Thanksgiving isn’t a Jewish holiday, per say, but with the abundance of traditional foods and family, it may as well be! Favorite Thanksgiving foods can vary greatly by family (I recall getting in a heated brawl with my roommate over green bean casserole vs. Brussels sprouts one year. Brussels sprouts all the way!) But certain foods seem to find their way to every table, such as turkey, cranberry sauce, pie and of course stuffing.

Unfortunately, I won’t be making the schlep from Texas to Connecticut to have Thanksgiving with my family this year. Which means I will miss the yearly gathering of everyone around the oven, opening and closing the door repeatedly questioning whether the bird is done, all whilst prodding and probing at it for clues. Miss you guys!

In order to continue the tradition in my own home, I decided to recreated Bubbe’s famous Challah Dressing (since it is cooked outside the turkey it is technically a dressing, and not stuffing) with my own twists. I swapped out the onions for leeks, and added carrots and lots of fresh herbs. If you can’t find any of the fresh herbs, you can substitute dried as noted. Dried herbs are more intense, so make sure to use less. Delish! Definitely a holiday dish everyone can agree on.

 

Amy Kritzer is a food writer and recipe developer in Austin, TX who enjoys
cooking, theme parties and cowboys. She challenges herself to put a spin on her
grandmother’s traditional Jewish recipes and blogs about her endeavors at What
Jew Wanna Eat. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook and watch her
cooking videos on Google+.

Bubbe's Mushroom Challah Dressing

Ingredients

1 large loaf challah, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 8-10 cups, or enough to fill a
9x13 inch casserole dish)

4 Tbsp butter or margarine, plus more for greasing pan

1 cup carrots, diced

2 stalks leeks, cut into rounds

1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups celery, sliced

2 cups mushrooms (any kind), sliced

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced (1/2 Tbsp dried)

1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced (1/2 Tbsp dried)

1 tsp fresh sage, minced (1/2 tsp dried)

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced (1/2 tsp dried)

2 tsp fresh marjoram, minced (1 tsp dried)

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 eggs, beaten

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Fried sage leaves for garnish, if desired

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread challah cubes on a cookie sheet and
bake for 30 minutes or until dried out, tossing halfway.

Then increase oven to 325 degrees F.

Use butter or margarine to grease a 9x13 inch ceramic or glass casserole pan.

Melt remaining butter or margarine in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add
in carrots, leeks and salt and sauté until vegetables start to soften.

Then add in celery, mushrooms and seasonings. Sauté until all vegetables are
slightly soft. Cool slightly.

Mix vegetables with challah bread.

Combine eggs with chicken stock and pour oven bread mixture until well
saturated (you may not need all of the liquid).

Bake at 325 degrees F covered in foil for 45 minutes, removing cover for the last
10 minutes.

Garnish with fried sage if desired.