Sometimes I add a mint leaf or two when I grill fruit. That perks up the flavor.

Yes, and I have a nice mint collection. I think I have pineapple mint. OK, maybe for dinner tonight. Thanks Sharon!

Spearmint. I think spearmint might be better.
Anytime, Polly. You already know how short I am on cooking ideas, though.

I don't have spearmint. I was afraid that would take over. Brittney Mint Patty, Candy Pops, Fruit Salad, or Mojito?

Spearmint?? Mint Julep.

Never had one. Never had a mojito, either, but I have the mint.

You'd have to live in KY to appreciate the mint julep, I think. It takes a bit of getting used to, or so I've been told. But on Derby Day, I have to make mint juleps, it's just the way it is around here.

Maybe we better stick to grilled fruit, since I've never had a mojito either.

K.

I love the ruffled yellow daylily!

Back home in N. Michigan, bread stuffing with sage HAD to go with the turkey on Thanksgiving. (Here in the South, people prefer corn bread stuffing). In these vegetarian-low carb days I still make onion stuffing with a handful of sage (some parsley, thyme, and rosemary, too) along with whole-berry cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. Zucchini or yellow squash replaces the bread. Ill have to try the sage leaf in batter. Sounds a little like fried green tomatoes! But here is the traditional bread stuffing recipe (yankee style):

http://www.marthastewart.com/3...

Thanksgiving without sage-onion dressing would be like Fall without red-yellow-orange leaves. It just would not be.

No no no, Gloria. It's just gotta be cornbread stuffing, but absolutely NO sugar in the cornbread. And then add onions and sage and rosemary and thyme. But it's gotta be cornbread. And bits of celery. You're in the south now!

Isn't it funny how the flavor is mostly the same, sage-y, but the ingredients differ from every part of the country. There were times I remember when Mom saved the heels of loaves of white bread for weeks in the fridge, she'd then add them to the holiday stuffing as a 'binder' she said. But it had to be old bread, not fresh, and always just added as an extra to the cornbread blend. I didn't like when she put yeast rolls in, those she'd also saved in the fridge. With them the stuffing had a sweet taste, mostly from the yeast-y flavor, I think.

But no matter where we are from, sage always reminds of those past holiday dinners.

Thanks for the 'yankee' recipe! And you're right, without the sage/onion dressing, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving.

*you are so right !!!! No sugar in southern cornbread.

I got some sage leaves at grocery so am off to make my saltimbocca.

Mom, used a few slices of stale bread. Lots of celery and onion and an egg or two.

One of the funniest things about the eggs had to do with my sister. She was following my Mom's recipe and she mixed in boiled eggs instead of raw eggs, she could not understand why the dressing was dry and crumbly.

Wonderful memories around those holidays and the smells and sounds that evoke them.

Sharon, do you have a recipe for cornbread dressing/stuffing to share? I don't believe I have ever had it, but we love cornbread. I grew up with dressing made with bread and my Mom would let the bread sit out for hours to dry so it would soak up all the chicken broth. Funny how many cookbooks I have, but so few have recipes for dressing because people just throw it together from memory. I have been writing recipes like that down in case my kids ask for them.

And some whole cranberry sauce to go along with the onion-sage stuffing! In my old age, I can do without the turkey, but not without the stuffing! And yep. that's what old dried out bread was for--to put in the sage and onion stuffing. Not cornbread!!!

I was born in November '42 so I've been eating this dressing/stuffing all these years. The recipe is a lot older than I am.
I had to go dig around in my memory and in Ninna's old papers. I don't do a lot of measuring when I make it, but this is very very close:

7 or 8 C crumbled cornbread (just like homemade biscuits, we used no sugar in breads)
3 or 4 C crumbled day old homemade biscuits
2 C chopped celery
2 C chopped onions

1 t chopped rosemary
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t thyme
1 t parsley
(actually poultry seasoning has all the above spices in it, so you could just use about 2 T poultry seasoning and be done with it.)
1 or 2 T sage

1/2 C melted butter
4 C broth
3 lightly beaten eggs

First mix the crumbled breads together in a large mixing bowl and then add the celery and onions.

Pour 1/2 C melted butter over the mix and stir.
Pour 2 C broth over the mix and stir

Now add the seasonings and do a taste test then adjust seasonings to what you like. If it's too spicy then add another cup of bread crumbs. If not spicy enough, then add more spices a little at a time.

When it tastes the way you want it, then add about 3 lightly beaten eggs and 2 more cups of broth to the whole mix. Stir well and let sit while you grease a long baking pan and while the oven heats to 350*. Maybe 9"x13".

Pour into pan and pat down the top but don't press down. If you like moister dressing then you can add more broth here, pouring over the mix.

Bake covered in 350* oven for about 30 minutes, then uncover and bake another 30 minutes.

That's about it.

Sometimes Mom made little patties with whatever didn't fit into the baking pan, those she baked separately for less time in the same oven and they were kept in the fridge and became my snack cakes for the next few days. I must have carried those little sage patties in every pocket I had all winter long.

Sometimes, too, Mom added chopped up bits of the cooked neck and liver to parts of the dressing. I never liked having bits of meat in mine, so I avoided it.

Enjoy.

Great, I will add this to my cookbook. Thanks.

Thanks for the recipe, Sharon.

I used to do stuffing from a box (gasp!) , but not anymore. This will be so wonderful!


I used sage on my cushaw squash this evening...it was so yummy!

If you bake cornbread, it's about as easy to make it from scratch as it is from a box. Only the baking takes a little longer. Truth is, I guessed at the measurements for most things, so it would be easy enough to cut back all around if you were only cooking for 2 or 3. Mostly I use a pinch or two of this and a pinch or two of that depending on how much leftover cornbread I have.

I've never been fond of squash of any kind, nor do I like pumpkin very much. I guess I need to try your squash with sage to see what I've been missing.

You know what I had tonight? Gonna tell you, baby spinach leaves, some chopped up oranges, chopped organic Turkish apricots, sprinkled with a bit of blue cheese and a few bits of my basil and chives, a touch of rosemary and a sprinkle of olive oil and applecider vinegar.

Almond slivers on top.

Now is that yummy or what? I think I must have nearly covered every food group with that one little bowl of salad. I'd boiled an egg to go with it, but forgot to add it on, so the egg might be my breakfast tomorrow.

Mmmm, sounds yummy!

I like all of the squash(s) that I can't get at the grocery store.
If you could find it, I'd also suggest Romanesco. This is the first year that I grew it and its texture and flavors are outstanding. Firm, smooth and just a bit citrus-y, perhaps.
I don't, however, think I'd try sage on that one.

I'll have a lovely mixed green salad with my next meal, yet tonight. I think I'll sprinkle sage on it as well. Do you think it would go well with hard-boiled egg?