When it comes to Holiday meals, I'm tradition-adjacent. I love the savory herbs and flavor profiles of the Thanksgiving table, but I'm a rebel and an experimenter. I hardly ever follow a recipe to the letter. Last year, on a radio food show (on NPR, but I can't remember which one) I heard about dressing balls. I was instantly intruiged - no more casserole dish for this cook! They were fun & easy to make, and were a total hit. Below is the recipe I (mostly) followed (with a few notes.) You can feel free to experiment, too. I think I'll add oysters this year!
Dressing Balls
Recipe by Stu Haley of Baltimore, Md.
Ingredients:
2 loaves of store-bought bread cut into quarter-size cubes (I used home-baked)
1 T ground sage
1 Tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 or 2 eggs
16-24 oz chicken, turkey or vegetable stock
sliced celery (I prefer diced, for forming the balls)
diced white onion
diced carrots (only you on how much your people like carrots) (I do!)
1 T butter
The night before you are going to make the dressing balls, cub the bread and place in a large mixing bowl with a single paper towel covering the cubes.
Ibn the morning, toss them and cover with paper towel until you are going to make them. You want them soft stale, not hard like croutons.
Dice the carrots and star them in the saute pan with medium and and butter.
Once they have started cooking, add the celery. When these are soft, add in the onion. You want to move them around the pan on medium heat until they are soft, adding the salt & pepper while they cook.
Remove from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the skillet with little of the stock and work up the brown bits. Turn off thee heat and allow to cool.
Mix the egg, and then pour over the bead cubes. Add in the onion, celery and sage along with the deglazed pan drippings.
Slowly add in about half the remaining stock.
Now, thoroughly wash your hands. You are going into the bread and egg mixture with both hands. Everything should be mixed, tossed, etc, but on't squeeze. If the mixture is too dry, add a little of the reserved stock. You want the whole mixture just moist enough for the balls to hold their shape, not wet.
bring out 2 cookie sheets. Mold the mixture into balls larger tha a golf ball, but smaller than a baseball. Gently compact them jus t so they hold their form. Space them out on the sheets. Bake Immediately for 345-50 minutes at 350 degrees if your oven keeps a true temperature. For extra crispy outsides, brush with an egg washy.
Best with plenty of gravy! (But what isn't, am I right?)
In searching online I found some cooks recommending making these in an air fryer. If you try that - let me know how they come out! Happy Eating!
xoxo~chris
p.s. I know this has nothing to do with style, clothing, consignment or resale, but food is the universal language!