OLD FASHIONED CELERY AND SAGE DRESSING
Ingredients
2 loaves sliced white sandwich bread (1 pound each), dried, and torn into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, plus more for baking dish and foil
4 celery stalks, diced medium
1 large onion, diced medium
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
1 teaspoon (level) poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon celery seed
3 eggs
3 1/2 cups (29 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
Variations
Substitute unsalted butter and large eggs. Feel free to use homemade or store-bought chicken broth.
Cook’s Note
To make sure there’s plenty of stuffing (think leftovers), this recipe makes extra to bake separately.
Directions
Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On two rimmed baking sheets, arrange bread in a single layer. Bake until dry but not browned, about 14 minutes, tossing bread and rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a large bowl. (To store, let cool completely and keep in a re-sealable plastic bag at room temperature, up to 1 week.)
Step 2 In a large skillet, melt butter over medium. Add celery and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. Add sage and celery seed and cook 3 minutes more. Transfer to bowl with bread. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and broth. Add to bread mixture and toss to combine.
Step 3 Reserve 4 cups stuffing for turkey. Spoon remaining stuffing into a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cover with buttered foil; refrigerate until ready to bake. Bake at 350 degrees until warmed through, about 25 minutes.
This sounds like my mom’s dressing - except that now she uses the Pepperidge Farm packaged cubed bread. It might be even better. Her dressing is the best! I still remember her putting out the slices of bread on the stove and countertop to dry out before she made the stuffing.
I use basically the same recipe but substitute Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix. A very long time ago I fried up a tube of Jimmy Dean sausage, added that and it became our favorite! LOVE sage in stuffing!!!