It seems that everyone has their own "family/favourite" dressing recipe. My Mom's dressing recipe was probably handed down from her mom and so on. In fact, there never was a "written down" recipe - she just knew how to make it and I was lucky enough to be with her one Christmas while she was making it. I helped her cube the bread and she warned me "don't make the cubes too small" as I was cutting narrow strips. I wrote down the ingredients and approx. measurements as we went along because I wanted to add this recipe to my collection. Here is how I remember her making this tasty dressing that my family loves! There is a secret ingredient that makes this dressing taste unique and wonderful - O.K. I'll tell you - it's the cinnamon!
Mom's Turkey Dressing
Turkey Dressing (for a 10-15 pound turkey)
2 Loaves stale bread – cubed (homemade style bread that comes from our local bakery is best - as in bread that actually goes stale)
½ Cup Lard (can be substituted with oil but mom always used lard)
½ Cup Butter – heat lard first and then add the butter
Add in:
1 Tbsp. Salt
some seasoned salt
½ tsp. Cinnamon (the secret ingredient that gives it that special Mom flavour)!
Pepper
1 Cup Chopped onion
1 Cup Chopped celery
Sauté above ingredients till onion and celery are softened (not browned).
Add in:
Cubed bread – stir over low heat till bread is moistened
Add parsley (approx. 2 Tbsp. Fresh chopped parsley)
Blend together 2-3 Cups milk and 2 beaten eggs. Add this to the dressing stirring constantly. You may add a bit of water if more moisture is needed. Heat through.
Mom warned that you should stuff the turkey for immediate roasting or bake the dressing in a greased casserole dish. Dressing will go sour if not baked immediately.
I sometimes put this right into my crock pot or casserole dish and freeze it until turkey day. I then bake it in the crock pot or oven, adding some of the turkey broth to remoisten.
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It sounds exactly like my Mom's recipe! We must be related! :)
ReplyDeleteI made my mom write down approx. amounts as well, and I make it for my little family too.
Rosella, I am enjoying your blog so much, your recipes have been wonderful, so surprized that your mom's dressing has no poultry seasoning or sage, still sounds really yummy and very rich. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Years, and about the big 60...I'm not to sure about mine in February, I guess will have to take some time to ponder it...yikes! Your friend Theresa, not sure how to put my profile in, duh
ReplyDeleteHi Rosella!
ReplyDeleteI saw your name on Judy's comments and had to come over to say hello as I know a few Rosella's.
Your recipes are wonderful! I never heard of adding cinnamon to turkey dressing but I will try it next time as I love cinnamon!
Hey Rosella, my mom made this too! LOVE IT!! except she never used eggs... I will try have to try it with it.
ReplyDeleteRosella, I am intrigued with how you make your dressing in a crock pot. Do you mind giving more instructions on how you do this? Medium or High heat? How many hours? Can you hold it for a period of time on warm? I'd like to try this recipe for Christmas. Thanks for any help!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - I hope you see this. I just noticed your comment/question. I usually make the dressing ahead and then freeze it right in the crockpot till the day of the dinner. Bake in the crock pot on high (moistened with a bit of turkey or chicken broth) for about 4 hours. Then turn it to low till dinner time - approx. another 4 hours, making sure it is baked through and watching that it doesn't over bake around the edges. Give it a stir once in awhile and add more liquid if needed to prevent over browning. Good luck with it!
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