paisley Table Runner
Schott Zweisel Taste Wine Glass
​Monique Lhuillier Avril Coupe Glass
​Chester Brushed Candleholders
​Turkey Place Card Holders
​
This client has an amazing Mackenzie-Childs collection that she wanted to incorporate so we found the perfect napkin and other pieces to coordinate. So cute! 

Resources:
Hammered Copper Charger--Pottery Barn
Waterbury Leaves Dinner Plate--Pier 1
Pumpkin Bowl--Pottery Barn
Teal Velvet Placemat--Pier 1
Buffalo Check Napkin--Pier 1
​Gold Rimmed Wine Glasses--similar here
Checkerboard Pumpkins--Mackenzie-Childs


Our last table is more on the eclectic side, after all, that is what we do best! Don't you just love that pop of teal?! Oh and those amethyst glasses. So in love with this table. 

Resources:
​Rustic Fatima Dinner Plates--World Market
Pumpkin Bowls--World Market
Jute Table Runner--World Market
Ikat Table Runner--similar here
Hurricanes--similar here
Amethyst Glasses--similar here
Glazed Salad Plates--similar here
Velvet Pumpkins--similar here

Want more tips and tricks on creating these amazing tables? Join us at our next event at West Elm Fort Worth for a Table Setting Demo, sips and snacks. More info and RSVP here! 

Shauna came back from a recent trip to New Orleans RAVING about the gumbo they had at the restaurant at the Ritz Carlton. Of course, she had to have the recipe and used her sweet southern smile to charm it out of the chef. It may be in a cookbook somewhere, we don't know. But as far as she was concerned, obtaining the recipe was a huge victory. And now, it is yours. The trick to gumbo is the roux and the stock. Don't skimp and don't rush. Serve with a loaf of crusty french bread and some salted butter and it's the perfect way to ward off these chilly nights. 

Seafood and Andouille Gumbo
Serves 10-12
1 cup all purpose flour                 
1 cup canola oil
1 lb diced andouille or smoked sausage
2 cups diced onion
½ cup diced red bell pepper
½ cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp file powder
1 tbsp chopped fresh garlic
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1 tbsp Tabasco
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
3 bay leaves
8 cups seafood or shrimp stock
1 lb crawfish tails
1 lb medium peeled shrimp
1 lb jumbo lump crab
3 cups cooked rice
1 bunch chopped parsley
1 bunch sliced green onion

• Make a roux by heating oil in a heavy bottomed cast iron pot over high heat. Whisk flour in to the hot oil. Reduce heat to medium and continue whisking until the roux turns deep brown, about 15 minutes.
• Add onions to the roux and stir. Reduce heat to medium low and continue until the roux is a dark brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add the smoked sausage and stir for 1 minute.
• Add the celery, bell peppers, onion, garlic, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Add the thyme, seafood stock and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and skim off the fat.
• Add Worcestershire, file powder and Tabasco. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 45 minutes, continuing to skim the fat off the top Add seafood and cook for 10 minutes.
• Remove the bay leaves and serve over rice, garnish with parsley and green onions.

We recently received a Fall 2018 Preview catalog from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and let me say, we've already got several pages dog-eared. With a collection named "Modern Bohemian" (excuse me, have we met?) inspired by free-spirited, unconventional looks, it is right up our alley. Saturated luxe velvets, textured neutrals, bold patterns and warm metallics all give us the warmth of fall with just a hint of a vintage vibe. Here are some of our favorites. 

To see these and more in person, check out the Fall 2018 Preview Party at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Fort Worth tonight, 8/16/18 from 5-8. Plus enter to win a Bellini Media Console!
This post contains affiliate links.