Book Update: I finally finished a book! Good golly it’s been like 3 months. Anyway, I read the book Michael Connely’s “The Gods of Guilt”. It was a typical Michael Connely book – fun, twists and turns, fast paced. If you haven’t read one then start with “The Lincoln Lawyer”. And, no I haven’t seen the movie. But I am dying to see the new Hobbit movie!!
Recipe: I wanted to make the Thanksgiving dressing that we grew up with without the bags or boxes of preservatives. Don’t worry – it isn’t hard! It’s just old, dried out bread. You can’t screw it up. This makes a big batch and transports well to take to a dinner. It was almost all gone at the end of the day, so it was good!
Apple Raisin Dressing
serves 12
8 Tb. butter (I think you MIGHT be able to cut this in half if you want to try)
1 onion, finely chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped
2 apples, chopped (like Granny Smith or something tart)
8 cups bread cubes, crust removed and at least 1 day old
1 cup raisins (regular dark ones or golden)
1 tsp. salt
1 and 1/2 tsp. dried sage
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (or use 1 tsp. poultry seasoning instead of thyme and 1/2 tsp. sage)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
8 cups bread cubes, crust removed and at least 1 day old
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees if baking and serving immediately. In a large pot, heat the butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery and apples. Cook until soft – about 5 minutes.
2. While that cooks, place bread cubes in a 9×13 casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Back to the pot: Add raisins, salt, sage, thyme and pepper to the butter mixture. Heat up for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the broth a little at a time – start out with 1 and 3/4 cups. Stir that in and pour over your bread. If it looks like everything has been coated, hold back on the broth. If it looks dry, add a little more or reserve for serving, too. A few times I added all 2 cups of the broth and thought that it was a little too much in the end.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes covered with foil. Bake another 15 minutes uncovered.
OR After assembly, simply cover and refrigerate until ready to eat the next day. I never make this on Thanksgiving. I make it the day before in order to free up the kitchen and have a dish ready to just place in the oven.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
