Grandmother DOLORES LILLIAN WADE SIMPSON (Fort Smith, Arkansas) makes the absolute best dressing, shares granddaughter AUDRA EBERMAN WARZYNSKI (also of Fort Smith), and the holidays would just not be complete without it. Audra’s grandfather, Daddy Jim, is the official taste-tester, and she says, “Each year, in effort to achieve perfection with his wife’s Christmas Dressing, he says, ‘Mama, I think this is the best ever’—and, bless his eighty-eight-year-old heart, he is always right.” Three tables are now required for their large family, with each place setting decorated with a personalized ornament, making everyone feel special. Dolores is known to her grandchildren as Mama Dee.
½ cup bacon drippings or butter
6 medium onions, chopped
12 cups chopped celery
10 cups white bread crumbs, dried
12 cups cornbread, crumbled
6 heaping teaspoons rubbed sage seasoning or poultry seasoning
Salt and black pepper to taste
5 large eggs, beaten
¼ cup turkey drippings
2 cups chicken broth*
1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2 In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the bacon drippings. Add the onion and celery and sauté until tender.
3 In a large bowl combine the bread crumbs, cornbread, sage, salt, and pepper. Add the sautéed onions and celery to the bread mixture.
4 Add the eggs and turkey drippings and carefully stir to combine. Begin adding the chicken broth a small amount at a time. Use additional as needed to make the dressing the same consistency as a cornbread batter, moist but not soupy. Spoon into a large roaster or disposable foil pan (18.5 × 14 inches or similar).
5 Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the dressing comes out clean; stir at least once during baking.
MAKES 15 TO 20 SERVINGS.
* Or use water mixed with melted butter to make two cups of liquid.
NOTE: Old breads tend to soak up more liquid than fresh bread, so fold in the liquid a little at a time to get the right consistency.