SC - OOP harvest dressing (was reference help)

[Vicki Strassburg Eldredge]

LYN M PARKINSON wrote:

> That cherry/nut recipe sounds interesting.  I'm a traditionalist for the
> Thanksgiving turkey, even if it gets cooked a week late because of family
> snafus, but I think I'd like to try it in a roasting chicken I've got--or
> with pork-- if you'd care to share.  Do you have a smoker for your
> chicken, or have you got some nifty way to do it without special,
> expensive equiptment?

I am lucky enough to have a smoker. In the past, though, I have successfully
used those cheap little Weber barbeques that look like a UFO on wheels. It was
when I burned out the bottom from use that I invested in a "real" smoker with
actual trays to put the water and the coals. (in the divorce, there was actually
almost a custody battle over it and the Bernina sewing machine!)

Anyway, the harvest stuffing is one of the most wonderful things I've ever
prepared! And it's done quite a bit differently than the broccoli/mushroom
recipe I posted a week ago! But it *is* greatly enhanced and changed from the
original.

>From _The Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book_ tenth edition, 1989 ISBN
0-696-00012-1, page 323 (you know - the red/white gingham cookbook):

1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 cups dried bread cubes
2 cups finely chopped peeled apple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth

In a large skillet, cook carrots, celery and onion in butter until tender. Stir
in nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In a bowl combine bread
cubes, apples, walnuts and wheat germ. Add carrot mixture. Drizzle with enough
broth to moisten, tossing lightly. Ise to stuff one 8 to 10 pound turkey. Makes
8 to 10 servings.

Now my version. Eliminate the wheat germ and add some other goodies. Here:

1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon chopped mint
8 cups dried bread cubes
1 cup finely chopped peeled apple
1 cup pitted cherries
1/2 cup chopped peaches
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth

To create the bread cubes, take day old bread and break into 1/2-inch pieces.
(or use fresh bread and cut it into pieces.) Spread on a cookie sheet and spray
a fine mist of water over the top. Sprinkle herbs on top of the bread (basil,
oregano, rosemary mostly). Place in the oven on really low for a couple of
hours. Toss the cubes lightly every so often. (The water makes the herbs stick
to the bread better than anything else I've found and it also makes it a bit
crustier as it dries.)

Follow the rest of the recipe. I don't use as much of the broth if I'm cooking
the fowl in the oven. And I use a bit more if I'm smoking it, or if I'm not
cooking it in the bird at all. And if I'm feeling adventurous, I'll through in a
cup of chopped sausage. If I do that, I'll also add 1/2 teaspoon sage.

~ Me (vicki, maedb, taltos)
http://www.primenet.com/~taltos


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