Do turkeys come in sleighs? Or are the brought by storks? Can’t remember.
Well, I guess next week there will be thanks given for so many things, but not a lot for millions in the USA who feel they are on a dangerous path with the new leadership. Progress on climate change, funds for childrens’ causes, trade agreements with our neighbors on the planet, not to mention human kindness and decency toward all fellow anthros, all are under scrutiny and could possibly be eliminated by a team that is in disarray already. The unfolding of this moment in history will, no doubt, surprise us all.
But enough of this.
Let’s talk turkey. Mama’s mama was an amazing cook and her turkey stuffing was given as gifts to friends who asked for that in lieu of presents. I did a blog on this I 2014 and repeated it again around Thanksgiving 2015, and I am going to repeat it today, so that if you are going to tackle a turkey, you might find this recipe will make it easier on you.
DRESSING UP ON TURKEY DAY
Hey, folks, I’m naked here…DO something!
Well, here in Roma, there is no celebration of pilgrims or turkey or Indians or corn or stuffing or pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce or mashed potatoes and gravy—you get my drift? But I’m repeating a blog of Turkey Day last year because the dressing is so good and you might need a good one for Thursday.
I try to help mama when she makes the dressing, because she makes it two days ahead so that the cornbread is a bit stale and that makes the dressing hold its integrity (read: not get soggy), and I myow really loudly when I smell that the cornbread is done. Works every time. The smell of cornbread baking could tame a Jack Russell!
2 cups yellow corn meal
1 cup flour
2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk, milk or yogurt
4 tablespoons melted butter or extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs, beaten
Preheat oven to 185C or 400°F.
Butter a 9-inch baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine everything except the milk, butter or olive oil, and eggs.
Combine the milk, butter and eggs and stir into the cornmeal mix, just until moistened.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and firm.
Alternative method: Heat a large iron skillet and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in it. When it is bubbling, pour the batter into the skillet and immediately transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. This gives the cornbread a nice crispy bottom for your dressing.
Chop your onions finer than these!
Break up the day-old cornbread in 1-inch pieces into a large bowl. Add 2 cups each of sautéed sweet onion and celery, chopped fine, a handful of chopped almonds (or hazelnuts or walnuts), a small bunch of fresh sage, chopped fine, 2 garlic cloves, chopped fine and a tablespoon of toasted chili powder. Moisten the mix with 4 cups chicken broth, 4 tablespoons of melted butter or olive oil, and just before stuffing the turkey, stir in 3 eggs, beaten well.
Stuff the bird but not too tight, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Make a ‘tent’ of aluminum foil and let it rest on the turkey breast while baking until the last 20 minutes. Roast the bird at 15 minutes to the pound at 325 F or 175 C until the leg wiggles easily. Baste with chicken broth and white wine to keep the bird moist. Mama makes the broth from the giblets inside the bird (if there are any!) and then chops them up for me later…num, num.
Oh, pooh. I think this year they are going out!
Damn. The door just slammed! Maybe they’ll bring back the gizzards, if not the bird!
Congrats to Dezi and Raena and their mommy for winning the award you see here.
Mom rarely cooks a turkey because it is just Dad and her. Sometimes she does Cornish Hens. She has two different stuffing recipes she uses. She makes delicious from scratch cornbread but has never made cornbread stuffing. Sorry your peeps are going out to eat, Loulou. XOCK, Lily Olivia Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
Well, mama is taking the stuffing, a tarte tatin, red lipstick pepper jelly and bread. A friend sent a new way to do turkey and it’s FANTASTIC. Will publish.
Loulou, I am laughing OUT LOUD again at your antics (and those expressions) – and drooling over the stuffing recipe!! OMG – I will have to convince Maman to do that. Won’t be hard, since she’s already made a pdf of the newsletter………..
BUT you have it all wrong on where turkeys come from!! They come from Picard. And before that, the Easter Bunny lays eggs in the spring and by fall the turkeys have already popped out of their eggs and after all the hormones and being stuffed with kibbles, they become YUUUUGE. But your probably going to have an organic, fermier one, so maybe I’ve got that wrong. Sometimes I jump to conclusions when it comes to edibles.
