If you've read our first two books, you know that they come with recipes in the back. (And if you haven't read them... they come with recipes in the back!) The first two feature custom-made dishes by Angela Pritchett, but our third will will have something a bit different: a recipe that, in the story, comes from Iris's cat-having neighbor Ms. Waters.
In reality, the recipe comes from a Lebanese cookbook made by the women of St. George's Orthodox Church in Charleston, WV — in other words, the church built by Kara's family! We're looking forward to giving this family recipe (and perhaps others) a new life with new people. And today, with Thanksgiving around the corner, we thought we'd share another recipe from Kara's family.
This is an old favorite: a mashed potato-based stuffing whose recipe was passed down from Kara's great-grandmother. Does that mean it's a traditional Lebanese dish? Not quite... that's the impression we got at first, but it turned out great-grandma got it from a New England cookbook. Regardless... it's a family recipe, it's delicious, and you should all get to try it.
Here you go!
Ingredients
- 4 lbs. potatoes, peeled and mashed
- 3 cups cracker crumbs*
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 chopped white onion
- 1 egg
- Dash nutmeg
- Salt to taste
Directions
1. Add cracker crumbs a bit at a time to mashed potatoes in a large pot.
2. Add butter, celery, onion, and egg. Mix well.
3. Add nutmeg and salt to taste.
4. Divide the mixture. You should have enough to stuff a decent-sized turkey and to bake in a casserole dish.
* If you're crushing up the cracker crumbs yourself, use unsalted crackers.
