You made me laugh. Mom didn't use oysters in hers but she did bake it in the turkey. I loved it, even though it's just bread and spices, maybe mushrooms. She'd save the leftovers to put in the turkey pie with the leftover gravy and served it during the holiday season. At some point I was told by either my mom, or after she died, my stepmom that it wasn't safe to cook in the turkey so it was a separate casserole dish. I loved it in the turkey pie. As for oyster dressing, I'm sure I've probably eaten it at other homes, but I never asked anyone if that's what it was!! I never made it.
I know families have their traditions and some are very team one or the other. I don't think our family was ever outright anti-stuffing, but because we had the traditional family dressing, no one ever made stuffing, except that one ill-fated attempt, lol. I do remember a couple times in the 70s, mom randomly made a box of the "Stovetop Stuffing" for a side dish and it was fine, kind of a hybrid of stuffing and dressing.
I was only in jest. Actually our fight is over the version of green bean casserole. To Swiss Cheese or not to Swiss Cheese. Our dressing is cornbread stovetop, then "dressed up" similar to your dressing substituting giblets and mushrooms for the oysters. I am tempted to try oyster dressing next time. And of course, always inside the bird!
Oh, I get that! I think we have a different version of green bean casserole every holiday. So many versions. I love Swiss cheese, any cheese really, so I'm Team To-Swiss-Cheese.
Ah, there's another 'different' family dressing recipe. I'm glad to know about that. Did you like it growing up? Do you still like it made that way? And thank goodness, someone put broth in the cornbread dressing!
Grandma's stuffing is one of my favorite "bad for me" dishes. It's the white bread lol I still make it the same way. My mother in law taught me to make her dressing so my husband gets that same nostalgia once a year, sometimes twice (it's so much more complicated than the stuffing).
I still use white bread for it too, because it truly does matter in the dressing recipe to get the same result. I'm totally fine with it, but my grandmother thought it was scandalous.
My mother used to make something called bread sauce. I have no idea what was in it with the bread ... Not oysters anyway. I can't remember ever eating it but I think she made it at Christmas with the Turkey which did have stuffing in it made with sage and onions I think. Not something I cook being a vegetarian.
We are vegetarian also, which is one reason I dropped the oysters some time ago, even when I did still make a smaller dish at the holidays. I'm willing to make it with them again to document the recipe though.
I started to respond and it turned into a novel. I probably need to revisit this topic for myself but let me try to summarize.
We were lucky, when I was in high school in the 90s mama took it upon herself to beg, borrow, and steal every recipe that any of us had written down by anyone throughout history on both sides of the family. She then compiled them, organized them with family photos and had them printed. All of the girls in the family got a copy. I will say that most of those recipes probably came from a cookbook since you have to go back to the generation born in the 1800s to find women who never worked at least part of their lives for us.
That being said, the dish that will die because … husband that hates seafood, living in TN, and no kids is …. oyster dressing. hah. The only difference b/w yours and ours though is bell peppers, parsley, and organ meat. I hate organ meat generally speaking but in dishes like this or dirty rice or boudin its a necessity. I usually just try not to tell people ;)
But luckily, i have cousins and lots of new orleans cookbooks that promise the majority of our family dishes will never disappear.
Ahhh, I wish I'd had a relative who collected the recipes together like that! I bet you have some amazing recipes. I've not had dressing with bell peppers before.
You have inspired me to make dressing the next time I roast a chicken. I love it, and somehow only get it once a year! I would try the oyster dressing, since I love anything that can bring that deep funk to a dish (anchovies, miso, chicken livers) but I have two observant Jewish fellas in my house who don't eat treyf. Maybe I will make it just for myself!
If you do make it, let me know how it turns out. I have to confess that the first dish of leftovers I go for after a holiday is the dressing and I'm not proud, I'll eat it cold and love it.
What a great family story of culinary history and also a memory prompt for so many of us! My family has a similarly long and complicated history with dressing lol.
Thanks, also for the shout out. One of my goals in sharing my family’s food stories is to encourage others to do the same.
It certainly brought a lot of food memories to the surface! I probably will write a couple more culinary posts. I love food and I do love writing about it too!
