This is a variation on my grandmother’s Thanksgiving stuffing recipe.  While she celebrated the invention of packaged, pre-seasoned breadcrumbs, I prefer using real bread, not sliced bread, not precut cubes, but actually cutting a loaf of bakery bread.  This poses a perception challenge because the bread swells with the liquid and the stuffing can end up chunkier than intended unless chopped fine…with a serrated knife…without cutting yourself. Good luck!

Old recipes do have the advantage of practicality. In this case, my grandmother didn’t bother to sauté the vegetables before putting the mixture in the oven for an hour, as so many modern recipes recommend.  I often wonder if those techniques were schemed by the dish soap companies because who else in their right mind would recommend dirtying more dishes unnecessarily?  I also like her addition of brown sugar.  It adds a subtle sweetness for crowd pleasing pleasure.  Where applicable, all of these items should be chopped fine. 

1 loaf French bread or half a Pullman loaf

1c parsley

2 celery stalks

2 carrots

1 onion

1 apple

2T butter, chopped into 8 little cubes

1t sage

1T brown sugar

1T Lawry’s seasoning salt

1 egg

1c broth

Grease a casserole pan and preheat the oven to 350.  Cube up the bread as fine as you can without cutting yourself and spread out in the casserole pan.  Chop up the vegetables and toss with 4 butter cubes and seasonings, eggs and broth.  Pour over the bread in the pan and toss.  Cover with foil and cook for 1 hour.  Uncover the pan and cook for another 30 minutes or until brown on top. 

Serving size varies

Cooking time: approx. 2 hours