S/O - Thanksgiving Stuffing (Dressing)

[Libby Pritchett]

I absolutely do not like stuffing. Jeff insists it's because I've never had GOOD stuffing (and there are so many different varieties, he thinks it's unfair to say that I don't like any of it when I couldn't possibly have tried them all).

So, this year, he's on a mission to make a stuffing that I'll love. He wants me to choose a recipe that sounds good to me, and he'll make it.

I have googled and there are a bazillion different ones out there.

I'm leaning toward this.

But I'd love to hear any tried and true favorite stuffing recipes if anyone is willing to share!

ETA: Traci makes a valid point... what Jeff will be cooking will be DRESSING... not cooked inside the bird.

[Traci Reed]

My dad makes the best cornbread dressing. DRESSING though, not stuffing. Eating anything that was cooked inside a bird is nasty.

[MamaBee]

My mom always makes the dressing that her mom used to make...and I'm not a fan, only because I can't stand gizzards... so a couple of years, when she wasn't able to make it to thanksgiving dinner I had to come up with a recipe... and I used this as a base...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/r...ipe/index.html

Then I add water chestnuts and chopped cranberries and it was a HUGE success by hubby's family... even Dave, who only likes stove top, loves this... Not sure what I'm going to do this year - Jake being allergic to wheat and apples... but then he never eats stuffing, anyway...

[Darcy Baldwin]

STUFFING IS EVIL. Unless you cook it outside the bird then stuff it when you present it.

Dressing, like Traci said, much much better.

[Libby Pritchett]

Ok, I should clarify... this will be DRESSING... not STUFFING. LOL I concur that anything cooked in the bird is nasty. I use the terms interchangeably even though I know they shouldn't be. My bad!

[Libby Pritchett]

Rebecca, that actually sounds good! Thanks for the recipe!

[nesser1981]

I make dressing, it's my favorite thing about Thanksgiving! LOL! My inlaws make stuffing and I don't like it. But it's not southern like my dressing.

[carrie1977]

Our friend makes a dressing made with rice and sausage. It is super yummy.

I don't like the typical stuffing or dressing. I'm not a fan of mushy bread. That's just wrong.

[dana]

i don't love dressing (or stuffing) much … my mom makes a cornbread dressing that is OK … i have a little serving … one year someone brought a rice/sausage dressing and that was good …

[monia13]

I make this one very year. I modify slightly for ex. I don't add fresh sage if I don't have on hand. Also I simplify by adding regular bread stuffing. This stuffing is always a hit in my family

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/d...ipe/index.html

[lauren grier]

I've eaten stuffing cooked inside the bird one time. ever. and i shall never repeat this cooked separately only. Moms in charge of the stuffing for tgiving, I'm cooking the bird.. I actually just realized I have no idea what she puts in it LOL. Pretty sure she puts bacon though, she puts bacon in everything for my dad.
/end the unhelpful post from la.

[YepBrook]

I don't ever put it in the turkey. But... Eh. I call it stuffing regardless. It's stuffing. Dressing just sounds wrong.

I like the PLAIN boring Pepperidge Farms herb stuffing (prepared this way) because it's what my mother has always made since I was a kid. It's one of my favorite dishes! Boring old tasty stuffing.

But, in the last 3 years I have made this deeeelicious Herb and Apple stuffing by Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa). It is so yummy. Salty and sweet and savory and a little tart. It's a stuffing masterpiece.

I still prefer the plain Pepperidge recipe better, though. It's sentimental!

[lovely1m]

I never thought of a difference between dressing and stuffing either. I just call it stuffing though clearly, I would not eat what should be call stuffing. I'm boring though, I just like plain cornbread stoffers.

[Nettio]

Originally Posted by YepBrook

I don't ever put it in the turkey. But... Eh. I call it stuffing regardless. It's stuffing. Dressing just sounds wrong.

I like the PLAIN boring Pepperidge Farms herb stuffing (prepared this way) because it's what my mother has always made since I was a kid. It's one of my favorite dishes! Boring old tasty stuffing.

But, in the last 3 years I have made this deeeelicious Herb and Apple stuffing by Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa). It is so yummy. Salty and sweet and savory and a little tart. It's a stuffing masterpiece.

I still prefer the plain Pepperidge recipe better, though. It's sentimental!

Stuffing is stuffing to me, whether it's in the bird or not. If someone asks me to pass the dressing, I'm going to be asking Ranch or Italian?

Brook, I'd been eyeing that Ina recipe earlier so I'm happy to hear it's good! My mom always makes the plain Pepperidge Farm stuffing too and while I love it, Adam doesn't. He always insists on making his mom's sausage & rice stuffing which I just find weird - stuffing shouldn't have rice in it. SO I may just end up making my own stuffing and we'll just have two, haha.

[YepBrook]

Originally Posted by Nettio

Stuffing is stuffing to me, whether it's in the bird or not. If someone asks me to pass the dressing, I'm going to be asking Ranch or Italian?

Brook, I'd been eyeing that Ina recipe earlier so I'm happy to hear it's good! My mom always makes the plain Pepperidge Farm stuffing too and while I love it, Adam doesn't. He always insists on making his mom's sausage & rice stuffing which I just find weird - stuffing shouldn't have rice in it. SO I may just end up making my own stuffing and we'll just have two, haha.

Now that you mention sausage...
I realize that I made this one of Ina's on Thanksgiving: Sausage and Herb Stuffing. It is basically the same thing as the apple & herb recipe, but the guys like it better because of the sausage. The other one without sausage I made on Christmas Day? Or Easter? Can't remember. They are both very very good.

