I always loved the night before Thanksgiving. It was dressing time. We’d sit with big bowls in our laps and tear bread. There would be joking, a few clumps of bread would fly around and we’d get our hands on something to be so delicious, so anticipated, that we lovingly tore each piece.

So here is our gift to you -- my mom’s turkey dressing. You already have a recipe, but this one is worth a try. As mom’s cooking was, it’s very simple, no oysters, no herbal remedies. It’s just good, fight-over good in fact.

She always made enough to avoid confrontations, more than the bird would hold. Then we ate it cold for days, sneaking it from the fridge at odd hours. Cold dressing. Is there anything so perfect, the defining moment of good.

Quality and quantity

Fine dressing does not just appear or pour from a box by the way. It requires the labor of the family. Someone must arise at 5 a.m. on T-Day to finish it. I didn’t say this would be easy.

The ingredients are basic bread, parsley, onion and a little poultry seasoning. Eggs and milk keep it moist. The bird does the rest, bathing it in juices as it bakes inside for hours.

Light goes on

Here is the genius part. We’ve removed the neck and giblets from the turkey and will throw them away. But wait. Bury them in the excess raw dressing.

Bake covered under the bird. It won’t be quite as good, but even that is excellent.

I’m our turkey carver and adore digging out that moist, steamy dressing as the dogs go nuts at my feet. I can only hope for the ultimate of compliments: “Hey, this is almost as good as Betty’s.”

Betty’s Big Bird Stuffing

2 2-pound loaves white bread, day old, the cheap stuff
2 cups celery with leaves, finely chopped
One quarter cup parsley, chopped
2 cups onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon poultry stuffing
1 cup milk
5 eggs
2 sticks butter
1 teaspoon salt
One half teaspoon pepper

Night before: Tear the bread, place in two large bowls, cover. At 5 a.m. next morning, divide vegetables between bowls. Beat eggs with milk, melt butter and add. Divide liquid between bowls and mix. Divide and add salt and pepper and poultry seasoning. Divide remaining milk and mix. Combine bowls.

Salt turkey cavity and stuff, closing with string. Place remaining dressing in a baking dish and bury the neck and giblets (optional). Roast turkey.

With an hour to go, bake the extra stuffing, covered.

Canton Repository