Traditional Stuffing
On Wednesday Odd was still broken, and I was adrift … adrift in a lonely sea … alone . . . at loose ends. Ok, damn it! The devil made me do it! I decided to do a little pre-Thanksgiving cooking.
In the way of a little background, ever since dearly departed Joe died, his best buddy (Dave), and his son (Johnny), have come over to our house on Thanksgiving to make the Thanksgiving meal with Cole. The guys do all the cooking, and then, at the appointed hour, Dave’s wife and daughter join us for the meal. I will tell you more about Thanksgiving Day tomorrow — for the time being, let’s go back to me being adrift without Odd the day before Thanksgiving.
Adrifting (if this is not a word, it should be), I decided to make the traditional stuffing ahead of time. We have two stuffings on Thanksgiving — spicy and traditional. It was traditional stuffing in name only because I often changed the recipe a little from year to year, but it always includes bread and sausage. This year I found a delicious-sounding recipe that included wine and two different kinds of bread, along the Jimmy Dean sausage we always use.
Early Wednesday morning I dried the artisan bread, French bread, and corn bread in the oven and then cubed it all to the appropriate bite size. I diced onions and roasted crimini mushrooms, and I added spices, including turmeric, to my bowl. Oh, and I minced parsley! Before I put it all in oven, I made sure to put enough dressing aside to stuff the bird with the following day.
If you think this post is about another cooking failure — wrong, wrong, wrong again, dressing breath! My stuffing came out of the oven golden brown and smelling divine, at about the time my 16-year-old burst in the door from school.
Mom that smells good. What is it?
I made the traditional stuffing for tomorrow.
Why?
Oh, I had a little time and just thought I would help out.
Mom, Uncle Dave and I always make the dressing to stuff the bird.
Well, I know, but you can still stuff the bird. Look, I made extra bird stuffing. (I am sensing a problem….call it Mom’s Intuition)
(Teenage whine) Mom, you are doing everything for Thanksgiving.
Cole, I made one dressing. There is still a lot of cooking left to do — spicy dressing, mashed potatoes, turnips, green bean casserole, Brussels sprouts, corn, cranberry sauce, carrots, a couple of drips … (reasoning with a teen? worth a try…)
Mom, you made the stuffing. It’s an important part of Thanksgiving. (reasoning with a teen always a bad idea)
Would you like to try my stuffing? (the old sway with a taste negotiation technique. It smelled really good, and I knew my teen foodie couldn’t resist a taste.)
MOM! You completely changed the dressing! (The angst in his voice was heart wrenching)
(Consoling mom voice) No, honey, I just added a couple of things. Really, the basic ingredients are the same.
Mom, this dressing is completely different. I have never eaten this dressing before in my life. This is not traditional stuffing. It has apples and mushrooms. You did not use Wonder bread, and (taking another bite) I think you added the spice turmeric. This is not our traditional dressing.
(How can I argue with a kid who can identify the spice turmeric when I had never heard of it before? I couldn’t.)
FINE. GO to the store NOW and buy a loaf of Wonder Bread and make the TRADITIONAL stuffing tomorrow with Dave.
No, Mom, it’s fine. This stuffing is ok. It’s just not traditional dressing, and Uncle Dave and I didn’t make it; but it’s ok.
(Reality has set in. It is the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving. Parking space will be non-existent, long lines … awww. )
GO … TO … STORE. Wonder Bread. NOW! (I’m not falling for the old “It’s ok Mom, we can eat your stuffing” trick when I’m still hearing about last year’s lopsided Christmas tree)
Twenty minutes later he came home with his loaf of Wonder Bread and made his final point.
Mom you have known me my whole life, right?
Just about.
Well then, you should know that I hate change. I was the kid who refused to change chairs in first and second grade, remember.
I do.
Then why in the world would you think that you could just drop a new stuffing into Thanksgiving.
Lost my mind I guess. I was adrift.
Today we were rehashing Thanksgiving when I asked Cole which Thanksgiving food was his favorite. He put his arm around me and said, “Traditional stuffing.”
