WPLN News Archive; News Archive 10/22/98-11/25/98; Thanksgiving Foods (Rebecca Bain) 11 25 98

to stop or not to stuff that is the question whether it is tastier to put one's breadcrumb concoction inside the turkey or place it in a pan and bake it it's a question which largely seems to depend upon which side of the mason dixon line you grew up on people who hail from the north midwest or west coast are the most likely to stuff their birds southerners more often but they're stuffing in a pan which they called dressing and all are convinced that their version of stuffing or dressing as the very best curious to explore this cultural crossroads further i invited raitt to lawson and marcia mckeough to women who are closely involved in the nashville food saying to share their views on the subject of forthright new englander marsha was happy to disclose her stuffing heritage my mother and my grandmother both were careful cooks and cooked well and put a lot of energy into it but definitely the kitchen motto is if it's not sweet letter italy's be bland ours was white bread and oatmeal bread and then the stock of a chicken celery onions and some of the guys it's in the

meat on the neck everything's chopped up and preston and you said the keyword it was stuff yes so that when the byrd raised the hoosier rachel lawson says her upbringing made her familiar with both stuffing and dressing indiana's linguistic crossroads america there are more synonyms in use they are than anyplace else like you'll hear tote bag polk and stack all within this state so we called stuff in addressing never been in what we're talking about some of the wind and the birds but there was always an update to make a separate pan and bake it and it was really treated like two different dishes we serve them at the same time but people would tend to put gravy over the stuff that is baked in a pan because it was dry air and crunchy you're what soon became evident from my conversation with marcia and rachel was that thanksgiving dinner is a meal americans take very very seriously the thanksgiving day menu is the most prescribed menu of the year there are a few people out there who have a

pioneer spirit about their deadly in the minority most everybody wants what they grew up on and eats really introducing an exotic misfit if you try to get too fancy with gangs i think the thing thats especially hilarious about that is that while everybody has the emotional mono were not trying anything new we have in the traditional dinner once you get past turkey gravy and pie everybody's dinner is different and everyone still has a feeling of well we know what we're talking about here then we do i remember a friend of mine saying we were to make thanksgiving dinner together well it's not thanksgiving without the turnips maps for ukraine whatever the side dishes are at your house on thanksgiving day if you're at all like my family it's not a meal which will win awards with dietitians for example with a starchy dish like cornbread dressing why on earth do you have to have mashed potatoes to you just you know you have to have it and no let's extend it for a lot of people it's dressing mashed potatoes corn

putting sweet potatoes right as you talk i'm five or six starters in our house when i was grown up and also a homemade noodles this was called a high hoosier meal because the rest i was interested in the types of dressing or stuffing marcia and rachel are planning on serving the sheer marshes making her grandmother's stuffing adding her innovations of corn bread crumbs and nuts to the basic mixture rachel however has concocted her own recipe the night before when i tear up the bread i like to tear it up in a kind of big hunks like at least an inch or so in and keep it kind of an organic shapes leave it out on the counter to try and at the same time i'll cut up a couple of cups of dried apricot and discover i'm with white wine or vermouth works fine put it in the fridge overnight or plump them up and then the next morning start with the two sticks of butter saute got caught and half onion and celery mix it with the bread and apricot and some parsley moist with the broth and when i make in a separate pan to start with butter sent

its critique on top and it is just the straight ahead bread dressing alike paper cuts it's not too exotic but it just gets a little bit of interest i can't deny rachel's recipes sounds delicious but like most other side plan to make what i've made for years now a basic mixture of cornbread and biscuit crumbs mixed with onions and celery sauteed in more butter then i'll admit state seizing soaked in chicken stock and then baked in a pan enjoy your meal and your day tomorrow everyone happy thanksgiving for nashville public radio jean vanier