"Yankee" Dressing
I live in the south. But I'm a transplant. Though my southern roots have started to sprout and go deep, there are some aspects of my mid-western upbringing that I can't seem to shake. My holiday dressing is one of them. My whole life my family ate this one type of dressing. I never knew anything different.
I had never had what Southerners consider dressing until I moved down here. The way it's made in the south is considered cornbread dressing. Stale cornbread is turned into a sand-type mixture, mixed with chicken or turkey and seasonings, and covered with broth until it's all absorbed by the cornbread, and then baked. And it's delicious. But it's not better than my family's way.
A dear friend of mine, Marla, had a taste of my dressing at a Christmas party one time and loved it so much she called me up and asked if she could order a pan of "that yankee dressing."
And though I don't consider myself a Yankee (the south hasn't rid me completely of my mid-west "niceness"), I'll keep making this dressing. And if you're looking for a way to shake things up this year, you can, too.
Serves 10-12 as a side dish
8 Cups of torn bread
(I use italian loaves, or baguettes, but old sliced bread will work too)
1 LB of ground pork sausage
2 small white onions, diced
1 small bunch of celery, with leaves, diced
2 apples, dices
4 garlic cloves, minced
Large handful of fresh Sage, chopped
32 oz Chicken Broth
2 Eggs, beaten
Salt, Pepper
Take your loaves or slices of bread, and tear them into bite-size pieces. Cover loosely with a towel and allow to sit overnight to go stale and harden. If you're short on time, put bread pieces on a baking sheet and bake in a 250 degree oven for 60-90 minutes until crispy. Let cool.
Add some oil or butter to a large saute pan and begin to brown your sausage, while your sausage is cooking, add the onion, celery and sage to the pan. Season liberally with salt and pepper. When the onions and celery are cooked and translucent, add your apples and garlic to the mixture, and cook just until apples are softened, and garlic is fragrant, about 8 minutes. Let mixture cool.
In a large bowl, toss your bread and sausage mixture together. Taste now for seasoning levels.
In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs with a couple cups of the chicken broth. Pour this over bread mixture and toss. Add remaining chicken broth and toss, allowing mixture to sit and rest until the bread has absorbed all the liquid.
Grease a large casserole dish with butter, and transfer your dressing mixture to the dish. Spray the backside of a piece of foil with cooking spray and cover your dish.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil, and return dressing to the oven, until top is browned, and dressing has set, 10-20 minutes more.
Enjoy!
