Grandma’s Poultry Dressing

Brayden is one hundred weeks old — almost twenty-three months. The first week of Wendy’s fall daycare cohort started Tuesday. Brayden is now the oldest in the new cohort (the new arrivals are fifteen and sixteen months; the returnees from the summer group are eighteen, nineteen, and twenty-one months; Brayden at twenty-three months is the elder-statesman).

Grandma’s poultry dressing is Carol Bryant’s grandmother’s — the cornbread-and-white-bread dressing that has been on Carol’s Thanksgiving table since the 1950s. The recipe is crumbled cornbread, crumbled white bread, sauteed onion and celery, chicken broth, eggs, poultry seasoning (sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary), salt, pepper, baked in a casserole dish until the top is browned and the inside is moist-but-set.

The technique question on dressing-as-a-side is the moisture balance. Too dry and the dressing tastes like baked breadcrumbs. Too wet and the dressing is mushy. The right consistency is moist-but-spoonable — about three cups of broth per twelve cups of crumbled bread, with two beaten eggs as the binder. The bake is forty-five minutes at three-fifty.

Sunday I made a small casserole as a Carol-cookbook test-bake. The result was the result I remembered from the Bryant Thanksgiving in 2020 — the small recipe-archaeology of remembering a meal through its flavor. The dressing will be the thirty-eighth recipe in the cookbook.

Aunt Linda’s small twice-weekly Tulsa-visits continue. She arrives at two PM. She stays for two hours. She holds Brayden (and later helps with both kids). She drinks the small cup of coffee I keep ready. We talk through the small week’s family-news. The small visits are the small social-thread that connects the Tulsa-apartment-life to the small Sapulpa-extended-family.

Brayden’s small developmental milestones have been arriving on the small typical-schedule. The pediatrician has been pleased at the small monthly check-ins. The small baby-and-now-toddler life continues to be the small foreground of the small family-of-three rhythm.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
2 cups cooked white rice
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of celery soup
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
3 cups cornbread crumbles (day-old preferred)
1 cup seasoned stuffing mix
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
Saute vegetables. In a skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and cook the onion and celery until softened, about 5–7 minutes. Remove from heat.
Mix the base. In a large bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, chicken broth, and remaining melted butter. Stir until smooth.
Combine ingredients. Add the shredded chicken, cooked rice, cornbread crumbles, stuffing mix, sauteed vegetables, beaten eggs, poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Stir gently until everything is evenly combined — the mixture should be moist but not soupy.
Transfer and bake. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Bake uncovered for 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden and the center is set.
Rest before serving. Allow the dressing to rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. It travels well in the dish — cover tightly with foil for transport.

Nutrition (per serving)

Grandma’s Poultry Dressing