Wednesday, November 23, 2011

State Parks and Thanksgiving & The Great Cornbread vs Bread debate!

Dupont State Park
No mistake in this house I love a good cornbread dressing. GMR loves my cornbread dressing, too, as does most anyone else who eats it. GMR is from New Orleans, and I am a West Virginia HillWilliam who lived a lot of her time in the deep south and who had a Tennessee Daddy and an adoptive mom from an Arkansas farm. My mom always made cornbread dressing. I ate it as a child growing up; I watched her make it and  learned from her as I grew up; I took up that tradition.

GMR, however, prepares Erster Stuffing . . . or for you who aren't New Orleans born or haven't lived in or been to South Louisiana, that's Oyster Stuffing (he does call it dressing, but I refuse to *teeheehee*). This stuffing is made with Bread - no cornbread. Not a touch. And it has critters in it - oysters. What the fiddledeedee?
dupont state park
So each Thanksgiving, I have an informal but rabid poll about this. What do you eat/prepare in your house at Thanksgiving (or during the holidays)? Is it WONDERFUL MAGICAL SUMPTUOUSLY DELICIOUS Cornbread Dressing. Or is it nasty soggy bread stuffing with maybe some snotty-looking critters in it? (*haw*)
Dupont State Park
I want to wish you all who observe to have a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your families. Hug each other. Tell each other you love one another. Make the moments count. If there is any time at all to be mushy and to build broken bridges and to talk about gratitude and family and friends, well, now is surely that time.
cataloochie valley as seen through the barn
from waterrock knob on parkway
from water-rock knob parkway

Today, I bake my cornbread and we'll have a slice when it's warm from the oven - there's always plenty left over for my dressing. I'll bake my pecan (puh-cahn!) pie and my pumpkin pie, as well. GMR is brining the turkey (this really does work quite well), and he will make his erster stuffing (what-EVER --laughing--), and whatever else he will do ahead of time. I am lucky to have a GMR who loves to cook, but also who cleans up along-side of me so I don't have to do it all alone.
Blanchard Caverns

blanchard caverns
99% of photos here on my blog are taken by me. The two cavern photos were not taken by me, but by my brother Tommy, from our Odyssey round-about from Texas to North Carolina, and they do not do these caverns justice much as he tried--they are just too majestic and awe-inspiring to fully capture in the dim light--Blanchard Springs Caverns in Mountain View Arkansas. In the caverns, it was as if some ancient civilization, or aliens, created the "sculptures." I'll have more photos later, I hope. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me (I rushed to Texas so quickly, I didn't grab it), but my brother did, so as soon as he can upload all the hunnerds of them from our Odyssey :-D I will share some more with you. (Our first State Park stop was below at Petit Jean State Park).

The photos of waterfalls above are from our own WNC Dupont State Park. And two below I took from the train ride my brother and I took on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad.
from train (great smoky mountain railroad)


With GMR's friends, I also visited Cataloochie Valley (photos above and below) and Water-rock Knob at Blue Ridge Parkway (above). These are places, here in WNC, that GMR and I go frequently and never tire of it and are always awe-struck.
cataloochie valley from trail

We also visited Max Patch and walked a bit of the Appalachian (AppaLatchun not AppaLayshun) Trail.


I am awe-struck at the beauty of our parks and parkways.
And, how grateful I am for our National and State Parks. They are truly a national treasure that we oft-times can take for granted. Think of them when you go on vacations - many can be "right in your back-yard." They do so need our love and support.

turkeys at Cataloochie Valley- they won't be eaten, at least by humans, lawd!
Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for all of you. *Blowing You All A Kiss*

11 comments:

Donna Cummings said...

I'm casting my vote for cornbread stuffing! It's what I grew up with, so I was astonished when I found out people ate the other stuff. LOL

I love your pics too. I haven't seen our wild turkeys around lately. I guess they're playing it safe. LOL Who can blame them this time of year?

Kathleen Boston McCune said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and GMR too. For the record, my favorite dressing is made with corn bread but I enjoy the oyster variety as well.....just not at home in the Midwest where the rest of the family cannot even fathom fish in their dressing! Loved the photos.

Karen S. Elliott said...

I love cornbread, on the sweet side, warm, lots of butter. I call my stuffing, "stuffing," and please, hold the oysters.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

eeks, no snotty-looking critters in my stuffing,thanks.
Love the land of beauty in those photos. Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy your cornbread.

B. WHITTINGTON said...

It seems in the North they make "stuffing" and in the south "dressing."
I love cornbread dressing but make the old fashioned bread dressing my mother always made.
It's a bit soggy the way we like it but without the critters you mention. Although since I like oysters that sounds good too.
I'm off here now to start the dressing and to prepare the bird for baking tomorrow morning.
God bless. And thanks for the lovely photos. You live in a beautiful place.
So happy you and your brother had such a good time together coming home the round about way. It's always the best way, and with a sibling cannot be beat.
Bless your sweet heart for sharing.

NCmountainwoman said...

Are you possibly saying there are only two kinds of dressing? Either delicious cornbread or soggy snotty? (Haw indeed!)

Love all the photographs. Of course I'm partial to the ones in Dupont Forest...only a few miles from my house.

Happy Thanksgiving regardless of the dressing. It will be sourdough bread crumbs and herbs, not soggy or snotty here.

Mimi said...

Happy Thanksgiving, Kathryn.
lol re snotty-looking critters in the stuffing!
Beautiful pictures.
We don't do Thanksgiving here at all, so I can't join in your poll, sorry.

Eryl said...

I would happily have both, though I can't quite imagine what they look, taste, feel like. Dressing to me is the stuff you pour over salad, so I was a bit confused there for a moment. I do know cornbread, though, and it is utterly delicious.

Have a marvellous weekend.

Linda Leschak said...

These days I make cornbread dressing. It has pecans and apples and onions and cranberries and sweet Italian sausage... it's so good it's like a party in your mouth! But one time, many years back, I had the oyster kind along with a friend of mine who was from the deep south. He made it up as he went along and it turned out so good it made me wanna slap my mamma.

Deb Shucka said...

I make a traditional bread stuffing, just like my mom used to do. I don't think I've ever had cornbread stuffing, but I enjoyed the erster stuffing I tried once.

I hope this weekend was full of love and warmth and peace for you.

Walker said...

I never had corn bread dressing so i can't really say which is better.
Maybe you should let the turkey decide.
One gobble for bread and one gobble and a ax thud for cornbread dressing