Dressing, as for turkey or pork chops
Today I made dressing for the first time - the kind that goes with roast turkey and all that good stuff. For all the cooking I've done, especially all the Thanksgiving dinners I've helped make, it's kind of surprising I hadn't made this before (other than Stove-Top).
I had half a loaf of homemade bread to use up this weekend, and didn't feel like making french toast again, so I figured what the hell. I figured it would be good with pork chops, and I've never quite liked the "stuffed pork chops" I get at the store, even the good grocery stores. So I added a bunch of onion, thyme and purple sage from the garden, sauteed that in butter I'd made this morning, a big handful of Craisins, and tossed in a big handful of cashews at the end (no chopped dates on hand, or I'd have thrown some of those in too). Rather fantastic, for a first attempt! I've now resolved there shall be no more Stove-Top except in the rare case of emergencies. And I can't immediately think of what might constitute a Stove-Top sort of emergency.
A rough sort of recipe
about 1/2 tbsp butter
about one cup of onion, minced
about 3-5 little branches of thyme (probably a total of 4 inches total length), cut into little pieces
about 2-4 purple sage leaves, cut into little pieces
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
big handful of Craisins
smaller handful of chopped, rolled dates (I wish I'd had these today!)
About 5 cups of bread pieces - I used half a loaf, sliced, dried out, then torn into small pieces, and put it into a large casserole dish.
big handful of cashews
preheat oven at about 400F. melt butter in large frying pan. sautee onion and herbs until soft. add the Craisins & dates. add the chicken stock and stir just long enough to heat through. pour all over the bread pieces. toss till coated. add cashews, toss to mix the cashews in. bake about 20 minutes or so.
I'd thought the amount of chicken stock for how little bread I actually had would be too much, but I think next time I might add even more. Or bake it at a lower temperature. I'm definitely glad I didn't have it in the oven broiling along with the pork chops.
I had half a loaf of homemade bread to use up this weekend, and didn't feel like making french toast again, so I figured what the hell. I figured it would be good with pork chops, and I've never quite liked the "stuffed pork chops" I get at the store, even the good grocery stores. So I added a bunch of onion, thyme and purple sage from the garden, sauteed that in butter I'd made this morning, a big handful of Craisins, and tossed in a big handful of cashews at the end (no chopped dates on hand, or I'd have thrown some of those in too). Rather fantastic, for a first attempt! I've now resolved there shall be no more Stove-Top except in the rare case of emergencies. And I can't immediately think of what might constitute a Stove-Top sort of emergency.
A rough sort of recipe
about 1/2 tbsp butter
about one cup of onion, minced
about 3-5 little branches of thyme (probably a total of 4 inches total length), cut into little pieces
about 2-4 purple sage leaves, cut into little pieces
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
big handful of Craisins
smaller handful of chopped, rolled dates (I wish I'd had these today!)
About 5 cups of bread pieces - I used half a loaf, sliced, dried out, then torn into small pieces, and put it into a large casserole dish.
big handful of cashews
preheat oven at about 400F. melt butter in large frying pan. sautee onion and herbs until soft. add the Craisins & dates. add the chicken stock and stir just long enough to heat through. pour all over the bread pieces. toss till coated. add cashews, toss to mix the cashews in. bake about 20 minutes or so.
I'd thought the amount of chicken stock for how little bread I actually had would be too much, but I think next time I might add even more. Or bake it at a lower temperature. I'm definitely glad I didn't have it in the oven broiling along with the pork chops.