General musings

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Let’s all pause for a few moments today and remember all of the many things that we have to be grateful for.

Then, let’s enjoy a day of family, friends, football, and good food. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I’m going to take the next week off from blogging. Many folks, including yours truly, will be busy with Thanksgiving and other things, so I figured this was a good time to take a brief brief.

I’ll be back here posting again on Nov. 26. Until then, stay warm and stay safe.

I shared this in my e-newsletter this month, but I thought that I would post it here on the blog too.

Can you believe it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving dinner already? Me neither. But turkey day is fast approaching, so I thought that I would share my mom’s recipe for dressing. (Yes, we call it dressing, not stuffing.)

My mom doesn’t use exact measurements, so I’ve had to guess at this a little bit. Basically, you can use as little or as much of everything that you want in this, depending on your taste buds and how many folks you are planning on feeding.

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Mom’s Cornbread Dressing

8 cups of cornbread, crumbled into bite-size pieces (so that it resembles big chunks of breadcrumbs)

1 bunch of celery, diced into bite-size pieces

Turkey stock, to taste 

Poultry seasoning, to taste

Place the celery in some water in a small saucepan. Simmer the celery until it is just softened, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan, drain off all the excess water, and let cool.

Meanwhile, place the cornbread crumbs in a big mixing bowl. Add in the celery and enough turkey stock (start with about 1/2 cup) so that the cornbread moistens (the mixture should be about the consistency of a thick cake batter). Add poultry seasoning to taste, and mix well.

Pour the cornbread mixture into a greased baking dish with deep sides (you may need two dishes, depending on the size of your dish), and spread out until the mixture is even. Bake at 350 degrees F for about one hour, or until the top and edges are golden brown and crusty. Serve warm with turkey, cranberries, and all the fixings.

Note: If you want to make this dish vegetarian, just use vegetable stock instead of turkey stock. You can also add in shredded turkey, apples, onions, and just about anything else that you like in your dressing.

Here’s hoping that everyone has a safe and happy Halloween. Dress up, go out, and get those plastic orange pumpkins filled up with lots of candy and other treats.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

I’m taking a break from blogging so that I can get ahead on some writing deadlines and things like that. The Friday book review will post as usual, and I’ll be back here blogging on Wednesday, Aug. 1.

Until then, stay cool.