Oyster Dressing

This is my Mom’s recipe that she changed for my Dad.  She always made Oyster Dressing with French bread, but my Dad preferred a cornbread dressing.  Well, her recipe developed into a Cornbread/French bread Oyster Dressing.  The dressing mix is my shortcut.

Ingredients:

• 1 Jiffy cornbread, prepared, cooled, and crumbled
• 1 loaf of French bread, stale
• 2 C. onions, chopped
• 1 C. bell pepper, chopped
• 1 C. celery, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped
• ½ C. of fresh parsley finely chopped
• 1 pt. fresh oysters, drained and pureed (save the oyster liquor)
• 1 lb. of Savoie or Richard’s Dressing Mix
• 1 T. of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• ½ t.  of cayenne pepper
• ½ C. vegetable oil
• ¼ C. (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 egg, scrambled

Directions:

1. Soak 1/2 of the French bread in 1/2 C. of the oyster liquor until soft and soggy, reserve.
2. In a Dutch oven, sauté onions, bell peppers, and celery over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add dressing mix and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add the oysters and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Add the green onions, parsley, Creole seasoning, and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes.
7. Add some cornbread, french bread, and then some oyster liquor, alternating and scrapping the bottom of the Dutch oven often. (you might not need all the cornbread or all of the oyster liquor)
8. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes and continue scrapping.
9. Remove the dressing from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
10. Add the butter and the egg and stir well.
11. Transfer to a casserole dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
12. When you are ready to serve, bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Tips and Tricks:

• Make the cornbread the day before you make the oyster dressing.
• You need a really sturdy spoon to stir this dressing.  It gets thick as it cooks, but it’s important to keep it moving.