Maxine's Turkey Dressing

I'm going to have to ask for your forgiveness here for two reasons. But then hopefully I can give you a recipe that should more than make up for my blogging transgressions.

The first thing I need forgiveness for is these photos.  They are not appetizing.  The reason behind this is also two-fold.  Stuffing/Dressing, very much like chocolate dough, is not an appetizing thing to photograph, at least not for an mature photographer like myself.  It either ends like it came out of the back end of a donkey or the front end of a dog.  In other words, not pretty.  Secondly, these pictures were taken with my good, old, trust Sony Cybershot, which has since given up it's life.  (It will always be loved, never forgotten).  Good little camera, but luckily I do have better now.  And this leads me to the second reason I am apologizing.

This recipe is just short of a year old.  Eek.  I'm sorry, I really am.  But really, who wants a dressing recipe after Thanksgiving?  Especially one that involves giblets...  If it makes you feel any better, it's been driving me nuts that I haven't been able to share this with you for almost a year.  But, finally, the magically, wonderful time that is known as Thanksgiving is here.  And here is the dressing that you should make.  And should you feel the need to thank me afterwards, well, I won't turn it down.

It has been a year since I've tasted this dish, but I do remember some things.  To start out with, it is delicious.  I am not a fan of Stove Top, and if you aren't either, than this is the dressing for you.  Also, this will take some time, not much, but enough to stress you if you're reading the recipe for the first time on Thanksgiving day.  Read the recipe once or twice before the grand day; it will help a lot.  Then just make sure you budget your time as needed.  Last thing, it is totally ok to be afraid of giblets.  I was and I'm pretty sure I still am.  Hopefully, you have a wonderful mother like mine to walk you through handling them and tell you not to freak out because they look funny and you have to stick you hand up a bird's yoohoo to get them.  And hopefully that wonderful mother makes you do it too, because that's a girl-turned-woman kind of moment right there.

Don't wuss out.  Stick your hand up the bird and grab the damn giblets.

(That is by far my favorite sentence ever on this blog).

This has been pasted in the BGCB since last November.  It is tried, it is true, and if you still need a dressing for your table this Thursday, well, this is it.  Enjoy!  And good luck with the giblets.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Maxine's Turkey Dressing
From BA November 2011 issue

I normally type each recipe, especially the directions, in my own words, to show you how I interrupted them, what I did, etc.  Since it's been about a year since I've made it, I don't really remember any of the specifics.  Therefore, below is Bon Appetit's recipe, word for word, from their website.  The link is below the title.  Therefore, all credit goes to them.


1 bag turkey giblets
1 turkey neck
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped, divided
1/2 cup celery leaves
3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/3 cup leaves
8 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, plus more
1 pound breakfast sausage, casing removed
1 12-oz. bag Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine giblets (reserve liver), neck, 1 chopped celery stalk, celery leaves, parsley sprigs, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a saucepan. Add 6 cups of water; bring to a boil. Lower heat; simmer for 30 minutes. Add liver; simmer until broth measures 4 cups, about 30 minutes longer. Strain; reserve broth. Pick meat from neck and chop giblets; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 2-qt. baking dish. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Chop parsley leaves and remaining celery in a processor. Add neck meat, giblets, and sausage; pulse just to combine. Transfer to a large bowl; add stuffing mix. Add turkey broth by 1/2 cupfuls, mixing until moist but not wet. Season with salt and pepper; transfer to prepared baking dish.

Cover dish with foil. Bake until heated through, about 40 mintues. Uncover dot with butter and bake until browned, about 20 minutes longer.