Thanksgiving Dinner -- Dressing Up theTradition

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 It was my plan to steer you toward the New York Times Dining section online for their wonderful Thanksgiving recipes.  But I can't. The link is there, but I really don't recommend it. I do not want to be responsible for turning your family holiday into something truly memorable, as in, "Remember the time Aunt Jennifer put shrimp in the turkey stuffing?"

  > / <

Maybe my fussy relations are more fussy about what goes inside their poultry than other families' fussies, but I rather doubt it. I suspect a sizable majority of the American voting and eating public - red and blue states alike - would not be pleased to find shrimp where they expect to find cornbread and sage.

Then there are those sweet potatoes. My mother has a certain way of smiling and saying, "Well, Sta-arr, all ri-ight." That translates as, "Well, here's another lame-brained idea to ruin our holiday." Personally, I plan on leaving the potatoes of all kinds outside the bird.

Another NYTimes suggestion with potential for raised eyebrows is  Lemon Barley Stuffing With Shiitakes, Hazelnuts and Chive Butter. That sounds like a terrific side dish, and could sit in Great Grandmother's blue willow china bowl with pride. But shoving it inside the turkey might not be such a good idea.

I'm going to say this once, so pay attention. The stuffing that goes inside the turkey starts with bread.

Recipe: How To Make Stuffing / Dressing for Thanksgiving

Okay, technically this is not a recipe. But it's pretty much all you need.

Bread for stuffing can be stale sandwich bread, left-over toast, brioche, focaccia, dinner rolls, bagels or just about any other sort of bread found around your kitchen. I leave the crusts on unless they are very dark or very crisp, but then, I avoid extra work whenever possible, no matter what Aunt Helen thinks. Back to bread types: leftover stale hot dog or hamburger buns are fine. That lovely, pillowy Hawaiian Kings Bread might be a tad sweet, and you probably shouldn't lean heavily on rye or pumpernickel. If the family has Southern roots, there had better be some cornbread in there somewhere. Within those guidelines, it's hard to go too far astray.

This is not a time to weigh and measure. It's difficult to put too little dressing in a bird, because it should be filled loosely with room to expand. Fill both the body cavity and the neck area where the skin expands like a mesh shopping bag. It's not possible to have too much dressing. All the stuff that doesn't go in the bird goes into a buttered casserole dish.

Start with a one pound loaf plus a pan of cornbread for a 16 lb. turkey. Or use all cornbread, or whatever you have. If you're the sort of person who plans ahead, you can lay the bread out uncovered and forget about it overnight. If you happen to be baking something the same day, spread slices on the oven rack after the heat has been turned off. Dryer bread absorbs more of the tasty stuff, and that's what you want.

Stale dry bread turns into moist dressing when it soaks up the flavors of broth, fat, savory vegetables and herbs, sweet fruit and/or toothy nuts. Stuffing it inside a roasting bird takes care of the broth and fat. Compare stuffings from a turkey, a chicken and a goose, and you'll understand that the fatter the fowl, the richer the stuffing.

The traditional herbs are easily remembered in the Simon & Garfunkel classic: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Or just use sage and thyme. Add a palm of salt (about a teaspoon for a chicken or duck, a tablespoon for a turkey) and you could stop right there. Most of us go on to include chopped onion and celery, including the leafy celery tops.  Apples are the favorite fruit and cranberries are perfectly acceptable. You may consider raisins, preferable the gold ones, or currants which are less dominating. Pomegranate seeds are good and ever so slightly daring.  If no one at the table has a nut allergy, walnuts or pecans provide give a woodsy flavor and texture to the dressing. Chestnuts are completely different, softer and musky tasting. They are also a pain to peel, so unless your family tradition demands chestnuts, they need not complicate your life. Do not put peanuts in the stuffing, no matter which celebrity chef recommends them.

Sausage is not required, but it is delicious in stuffing; choose any breakfast sausage, sweet or hot. Fresh chorizo is fine, as are most other loose, mild pork sausages. But you absolutely must crumble and brown the sausage until it is thoroughly cooked. You want brown crispy bits of sausage, not pink pork. Half a pound is plenty because you just want the flavor, not meaty-ness.

If you belong to an oyster-dressing family, you already know it. If you don't belong to an oyster-dressing family, it is not a good idea try it unannounced, or at least not as the main dressing inside the bird. Try the unfamiliar dressing in an attractive casserole dish on the side, just to see whether anyone faints at the sight.

Back to basic instructions. Haul out the biggest bowl you own and break the bread up into it. Throw in the chopped celery, onions, and whatever you choose. Start with small amounts of herbs; it's easy to add more and impossible to remove too much.  Melt a stick of butter or measure about half a cup of olive oil and pour over the bread, tossing to distribute thoroughly. Sprinkle on the salt and stir again. Taste a bit of the bread, then taste another piece from the opposite side of the bowl. Add salt and herbs and more melted butter or oil until it seems right to you.

Too much salt? Don't panic. Send Freddie to the deli for another loaf of bread; toast, butter, tear and toss it in, and pour yourself another glass of white wine.

Stuff the bird lightly - don't ram the stuffing in tightly or it will end up dense and mushy. Or don't stuff the bird at all, and bake the dressing separately in one or more casseroles. The key to moist dressing in a dish is to drizzle it generously with broth (from the giblets and neck) and with pan drippings from the roasting bird. Keep the dish covered tightly and bake for at least an hour.

Then relax and enjoy your Thanksgiving Dinner, confident that you've given the family tradition the dressing it deserves.