THE ORIGINAL ‘RECEIPT’

DRESSING FOR TURKEY

C. Kennicot.

One pint of soaked bread, two tablespoons of sage, two tablespoons of summer savory, two teaspoons of salt, two teaspoons pepper, butter size of an egg.

~Ladies of Toronto. The Home Cook Book. Toronto: The Musson Book Co. Limited, 1877.

THE UPDATED RECIPE

• 2 c. crumbled, slightly stale bread
• ½ c. milk
• 3 Tb. butter
• 2 Tb. rubbed sage (or 1 Tb. ground sage)
• 2 Tb. summer savory
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. black pepper.

Crumble the bread into small pieces, and pack into a pint measure.

Soak the bread with the milk.

In a large cast-iron frying pan, combine the butter and the seasonings;  over medium heat, stir the mixture until the butter is melted, and the seasonings evenly distributed throughout.

Add the moistened bread, and, over medium-high heat, sauté the mixture for several minutes until all the butter has been absorbed;  stir constantly.

Remove the pan from the heat, and use the dressing to stuff poultry or “Mock Duck“.

Continue to cook (roast or bake), as required, depending on whatever dish is being prepared using the dressing.

This dressing is rich and piquant.

A note about “Summer Savoury” – After posting this recipe, I received a lovely email from Margaret Prouse, one of my aunt’s cohorts at the University of Guelph. Margaret resides on Prince Edward Island and gave me the following interesting tidbit of information about this herb:

“Summer Savoury is the preferred (perhaps only!) herb used to flavour bread dressing in the Atlantic provinces. I understand that Islanders who live ‘away’ are sure to pack summer savoury in their luggage when returning from a Maritime vacation.”