You made me laugh. Mom didn't use oysters in hers but she did bake it in the turkey. I loved it, even though it's just bread and spices, maybe mushrooms. She'd save the leftovers to put in the turkey pie with the leftover gravy and served it during the holiday season. At some point I was told by either my mom, or after she died, my stepmom that it wasn't safe to cook in the turkey so it was a separate casserole dish. I loved it in the turkey pie. As for oyster dressing, I'm sure I've probably eaten it at other homes, but I never asked anyone if that's what it was!! I never made it.
That turkey pie sounds pretty darned good! And my husband would love it because he says, "Anything with gravy on it is good."
And here we go again with time honored debate of "Dressing" vs "Stuffing."
I know families have their traditions and some are very team one or the other. I don't think our family was ever outright anti-stuffing, but because we had the traditional family dressing, no one ever made stuffing, except that one ill-fated attempt, lol. I do remember a couple times in the 70s, mom randomly made a box of the "Stovetop Stuffing" for a side dish and it was fine, kind of a hybrid of stuffing and dressing.
I was only in jest. Actually our fight is over the version of green bean casserole. To Swiss Cheese or not to Swiss Cheese. Our dressing is cornbread stovetop, then "dressed up" similar to your dressing substituting giblets and mushrooms for the oysters. I am tempted to try oyster dressing next time. And of course, always inside the bird!
Oh, I get that! I think we have a different version of green bean casserole every holiday. So many versions. I love Swiss cheese, any cheese really, so I'm Team To-Swiss-Cheese.
In my house it's Grandma's stuffing (with raisins and smothered in gravy), but my mother in law's cornbread dressing (with lots of broth lol).
Ah, there's another 'different' family dressing recipe. I'm glad to know about that. Did you like it growing up? Do you still like it made that way? And thank goodness, someone put broth in the cornbread dressing!
Grandma's stuffing is one of my favorite "bad for me" dishes. It's the white bread lol I still make it the same way. My mother in law taught me to make her dressing so my husband gets that same nostalgia once a year, sometimes twice (it's so much more complicated than the stuffing).
I still use white bread for it too, because it truly does matter in the dressing recipe to get the same result. I'm totally fine with it, but my grandmother thought it was scandalous.
My mother used to make something called bread sauce. I have no idea what was in it with the bread ... Not oysters anyway. I can't remember ever eating it but I think she made it at Christmas with the Turkey which did have stuffing in it made with sage and onions I think. Not something I cook being a vegetarian.
We are vegetarian also, which is one reason I dropped the oysters some time ago, even when I did still make a smaller dish at the holidays. I'm willing to make it with them again to document the recipe though.
I started to respond and it turned into a novel. I probably need to revisit this topic for myself but let me try to summarize.
We were lucky, when I was in high school in the 90s mama took it upon herself to beg, borrow, and steal every recipe that any of us had written down by anyone throughout history on both sides of the family. She then compiled them, organized them with family photos and had them printed. All of the girls in the family got a copy. I will say that most of those recipes probably came from a cookbook since you have to go back to the generation born in the 1800s to find women who never worked at least part of their lives for us.
That being said, the dish that will die because … husband that hates seafood, living in TN, and no kids is …. oyster dressing. hah. The only difference b/w yours and ours though is bell peppers, parsley, and organ meat. I hate organ meat generally speaking but in dishes like this or dirty rice or boudin its a necessity. I usually just try not to tell people ;)
But luckily, i have cousins and lots of new orleans cookbooks that promise the majority of our family dishes will never disappear.
Ahhh, I wish I'd had a relative who collected the recipes together like that! I bet you have some amazing recipes. I've not had dressing with bell peppers before.
In my family if it doesn't have celery, peppers, onion and garlic, is it even worth cooking? 😆
You have inspired me to make dressing the next time I roast a chicken. I love it, and somehow only get it once a year! I would try the oyster dressing, since I love anything that can bring that deep funk to a dish (anchovies, miso, chicken livers) but I have two observant Jewish fellas in my house who don't eat treyf. Maybe I will make it just for myself!
If you do make it, let me know how it turns out. I have to confess that the first dish of leftovers I go for after a holiday is the dressing and I'm not proud, I'll eat it cold and love it.
What a great family story of culinary history and also a memory prompt for so many of us! My family has a similarly long and complicated history with dressing lol.
Thanks, also for the shout out. One of my goals in sharing my family’s food stories is to encourage others to do the same.
It certainly brought a lot of food memories to the surface! I probably will write a couple more culinary posts. I love food and I do love writing about it too!