Non-traditional dressing: $12
Traditional dressing: $5
Not ruining Thanksgiving: priceless.
What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? Odd Loves Company!
♥
P.S. Yes the Odd Header is odd and not in a good way. Working on it. Life is just full of “always somethings” but fortunately this “something” should be easy to fix.
Without notice you changed the Thanksgiving dressing? Whoa. That’s big. Glad you worked it out before the big day! My sis as always fixed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. I stuffed myself yesterday and again today with the left-overs I brought home. Thanksgiving is great but I really like the day after Thanksgiving.
Turkey is my favorite Thanksgiving food smothered in gravy with a little mashed or sweet potato on the fork.
El Morno tomorrow or are we still on Holiday Hiatus???
We are on but I am taking Sunday off :-D. Glad you had your turkey dinners and your sis is a gem for sending you home with leftovers! I always eat more the second day!
I’m glad you mended your evil ways in the nice of time, came to shore and saved Thanksgiving! My kids are the same they want each holiday to be exactly as they remember it and 4 of them remember it just a bit differently from year to year so times it makes for an interesting holiday.
My favorite dish is the sweet potatoes with marshmallows. The marshmallows should ba little brunt. So yummy.
Since I broke my hand, our tradition went poof. After 29 years, we weren’t all together. Where we landed was lovely, taught my husband how to make my stuffing, turnips and turkey. My adult children squared their shoulders, acted civil, celebrated the meaning of the day, and all was well. Separately, they let me know that next year our tradition will resume, no matter what. Tradition …
Poor JJ you have had such a rough start to the Merry Season. I am glad your grown children indulged you and your DH cooked his heart out. A toast to TRADITION seasoned with just a bit of flexibility?
TTFN
P.S. I added the Y to they…I don’t want Odd to add any stress to your life ^ ♥
God, thanks for having my back!
You changed the stuffing? How could you! Adrifting is no excuse. Poor Cole I do hope he was not to traumatized. I’m sure your willingness to stuff the new and revert to tradition will help him heal but still the shock! (hear me roll with laughter on the floor)
Favorite Food? Prime rib maybe. We haven’t had a traditional Thanksgiving in years. Growing up I loved the mashed potatoes.
Adrift is a fine excuse!! Poor Cole indeed. You don’t even follow the Thanksgiving menu rules! No comment from you!
Prime rib does sound yummy tho? I bet you eat out too!
Oh, boy, does Cole ever sound like Domer — he, too, hates change. Of any kind. And here I thought I’d raised him to be flexible, hah! All I can do is pray — fervently — that he chooses wisely in the areas of career and spouse, for I fear changes in those arenas would be devastating! Favorite Thanksgiving food is pumpkin pie — I know some people (like Domer!) hate it, but I LOVE it!
I just hate kids sometimes. Here is a present for you!
Ok A present for you. If you like pumpkin I suspect you will really like this dip. I made it at Thanksgiving and everyone fell face first into it except Cole and I who thought it was okay (maybe because I am not a fan of gingersnaps) but everyone else loved it.
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin pie filling (pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2-1 teaspoon ground ginger
apple, slices
gingersnaps
Directions:
1 Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
2 Add pie filling, cinnamon, and ginger, beating well.
3 Cover and chill 8 hours.
4 Serve with gingersnaps and apple slices.
It is not a pioneer women recipe 😀 makes about 3 cups.
My favorite Thanksgiving food? Lobster! Really it’s turkey and gravy.
What can I say, like Mother, like son!
M
I am cursed.
♥
my family’s bread stuffing is my favorite, you know…….the traditional bread stuffing! i enjoy the entire thanksgiving meal so much that this would be my *last meal* if it ever came to that.
I hope it doesn’t but I agree it is a pretty terrific meal. Yes, Yes, the “traditional stuffing.” Sheesh.
Adrifting should definitely be a word!
Thank you. Who shall we petition?
This cracks me up!
Some day you too will have a teen, dearie, so keep your sense of humor finally tuned! HEHEHEH.