Oyster Dressing:
A slight correction - Susan is making Pumpkin Pie, the Squash Casserole mentioned in an earlier post, and the Paula Deen version of Oyster Dressing. Meredith and Connie are helping, and I’m in the basement, making CDs for Marlyce and Connie of some Christmas music Oprah Winfrey had on her show.
As to Pumpkin Pie, Susan strongly recommends that you use fresh spices (order from Penzeys or The Spice House - one family, two very good businesses that we highly recommend) and the pumpkin should be half from canned and half from fresh pumpkin. She roasts her own; for flavor, you can’t beat it.
The Squash we used this year was a locally produced particolored variant called Zephyr. Highly recommended for flavor and hardiness, let alone the unique looks. Doesn’t get bitter so quickly.
The comments on the Deen recipe that we felt might be appropriate for you if you’re using it is:
- use breakfast sausage instead of the oysters if you can’t deal with oysters. I LOVE oysters, and used to eat them raw, a trick I picked up from my Dad and Granny. However, I can’t take the risk these days of bacterial stuff, but I still love oysters. Oyster Stew is another biggie with me.
- the version in the recipe may be a little wet-to-soupy for you. When in doubt, watch the amount of liquid. I think using more of the oyster liquor would be great…
- you might find the spicing a little light. We’re not big hot-and-spicy sorts here. We use a lot of garlic and fresh black pepper, though.
- I tell Susan to leave out the celery (I hate it) and to chop the onions fine before tossing them in.
- My feeling is to add more oysters to the mix. I like lost of oysters in this.
And now, for my Mom’s old recipe, in her handwriting:
