A Stuffing Tradition

As Thanksgiving is almost upon us, food traditions reign supreme.  Not many like an "experimental" Thanksgiving feast, with new recipes, variations on the traditional, injections of new flavors or international twists.  Really, not many of us can even imagine substituting some other meat product for the big bird....tofurkey anyone?

Yes, I am usually alone in my desires for twists on the standards.  I torture my family with a new take on cranberry sauce every year.  One year the turkey is brined, the next fried, then rubbed, then stuffed with aromatics, then roasted with a cider glaze.  Seemingly limitless experiments come out of my kitchen this time of year.  I have won over some fans, and chased away others.  Take the year that I roasted several head of fresh garlic and squeezed them into the prized mashed potatoes.  You would have thought I severed a goat's head and served it!  But, alas, once the shock wore off, I heard faint mumblings of satisfaction around the table.  I'm lucky to have pretty good sports in my family, as far as food is concerned.  They indulge me in my experimentation, are willing to try things out, and mostly nod nicely even if the dish is not their favorite edition.

But one thing remains unchanged.  My Grandfather Platt's sweet stuffing.  Papa was German, so I've often  imagined the origins of this recipe grew somewhere in the forested regions of small town Deutchland.  Maybe someone over there, years ago, some distant relative of mine had a sweet tooth and a creative mind.  Maybe they were playing with recipes for a family celebration (I guess not Thanksgiving in Germany!!) and came up with this concoction.  I don't know for sure, but it makes me happy to think so. All I really know is that it is a family food tradition for us, and we don't have too many of those.

As kids, we fought for the bowl of sweet stuffing to make it around the table to us quickly.  Yes, we still had (and liked) traditional sage stuffing, and it sat on our plate right beside the sweet stuffing and the mashed potatoes.  And they all got covered in gravy.  As we grew up and encountered those outside of our family who thought our recipe strange, we held our recipe a bit more dear.  Grandma Platt was the only one in the family who knew how to make it, or so we thought.  As Grandma got older, she bestowed on my mom her tried and true techniques.  Now, you should know, our Proud Irish Grandma did not see anything good about sweet stuffing.  This was not HER family tradition.  But she carried it on for us.  As she dutifully taught the method for making it, she would quip, "keep putting sugar in it... when you think there it far too much sugar in it, put in a little more".   So mom has become the keeper of the recipe.  And, I have to say, her version is even better than Grandma's was.

This year, mom and dad are in Florida for Thanksgiving.  I'm having Thanksgiving at April's Aunt Carol's house.  My sister and her family are busy preparing their own feast.  A few days ago, my sister called.  "Can you make us sweet stuffing?"   Though I have never made it before, I always keep a watchful eye as it is being made, so I decided to give tradition a whirl.  And, I have to say, I think Papa would give it an approving nod.  Grandma would think it was far too sweet.  Mom might add another bit of sugar.  Next we will see how my sister's clan likes it.

I give thanks to all who have sacrificed traditional tastes in the name of some of my experiments, and all who have contributed to the many many Happy Thanksgivings that my family has shared.  Enjoy all of your favorite food traditions, but don't be afraid to give some new recipes a whirl.  You may be glad you did!

Papa Platt's Sweet Stuffing


1 large bowl of stale bread cubes 
( I used 1 large loaf of Mancini's Italian bread, cubed, and lightly toasted)


1 cup of sugar
4 Tablespoons of cinnamon
sprinkle these right over top of the bread cubes


1 stick of butter
2 cups of chicken stock (or water)
heat these together on the stove until butter is melted


Pour half of liquid over the bread cube mixture.  Stir well to incorporate.  Add the rest of the liquid slowly until desired stuffing moistness is reached.  You may not need to add all the liquid, depending on bread volume.  Place in casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake at 350 for 30- 45 minutes.