Thanksgiving is a holiday enjoyed for its simplicity of gathering around a seasonal feast and giving thanks. It’s a time when tried-and-true family recipes nourish a full-bellied feeling, a time to stay cozy by the fire after getting stuffed all day with good food. Whether yours calls it stuffing, dressing or filling, each family seems to have their own take on the Thanksgiving tradition.
If your family is like mine, each side has their version of this staple dish. I’ll never forget my first holidays being married and missing my family’s traditions, but I also for the first time tried a stuffing I loved when my father-in-law made his fruit and nut version. While it’s fun to add your own traditions to the table, it’s equally important to preserve family history in the recipes passed down generation after generation.
Pap Pap’s Fruit and Walnut Stuffing
Recipe by Robert Heany
Serves 8-12
This recipe is just one version my husband’s family makes. My husband and mother-in-law prefer her side of the family’s filling recipe, which is Pennsylvania German style with potatoes, bread, onions and green peppers.
Ingredients:
¾ cup raisins or dried currants
¾ cup chopped dates
¾ cup dried apricots
¾ cup dried cherries
Rum, brandy or whiskey
3 cups dried cornbread cubes
3 cups dried white bread cubes
3 cups dried wheat or rye bread cubes
1 cup onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
½ cup green pepper, diced
¾ cups fennel or celery, diced
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup chicken livers or sausage, cooked and chopped (optional)
3 tablespoons fresh sage, minced, or 1 tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 sticks butter, melted
3-4 cups stock, warmed
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a non-metallic bowl, cover dried fruits with just enough rum, brandy or whiskey and allow to soak four hours or overnight.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the macerated fruit and liquor, bread cubes, onion, garlic, green pepper, fennel or celery, walnuts, chopped liver/sausage (optional), herbs, salt and pepper.
4. Pour the melted butter and stock over the mixture and fold gently but thoroughly. Note: Begin with 3 cups of stock and add more as needed. Mixture should be somewhat wet.
5. Grease or butter a large baking dish. Spoon the stuffing mixture into the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes covered, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until browned.
Granny’s Oyster Dressing
Recipe by Kitty Childers
Serves 8-12
My granny says this recipe came from grandmothers on both sides of the family. It was likely a luxury to have this seafood stuffing for the holiday, she says. My dad and Papaw love raw oysters and have a tradition of tasting the dressing before it goes in the oven. The night before Thanksgiving, my dad visits just for a spoonful (or two). The coveted spoonfuls, of course, come from the turkey on Thanksgiving day.
Ingredients:
1 ½ medium onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 4-ounce stick butter
1 14-ounce package stuffing mix (seasoned or unseasoned to preference)
4 slices day-old bread
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons course-ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons sage
1 pint fresh oysters (I prefer to crush them up a little bit, but you can leave them whole
1 egg
Approximately 32 ounces broth (from turkey giblets or store-bought turkey broth)
Directions:
1. In a small sauce pan, sauté onions and celery in butter until translucent and soft.
2. Grease a 9-x-11-inch baking dish with butter.
3. In a large bowl, combine stuffing mixture, bread, salt, pepper, sage, oysters and brine with egg, onion and celery mixture. Add broth, folding gently.
4. Spread evenly in greased pan and bake at 350° F for 45 minutes.
