My grandma grew up in New Orleans and her dressing is herbaceous and buttery because of this. I've been making it for a few years myself now, so I've altered the recipe a bit, but the mix of poultry seasoning, butter and bread just makes me happy. I thought it might make you happy too.
Creole Dressing
Makes 1: 9x13 pan
1 1/2 boules of good sourdough, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped (white parts only)
1/2 cup green onions, chopped (white parts only)
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 pint of crimini mushrooms, sliced (Grandma uses oysters, I didn't grow up in New Orleans, so that's not my thing, but if it's yours, go for it)
2 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
1 stick (or 2) of unsalted butter
Salt, pepper and poultry seasoning* to taste
1-2 cups of chicken or veggie broth
Cube the bread the night before and leave it in the oven on a sheet pan to dry out overnight. If this isn't an option, you can turn the oven on the lowest temperature (mine has a 'warm' setting) and dry the bread out for an hour or two.
Think of the bread as a sponge, the more of the bread's moisture that you can remove, the more it can be filled up with butter and broth.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter your pan.
Dice and chop all of the veggies and herbs and get your biggest pot/pan ready with about 1/2 stick of butter. Start sweating the veggies, onions first, adding salt, poultry seasoning and pepper with each addition. Celery second, then mushrooms, green onions, and finally the herbs. In total, I probably end up using 1 Tbsp. of poultry seasoning, 1 tsp. of salt and a 1/2 tsp. of pepper. You just want everything limp, not totally browned.
Set aside all of the veggies in a bowl and add 1-2 Tbsp. butter to your pre-flavored pan. The next step is to brown the cubes of bread in some butter, you just want them lightly toasted. It takes a few batches to get through all of the bread, just set aside each batch and keep on browning until you're done.
Now mix the veggies with the bread and add broth throughout the mixing until the bread has soaked up as much as it can, but you don't want it soggy and dripping, everything just needs to be moistened. Then pat it all into the pan and bake for about a half hour. You want a little brown on the top and everything warmed up, but you don't want it to fully dry out.
If you're taking it to a dinner party, bring some broth with you to pour on the stuffing for re-heating, so that it doesn't get dried out.
*Side note: I get my poultry seasoning from Penzey's spices, and I like it a lot.
1-2 cups of chicken or veggie broth
Cube the bread the night before and leave it in the oven on a sheet pan to dry out overnight. If this isn't an option, you can turn the oven on the lowest temperature (mine has a 'warm' setting) and dry the bread out for an hour or two.
Think of the bread as a sponge, the more of the bread's moisture that you can remove, the more it can be filled up with butter and broth.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter your pan.
Dice and chop all of the veggies and herbs and get your biggest pot/pan ready with about 1/2 stick of butter. Start sweating the veggies, onions first, adding salt, poultry seasoning and pepper with each addition. Celery second, then mushrooms, green onions, and finally the herbs. In total, I probably end up using 1 Tbsp. of poultry seasoning, 1 tsp. of salt and a 1/2 tsp. of pepper. You just want everything limp, not totally browned.
Set aside all of the veggies in a bowl and add 1-2 Tbsp. butter to your pre-flavored pan. The next step is to brown the cubes of bread in some butter, you just want them lightly toasted. It takes a few batches to get through all of the bread, just set aside each batch and keep on browning until you're done.
Now mix the veggies with the bread and add broth throughout the mixing until the bread has soaked up as much as it can, but you don't want it soggy and dripping, everything just needs to be moistened. Then pat it all into the pan and bake for about a half hour. You want a little brown on the top and everything warmed up, but you don't want it to fully dry out.
If you're taking it to a dinner party, bring some broth with you to pour on the stuffing for re-heating, so that it doesn't get dried out.
*Side note: I get my poultry seasoning from Penzey's spices, and I like it a lot.
