The Great Dressing Debate

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. 

Image courtesy of thedomesticfront.com

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.  

Image courtesy of tasteofhome.com

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.