Chicken Stuffing (Dressing) with Gravy

Tom was so excited about this dinner he didn't hesitate to 'come and get it' when he heard the serving dishes clanking.

The hard part about dressing and gravy is that you need chicken stock, which you cannot make until the chicken is roasted and the meat is off the bones. Unfortunately the chicken is never as good as it is hot out of the oven. Day One I roasted chicken rubbed with salt, pepper, and rosemary on a bed of sweet potatoes and onions like I do, then I reserved the juices separately, and pulled the meat off the bones and began boiling stock (takes about 3-4 hours). You get 1 quart for a 3 lb chicken, luckily that is what I had because that is what I needed.

Day Two: Dressing

1 loaf of RiverSong Farm Stuffing Bread, wt. 3/4 lb, cubed and dried
1/4 cup of butter
1 large onion, diced
2 cups of chopped celery
2 cups of chicken stock
2 eggs
leftover dark chicken meat (I had 2-3 cups)

Preheat oven to 350. I dumped the dried bread cubes into a small lasagna pan and stirred the chicken pieces into it. Meanwhile I sauteed over medium high heat the onion in the butter for 5 minutes before adding the celery and sauteing another 1-2 minutes. Then I turned off the heat and added the chicken stock just till it was liquid again (because real chicken stock has gelatin which makes it gel up in the fridge. I dumped the whole skillet over the cubes and tossed. Then I beat the 2 eggs in a separate bowl, poured over the cubes and tossed again. I did not need to add herbs because they are baked into the bread. Tent with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15. Serve.

During that last 15 minutes make the gravy.

1/4 cup chicken fat (reserved from roasting)
1/4 cup of flour
Pan drippings + enough stock to equal 2 cups
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet over medium high heat melt chicken fat and fry the flour for at least 1-2 minutes. You are making a roux. The longer you cook the flour in the fat, the more brown (and flavorful) it gets, but the less thickening power it will have. Using a flat wisk, slowly pour in the hot drippings and stock stirring to incorporate into flour mixture. Let the gravy boil for a couple of minutes, salt and pepper to taste.

I had enough of the sweet potatoes from the day before leftover to serve with the meal, and as a precursor Tom had sauteed mixed greens (swiss chard, cabbage leaves, kale) and I had a salad.

Serves 4-6