Stuffing

Now that it is November, my thoughts have turned to Thanksgiving. The single best item from Mom's Thanksgiving is her stuffing. I know someone who is happy just to eat a plate of stuffing all on its own. The batch of stuffing that I made for this post disappeared so quickly that I never got a second serving.

Thanksgiving is a holiday when the food takes center stage. I remember not eating all day on Thanksgiving in anticipation of the feast. The smells of the turkey, stuffing, pies, and other goodies cooking all day made me so hungry, but I would resist the temptation to eat knowing that the dinner would be delicious.

On Thanksgiving morning, the stuffing was the first thing that Mom made so that it could be stuffed into the turkey. Whoever was around would get recruited to help tear up the bread after it was toasted. Mom would toast the bread on cookie sheets in the oven. Each time a pan would come out, we would happily tear the bread into pieces. When there wasn't bread to tear, Mom would put us to work peeling apples for the pie (a post for another day). Mom used a large stock pot to mix up the stuffing because that was the largest container available and it is helpful to have a large container. Mom always managed to get all the stuffing into the bird. I often make a smaller bird, so I end up cooking some of the stuffing separately in a baking dish. Despite the name "stuffing," this recipe easily cooks up in a dish without being stuffed into a bird.

This stuffing recipe is always the best stuffing to me. I have tasted other stuffing recipes, but this one tastes the best to me. Maybe it is because it is the stuffing that I grew up with or maybe the flavors are just right, but to me nothing compares.

Old Fashioned Sage and Celery Stuffing

• 1 bunch of celery, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 cup margarine
• 3 bullion cubes
• 1 1/2 loaves of bread
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp pepper

Saute the celery and onion in margarine and bullion, until tender. Meanwhile, toast the bread and tear it into small cubes. Add the salt, sage, poultry seasoning and pepper. Add the celery and onion to the bread mixture. Stir to evenly combine and add just enough water to moisten (about 1/2 to 1 cup).

The stuffing can be cooked in the cavity of a turkey. Or, place the stuffing in a baking dish and cook on 375 for 30 minutes.