Do you use cornbread or white bread? Is it called stuffing or dressing? Ah yes, it’s that time of year again! This delicious debate is making waves in kitchens all across the country and we just love hearing what you folks have to say!
The gals in the Kitchen Crew recently mixed things up a bit with a poll on the Just A Pinch Facebook page. We asked you about your favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal, and the results were overwhelming… You love STUFFING! In fact, much to our amusement we received more than twice the number of votes for ‘stuffing/dressing” than for “time spent with family.”
So what does this tell us? Stuffing is serious business and everyone has THE best secret recipe! And let me tell you, we sure are grateful that you fine cooks have been sharing your secrets to stuffing success with us here on the Club.
In fact, longtime Club member Judy Sprague won one of her first Blue Ribbons for her family’s recipe for Cornbread Dressing. “This is a tradition at our Thanksgiving Dinner each year,” says the Florence, KY cook. “Nothing like old traditional Southern cornbread dressing to complete the meal!”
Indeed, Judy’s family recipe has become quite a hit with folks far and wide! Karen Etchison of Hohenwald, TN had this to say about Judy’s dressing: “I have never been able to make cornbread dressing like my Mom. I tried this recipe on Christmas Eve [last] year and it is a keeper! Finally something that I could say was a close second to Mom’s.” Around here, that’s about as high of praise as anyone could hope for!
Now, while some of our roots are firmly planted in traditions of cornbread dressing, an equal number are definitely on Team White Bread! My own mother made her magical Thanksgiving stuffing by using bread cubes, and she is clearly not alone. Home cook Robyn Bruce of Middletown, PA grew up looking forward to her mother’s bread stuffing. “My mom is 91 years old now, but through the years – when I was a kid – the best thing about Thanksgiving was the stuffing. Hers was the best I ever ate. When I got married and started my own family, I made sure I had this recipe in my recipe box. I’ve used it all my life.”
And what makes this stuffing recipe so good? Well, aside from the tender loving care goes into each batch, this stuffing recipe boasts classic flavors and a few unexpected surprises. Oregano, poultry seasoning, onion and celery mingle with green onion and garlic to create big bursts of flavor. Robyn recommends using a combination of homemade bread cubes and prepackaged stuffing mix for the perfect finished product, one that she describes as “loaded with flavor and completely delicious.”
Now, for those who feel like taking a slight turn from the traditional, Karen Figgatt of Cross Lanes, WV is serving up her yummy Zucchini Dressing! Bound together by eggs and baking mix (instead of bread), Karen describes this fantastic dressing recipe as tasting “like the best stuffing ever!” Like Judy Sprague’s recipe, this dish is prepared completely outside of the bird. As a result, it is classified as “dressing” rather than “stuffing”. In every other respect, though, this terrific recipe really does have that same wonderful richness of classic stuffing. Oh, and it has the added bonus of a gooey topping of cheese! “[It’s] just like regular bread stuffing,” says Karen, “but is so moist and flavorful. It’s a great way to use excess zucchini from the garden, or just freeze the grated zucchini and use for future enjoyment in this dish.” Indeed, this recipe has been a big hit in the Test Kitchen and we look forward to making it a new tradition of our own.
So many of our fondest memories are linked back to the food we’ve shared with family and friends. Isn’t it amazing how easily a well-made recipe can transport you back to those simpler days? We’re grateful for these special moments, and for each of you who have shared a part of your kitchen with us.