The sausage in it definitely makes it savory, which seems like sausage & rice stuffing is like (blech... rice). Maybe Adam will like it???

If you make it, I have a few tweaks. I peel the apples because the peels add a weird tough texture I don't like. I also use 1 granny smith and 1 honeycrisp (2 granny smith was just way too tart for me). And, keep some extra chicken stock on hand because you might need to moisten it up, it tends to be a dryer stuffing recipe.

[Nettio]

Oh I'm sure he'd love the sausage part since that's what he loves most about his mom's recipe. But I've been having issues with meat lately which is why I was intrigued by the herb and apple one since it had no meat in it. It's only going to be the two of us so if it sucks, oh well.

[NeverendingJen]

I'm on team libby, haha. Stuffing/dressing sucks. I'll eat it, but I don't like it. We're doing apple sage stuffing here.

[carrie1977]

Originally Posted by NeverendingJen

I'm on team libby, haha. Stuffing/dressing sucks. I'll eat it, but I don't like it. We're doing apple sage stuffing here.

Why would you torture yourself that way?! LOL

[scrapsuzy]

I've not seen this said yet, but the difference between stuffing and dressing is not really about whether it is cooked in the bird or not. Dressing is kinda dense in a pan, like a 9x13, and often cut in squares. Stuffing is looser, and can be served in bowl.

I like them both, but really love dressing. In fact, I've been known to skip the turkey and just eat the dressing.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Stuffing and dressing are two really different things. We have dressing...made from cornbread, chicken stock, green onions, eggs, shredded chicken breasts and seasonings. My mom adds some crumbled biscuits if it's too soupy before she cooks it. We cook it in a 9x13 pan. It's delicious. Stuffing is that stuff that comes in a box lol

[NeverendingJen]

Originally Posted by carrie1977

Why would you torture yourself that way?! LOL

the THING I married loves that crap :/ he eats my sweet potatoes, I eat the nasty crap.

[carrie1977]

Bleh to sweet potatoes, too. I'd xnay them both.

[DawnMarch]

I call it stuffing, even if it's not stuffed. I grew up not liking stuffing -- my mom's had celery in it and was that kinda thick, gooey, wet bread kinda stuffing. ICK. She is a good cook but that was not her best recipe. Nowadays, I love the cornbread kinda "dressings" -- all the better if they involve sausage and NO CELERY.

[AmberK]

Dressing is my absolute favorite part of thanksgiving and I use my grannys dressing and make it from scratch. Its a simple cornbread dressing and its sooooo yummy! It has some celery, green onions, eggs and a few seasonings. I chop up the celery and onions because I dont like to crunch into them but I do like the flavor it brings.

Putting apples in cornbread dressing just seems WRONG!

[YepBrook]

I don't like corn bread stuffing... The kind I make with herbs and apples is sourdough bread stuffing.

[DeepGirl]

Well, in my country there is nothing bad about stuffing - stuffed chicken i very popular and sooo yummy!

The stuffing is usually made of baguettes soaked in milk, with added butter, parsley, nutmeg and bacon. Some may add liver, too. The stuffing is so yummy, even better than the meat itself!

[staciahall]

My family uses this recipe from Paula Deen for dressing (absolutely no stuffing)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/p...ipe/index.html

We also add grated/chopped carrots for color and boiled/grated eggs in ours. I also don't use her actual cornbread recipe, either. My kids great-grandmother made awesome cornbread and I use her recipe. (I have to make two batches, one for the night before for my son to eat and one to use in the dressing). This stuff really is tasty!

[KristinCB]

You guys are making me feel like i'm a horrible human being.. haha. I don't care. I like my stuffing/dressing and i like it in the bird :O 1-2 times a year isn't going to kill me any faster than anything else :P

make it simple.. I don't like having anything in it besides the bread,seasoning (poultry seasoning is a must!),onions,butter

I do like having a mix of some cooked outside the bird so there is some dryer pieces too

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by KristinCB

You guys are making me feel like i'm a horrible human being.. haha. I don't care. I like my stuffing/dressing and i like it in the bird :O 1-2 times a year isn't going to kill me any faster than anything else :P

make it simple.. I don't like having anything in it besides the bread,seasoning (poultry seasoning is a must!),onions,butter

I do like having a mix of some cooked outside the bird so there is some dryer pieces too

I'm very relieved. I LOVE stuffing inside the bird. We don't do turkey here, but stuffed chicken used to be one of my fave meals Grandma used to make. I actually loved the stuffing more than the bird itself, haha.

I don't get it why it's weird to eat stuffing if you eat the bird, but - each of us has their quibbles about what they will and won't eat, so there. :-)

Libby I hope hubby finds something you like. And if he doesn't, at least he gets more to eat, hehe. ;-)

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by DeepGirl

Well, in my country there is nothing bad about stuffing - stuffed chicken i very popular and sooo yummy!

The stuffing is usually made of baguettes soaked in milk, with added butter, parsley, nutmeg and bacon. Some may add liver, too. The stuffing is so yummy, even better than the meat itself!

Oh. You were quicker. I agree with the stuffing being better than the chicken, haha. I suppose in our part of the world some things are normal that are strange elsewhere, and vice versa, of course. It's always interesting to learn the differences. :-)

[scrapsuzy]

Stacy, I need your cornbread recipe, it sounds like!