When is a Herb a Holiday Herb? When you use it for Turkey, Roast Beef, Ham or any of those other all time favorite Holiday Meals! So at least say our chefs. 

Our VIVA! team is lucky to have not one but TWO way better than average chefs in the group.  They are both plant nerds by day, but in the PM, they turn into BBQ Ray and Chef Bob. These guys can dish it out with the best of them, and if you ever want to start a lively lunch room squabble, ask just who has the best recipe for (fill in the blank – it doesn’t matter, they will go at any category from pastry to the grill).

The HUGE benefit is that we get to pick their brains when it comes to cooking with fresh herbs and veggies. And that leads us to cooking for the Holidays.

We are lucky that so many fresh herbs are pretty winter tolerant. Sage, Rosemary and Oregano are all examples of fresh herbs that can take hard frosts in most of US.  It is not a real surprise that these are favorites in so many family Turkey Dressing recipes as these old time herbs where the only flavorings available to our great, great, grand-parents not all that long ago.

Turning that around, more tropical herbs – think Basil – that cannot survive cool weather did not get established into our traditional American holiday meals. 

So – lets get cooking!

A few tips on keeping your herbs fresh until the fall:

• When real hard frosts are forecasted– consider covering the herb garden with a sheet of plastic – even newspaper will work. 
• Bring a portion of your needs into the house early and dry them – either the old fashioned way – tie up bunches and store upside down in a cool area – or use a herb dryer. We prefer to use fresh herbs, but having a backup is always a good idea.
• We do not recommend trying to take in cuttings and rooting them to start plants. It will work – and to plan next years garden, that is fine.  But you will need more foliage for the cooking – and the flavor of the cuttings will not be up to the zip of fresh picked herbs out of the garden.

For our favorite recipe – we had to give our nod with our dueling chefs to BBQ Ray – here is his best Turkey stuffing recipe  - complete with the story of his Grandmother’s concern over ‘essence’.

This recipe is written by Ray French, Sarah Frances Bruer’s eldest grandson.

I have made her dressing the last two years because the family thought, now that their matriarch was in her late eighties, she did not need to cook for thirty or more people every year. Grandma makes all sorts of candies, pies, cakes, and chocolate creations anyway. There are enough sweets to fill a table on their own.  Of course she has more energy than people half her age; she still paints, tap dances, and is an avid gardener. We look forward to seeing her shine in her holiday outfit every year.

The first time I made this dish was at Thanksgiving, for a somewhat smaller gathering at the coast. This was my practice run for the big event at Christmas. My first attempt was perfect. I had been lulled into a false sense of security.  My Christmas version, much to my chagrin, came out a little dry. Of course that’s why we have gravy.  Grandma eased over to my table during the meal and in her wonderful way told me, “Your dressing was good, but you needed more essence of the turkey.”

This recipe makes enough for about thirty people.

• “Essence of Turkey ”
• 1 pone of cornbread
• 2 cups of long grain rice
• 1 cup of toasted breadcrumbs
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 medium sized onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons fresh minced Oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced Rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced Thyme
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced Sage
• 1 cup fresh chopped Parsley
• celery salt
• salt
• black pepper
• butter
• 2 eggs

Ahead of Time:

1. Cook a turkey and catch the drippings. You must have the “essence” of some type of poultry.  Add finely chopped fresh Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme and butter to the turkey before roasting. This is as much to season the turkey as flavor the  all important essence.
2. Make a “pone” of cornbread – A pone in this recipe is a 12 inch diameter cast iron skillet of cornbread.  She makes it so the cornbread batter is about an inch thick in the pan. Grandma Sarah has been known to add some fresh chopped jalapenos to the mix.
3. Make two cups of long grain wild rice with herbs. She usually uses Uncle Ben’s™ brand and follows the directions on the box.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees:

In large baking dish, crumble the pone of cornbread. “Be careful not to crumble it too fine.  We do not want sticky dressing. We want a fluffy dressing,” to quote Grandma.

Add the wild rice. Loosely mix in the chopped celery.  Loosely mix in the minced onion.  Add the minced herbs including the cup of parsley and loosely mix again.

Loosely mix in the eggs. Add celery salt. Add small amount of salt to taste. (She said that sometimes she does not include any salt but this probably has changed over the years.  Grandma Sarah may have put us on a low sodium diet for our health without our knowing.)  Add the toasted bread crumbs. Add black pepper. I used a generous amount this year and it did not overpower the dish.  (I was given a nice new pepper grinder and use it copiously at every opportunity.)  Divide the amount of turkey essence in half.  Save the other half for the giblet gravy.  Add the essence a cup at a time; make sure it has cooled enough not to cook the eggs when you add it. Grandma Sarah advises, “You don’t want it too dry, and you don’t want it soupy.”

Cook until there is a slight crust but not so long that it dries out; 30 minutes or so should do it.

Grandma prefers to cook her dressing separately and not stuffed inside of the turkey for health and sanitary reasons.

Grandma Sarah says, “Enjoy, and be sure to add a little love in everything you do.”