Category: Side dishes

Jerri’s Turkey Dressing

As I may have mentioned before, we always have roast turkey for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. The day before the big day, Jerri bakes the pumpkin pie, makes the cranberry sauce and prepares the ingredients for the turkey dressing. Sometimes I help out by making the pie crust or chopping things for the dressing.

When I asked for her dressing recipe, she rolled her eyes in exasperation and told me that she really did not have one. So I offered to watch and note what she does. This is not a very good idea, as I have trouble resisting the urge to make suggestions, but she agreed on the condition that I keep my mouth shut.

The quantities listed below can be modified to suit your taste, but my advice is that you follow her recipe the first time you make the dressing and adjust proportions when you make it again. Commercial dressing mixes are certainly edible, but the one you make for your table will end up tasting better, though you may need to make a couple of batches until you balance everything to your taste.

INGREDIENTS:

20 slices bread
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
3 T butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Dash of allspice
Dash of cloves
2 tsp. rubbed sage
1 can chicken broth
1 bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup water

PROCEDURE:

Dry the bread slices in a warm oven for an hour or two, then cut the bread into half inch cubes. Dissolve the bouillon cube in a cup of hot water. Set the bouillon aside to cool.

Clean and chop the onion and celery into an eighth to quarter inch dice. Melt the butter in a skillet and cook the onion and celery over low heat until they are soft but not browned. If you are preparing the ingredients a day in advance, refrigerate the onions and celery and warm them before you add them to the bread cubes.

In a large mixing bowl, pour the bouillon and a cup of broth on the bread cubes. Sprinkle on the salt and spices. Toss with your hands and a cooking spoon. Add extra broth or water until the bread is moistened but not mushy. If you are going to stuff the turkey, you should have rubbed some salt inside the cavity. Fill the cavity with dressing and the remainder in an ungreased baking dish or put all the dressing into the dish if you prefer not to stuff the bird.

About 45 minutes before the turkey is done, put the baking dish with the dressing in the oven. Cook until it has browned on top and is firm.

NOTE: Bread slices differ in size. Twenty slices of a standard loaf of commercial white cut into half inch cubes produce about twelve cups, but you may want to use a different variety of bread. Just make sure that you have about twelve cups of cubes when you add the spices and liquids.

Mushroom Cheese Canapés

This recipe came about years ago because a local grocery had a “Manager’s Special” on sliced fresh mushrooms. After two mornings of mushroom and cheese scrambled eggs, it was obvious that I had to do something with the rest of those fungi.

I decided to try combining some ideas from other recipes to make my own version of a cheese and mushroom canapé. Success! They disappeared before the first glasses of wine were emptied! Once when we served them, a friend who happens to be a very good cook asked for the recipe, so you may want to try these too.

They are really easy to make and eat.

INGREDIENTS:

8 to 10 slices French bread, depending on size
4 ounces chopped mushrooms
1 T butter
1/16 tsp. powdered garlic
1/16 tsp. salt
3/4 cup French fried onions
1 – 1 1/2 T mayonnaise or miracle whip
3/4 – 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 – 1 tsp. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 – 1 tsp. dried or fresh chopped parsley

PROCEDURE:

Move a rack to the top position and preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Grate a generous three-quarters of a cup of good sharp cheddar cheese. Clean and chop the mushrooms into a quarter to half-inch dice. Cut and toast eight to ten half-inch thick slices of French bread.

Arrange the slices of toast on a baking sheet. Over medium heat, melt a tablespoon of butter in a small skillet and braise the chopped mushrooms until they start to turn golden. Add a dash of garlic powder and salt to the mushrooms while they are cooking.

Turn the heat to low and stir the onion rings, mayonnaise, cheese and Worcestershire sauce into the mushroom and onion mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and spread the mixture on the toasted bread slices. Dust them with parmesan cheese and dried or fresh chopped parsley.

Bake in a hot oven on an upper rack four to five minutes until the mushroom mixture is just beginning to brown. Serve the warm slices whole or cut in halves or quarters.

NOTE: You can make these canapés ahead of time and bake them when your guests arrive. You may need to increase the baking time by two or three minutes if the slices are cold when you put them in the oven.