The birds in Italy are INCREDIBLE. Better than any we have cooked, who knows why. But tender and juicy and very Thanksgivingy.
Stuffing/dressing is my FAVORITE holiday food! I love that your recipe uses lots of onions and cornbread!!! Thank you for sharing it … I will definitely try it. Looking good, Loulou … as always!
OOOhhh, bon appetite, mama cat.
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I usually buy bagged Pepperidge Farm conrbread stuffing. I hope I am ambitious enough to make this one.
That one is not bad at all. Just add some grilled almonds and chili powder and butter and an egg or two and knock it up a notch.
Oh, Loulou, you have to have some of their dinner – the part cats can eat. We hope they come home with some noms for you. We don’t expect Jan to share with us. As we posted today, she doesn’t even bring us crumbs. Never mind that we could starve to death without them!
Oy, you poor babies…of course you will starve without the perfectly divided with sharp knife crumb your mama did not bring you. YOU GUYS DON’T KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO HAVE JAN!!! And I hope you are getting her holiday gift together, TO BE MADE BY ALL OF YOU PTICHING IN!
Oh LouLou, you are as always lookin’ gawjus. Long ago mommy read dat stuffin’ da bird wasn’t a good idea as there was a risk of salmonella poisonin’. But she used to make a great dressin’. Least dat’s what sis Lexi said. Me’s never had mommys dressin’, we’ve never had da dough. MOL Anyways, we do hope you get some turkey, giblets and whatever else ya’ want. Altho’ fanksgivin’ started cuz of da pilgrims and such, we just celebrate cuz we are blest to have each other and a warm home. What better reason to give fanks. As fur all dat scary talk, it’s ridiculous. Those rioters and yes, they’re rioters are bein’ paid to stir up things. Peeps need to sit back and let Pres. Elect Trump take office. We are sure peeps will be surprised. He has our Countries bestest innerest at heart, and dat’s more than we can say fur obama and fur certain hillary.
Anyways, we’re sure your mommy will bring you home somethin’ delishus from her meal out. And hey, she might even get a turkey lurkey to cook just fur you. 🙂 Big hugs to all of you. Have a pawsum day.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena
No one was paid. Those protests are people who are afraid of and upset by this crude, unethical, racist who somehow hit an angry vein in some of America and used it as his campaign. I think you will be very surprised as you watch what unfolds. I hope it does not. I hope that the ethics of the American public will be stronger than what this man and his staff might let loose upon our beloved country. How can anyone see anything other than deceit in this man? Where have our values gone? It is horrifying, not just to me but to millions all around the world. Time will tell. But many, many Americans will pull together over this and be strong. Women and the gay community will fight for their hard-won rights. Racism will be fought even harder than before. The Ku Klux Klan will NOT be part of our society ever again. Freedom of speech and press will prevail. If we cannot work together with respect for one another, we shall all suffer. We did not care for either candidate, but the difference between them is evident to millions and those millions everywhere are the protestors, unpaid, and voicing their discontent with a democratic electoral system that clearly, this time, did not function.
Oh LouLou, even da mainstream biased news reported dat da protestors were paid. And da ones arrested didn’t even live in da state they were arrested in. They had answered an ad on craigslist. We are so sad ’bout da way peeps are acting over this. Clearly da system Did work and true Americans who wanted to keep those hard earned freedoms, like freedom of speech and even press, altho’ da mainstream press is controlled by a very few elitest, spoke up and said by voting for Purresident Elect Trump, dat we want a change from da socialistic government dat we were heading fur. Ya’ know ifin socialism and communism and islam are so amazin’, then why is it, dat so many peeps want to come to America? (shakes head and wipes tears from eyes) We just purray dat peeps unite and give our new Purresident a chance. Him’s no angel, but at least he’s fur America and makin’ this country great again.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena