Well, now we've had Thanksgiving and we're headed to Christmas!  This time of the year is so wonderful, and so busy!!  There are lots of holiday dinners and parties to prepare for, and in our friends and family there's lots of birthdays!  We just had a wonderful retirement party for a dear friend to throw into the mix.  That was a great time, seeing old friends and co-workers.

        I'm keeping Sawyer three days a week now, and she brings lots to be thankful for and lots of happiness.  She's such a sweet and happy baby!

        Sawyer's mother, Lindsay, told me how her mother makes her own stock in a Crock-pot to use for her Thanksgiving dressing, so of course I had to make my own stock.  I started mine out by roasting the chicken in a roasting pan with  a rack (guess what, friends, those cheap roasting pans work as good as those expensive ones).  I rubbed the chicken first with a little oil, then homemade poultry seasoning, and placed the chicken on the roasting rack in the pan.  I also cooked this chicken with celery and onions in the roast pan, but they didn't hold up well.  I did not use those in the stock.  I think I should have made the chunks of vegetables bigger.  I cooked the chicken for an hour and a half at 425 degrees.  The chicken is done when your meat thermometer is at 165 degrees, or you cut between the leg and thigh and the juices run clear.  Then I did a lazy thing.  I put the whole cooked chicken in the Crock-Pot with big chunks of fresh celery and onions and the juices from the roasting rack.  Cover this with water (and/or store bought chicken stock) and cook on high for four hours or low for six hours.  The chicken will fall off the bones and that chicken should be shredded and placed in the dressing!  Make sure you get all the bones and chicken out, strain the stock, and there you have your stock and chicken. 

​        Here's the recipe for the homemade poultry seasoning.  It is two ingredients:  six teaspoons dried sage and two teaspoons of dried thyme.  How easy is that?

        Click on the picture of the cornbread dressing for a delicious buttermilk cornbread recipe!  Here's the recipe for the dressing!  I don't have a picture of the buttermilk biscuits on here.  The ones I used were biscuits I had made previously and kept in the freezer.  I'll be sure to post the biscuit recipe soon.  Make the cornbread and biscuits at least a day or two ahead of time so they will be dry and will soak up all those dressing flavors!

Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 pan of Southern Buttermilk Cornbread
  
• 6 cups of crumbled buttermilk biscuits
  
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
  
• 2 tablespoons bacon grease (or chicken drippings), or 1 T butter with 1 T cooking oil (adding oil allows a higher heat on the butter)
  
• 2 cups sweet onions, small diced
  
• 2 cups celery, small diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (sage and thyme)
  
• 2-3 quarts of homemade chicken stock and/or a good store bought one
  
• 1 tsp black pepper
  
• Salt to taste
  
• 2 large chicken breasts, pulled apart (optional) Use chicken from the whole chicken or boil two chicken breasts separately
  
• Additional butter for top
  
• While you're dicing up that onion and celery, go ahead and dice more for a dressing gravy (a small onion and a celery rib). Make that small dice a little smaller.
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease a 9x13 baking dish.  There may be more dressing for an additional, smaller dish. 
  
• Tear the cornbread and biscuits into pieces in a big bowl.  Big.  Set aside.
  
• Sautee onions and celery in bacon grease or oil and butter, just until tender.  Add the cooked and pulled chicken, the vegetables and the poultry seasoning to the bread mixture.
  
• Add two quarts of stock and stir well.  Add enough stock, 1/2 cup at a time, until it's just a little "soppy", which means still thick but moist. 
  
• Add one teaspoon of black pepper, stir, then taste and adjust salt and seasonings as needed.
• Let the dressing sit for about 30 minutes to absorb all the liquid.
• Stir and pour into a greased baking pan, or two.
  
• Add pats of butter to the top of the dressing, cover with foil.
  
• Bake at 375 for 30 minutes,  then remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven, until a beautiful brown and a little firm, but not dry.
  

        Here's a simple gravy recipe I made, and I put it in a  fancy gravy boat and then I packed it up to go without taking a picture.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of fat from chicken drippings (or your fat of choice, butter, olive oil, bacon fat, etc.)
• 1 small onion, small dice
• 1 celery stalk, small dice
• 6 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
  
• 3 cups of chicken stock
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

Instructions:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, add your fat until just shimmering.  Add onion and celery and saute until vegetables are soft and the edges start to turn brown.  Stir frequently.
• Sprinkle the flour over the cooked vegetables and cook, stirring until the flour is absorbed and the roux (fat and flour mix) turns light golden brown.  Whisk in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Simmer until thick and glossy, about 10 minutes, sometimes longer to get to the right consistency.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour through a strainer into a bowl and remove the solid ingredients.
  
• Stir in chopped thyme, put it into a pretty gravy bowl, take a picture of it, and serve.  ​           

        I know most of us grew up with canned cranberry sauce, and I still love it, but if you feel like getting a little fancy (with fresh cranberries and pecans), click on the picture on the right for this simple and delicious cranberry sauce.  Delicious!

        These are some beautiful Autumn Poinsettias I saw in Kroger.  I didn't know there was such a thing. The picture does not do them justice!

        Here is Sawyer at her Thanksgiving celebration at her aunt's house, and with her parents.  She is really the most wonderful little girl!

        Since I started this post, my Sister Janise, and I made a quick trip to Florida to visit some friends in Freeport, Florida.  We did make a little trip out of the way so we could see Panama City Beach, one of our favorite places.  This scene is at dinner time at Schooner's, The Last Local Beach Club.  We passed several places before we got here and some are closed for the season and some are just open on the weekends.  Janise remembered Schooner's advertises as local so we went by there, and true enough, they're open year round.  They also have a special from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. that's pretty good!  I love this picture!

        Thanks for stopping by, Friends!  I hope you are all having a great holiday season! 

          Dished With Love, Denise

      Hi, Friends!  Even though it's not cold outside yet in Georgia in November, I've been stirring up some delicious, warm comfort food!  This stew and lemon blueberry Bundt cake was for a friend whose mother passed away, and her family. I thoroughly enjoy the recipes, the shopping, the prepping, the cooking, and the cleaning (not so much) when I know others are going to be enjoying what I cook, especially in times of need. Like the cover page on the Dished With Love Facebook Page, I believe that Cooking is Love Made Visible, especially when used to comfort friends.  I really, really enjoyed making the Bundt cake because I know it is one of my friend's favorite things that I have made.

           How do you like that prep work?  The prep work is something that is so comforting to me.  You may have to be a cook to understand, but to me the food is so beautiful, with life-giving nutrition and great taste, too!  I may be feeling a little philosophical today!  Put it all together and viola! You've just made someone feel better!  

       This recipe came from Ina Garten, and you can click on the stew picture for the recipe.  The only change I would make is I would not marinate the beef overnight, probably half that time, and I would use more beef stock instead of the 2 1/2 cups of marinade used when cooking.The flavor of the wine (a red wine blend is good) does not cook off as much as when you're using it in other dishes. If you want to leave the wine out completely, just make sure the beef is tenderized.  You can do that by covering it in Saran Wrap and pounding it (a great stress reliever), or marinate it in your favorite beef marinade. It was, however, delicious as is, and it's just a matter of taste!   The peas are added at the end, so don't forget those!  I forgot them in my friend's dish, but it turns out that was a good thing because she hates peas.  They are added in the second batch I made, pictured above.

     My least favorite thing about making cakes is, you don't get to taste them!  I must say, this turned out beautifully, and I hope it tastes as good as it looks.  You can find the recipe for this cake by using the search feature that I love so much on this page, and find the recipe on a previous blog. Just type in Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake!  I didn't get a taste of the cake this time, but it is so easy to make, I'll be giving it another go soon!

        I hope you enjoy looking at my photos and you'll try these recipes.  I made another batch of the stew for myself and Sis and another friend, and the job was definitely rewarding.  

        Speaking of making dishes for family and friends, it's almost Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's!!  Be looking for different things to be coming to the blog for the holidays, and please, please feel free to comment.  The Facebook page needs likes, shares, and comments to stay front and center, so those are greatly appreciated!

         See you soon, and as always, Dished With Love!  Denise