Grandma Kerr's Bread Dressing

A turkey dinner is not complete without bread dressing.  Everyone has their own variation that appears on family dinner tables and this one was passed from my Dad's Mom to my Mom and now onto me.  It's not a quick recipe but it is well worth the effort, we have always baked it slow and low in the oven.  You can make it ahead of time and then reheat it as dinner time approaches, we weren't ones to stuff the turkey so it requires a little more planning in terms of oven space.

Summer Savoury is the star of this dressing which can sometimes be a very difficult herb to find.  I prefer the fresh kind that is found in the produce section, it's still on the stem and much more fragrant.  Be sure to remove any stems and twigs that may come off with the herb leaves before adding it to any recipe.  To release the flavour, grind the leaves in the palm of your hand.  If you have trouble finding fresh Summer Savoury the bottled kind will do, the key to this recipe is the unique herb so no substitutions!!!  Most dressing/stuffing recipes call for Sage which is lovely, but a different taste all together!

I have made this dressing for many years and have never followed a recipe, it's one of those handed down treasures that is all about look and feel!  My recipe is enough to share at a LARGE family dinner, it would be best to cut the ingredients back if it's just for a smaller group.  Share this dish with your loved ones and fill your house with the warm smells of the holiday season.

Ingredients
1 loaf of white bread, cubed
1 loaf of brown bread, cubed
4-5 sweet/vidalia onions chopped
1 lb of butter
1 carton of Chicken Stock
Summer Savoury
1 large aluminum roasting pan

-Cube and place bread in a large roasting pan (fill it to the top ... you won't likely use all the bread though).  Season bread with salt and pepper and toss with a drizzle of olive oil.  **Place in the oven at 350 to dry out the bread if it is too fresh
-Melt 1/2 lb of butter and saute chopped onions (for variations I have included mushrooms, shallots and garlic for extra flavour)
-Add in Summer Savoury, 1 to 2 "palmfuls"  or rounded tablespoons to allow the flavour to infuse with the butter and onion mixture
-Add in 1/2 of the carton of chicken stock and continue cooking until the onions are soft
-Spoon over the bread cubes, mixing as you go ... don't just dump it all on at once!!!
-If you don't have enough liquid to moisten all of the bread melt some extra butter, summer savoury and additional chicken stock ... you want the bread moist enough, but not a gooey mess!
-Bake at 275-300 until golden brown .... this might take a while. Stir it around every 15 minutes or so and remove from the oven once the dressing has reached your desired "look and feel".  Mine is usually anywhere from 1-2 hours depending on how much bread and liquid is used.  Place in a serving dish and set aside until dinner time!  Be sure to make enough for leftover dressing sandwiches .... my Dad's favourite!