The Business of a Name

What is it about the particular name of something that either induces a strong desire for or against a particular food.  For example pate sounds much more desirable than liver pudding - yes such a thing does exist.  All I can tell you about puddin as it is know around these parts, is that when I asked how you serve it and eat it here is what I was told "You cut a slice and put it on hot grits and it just sort of melts."  I passed.  Boudin noir better than blood sausage, Escargot infinitely better than sails and crudites sounds more appetizing and far more chic than raw cut up vegetables. To me,  being a love of  vegetables in all form this one does not apply to me.  So food, or the perception of food, along with so many other aspects of life can vary greatly, depending how it is presented.

So whether you call it stuffing or dressing the teenage male in my household had made up his mind that he did not like this particular dish.  Please do not even get me started on the thousands of variaions of what stuffing or dressing can be comprised of, he is of the opine that if he had eaten something called stuffing and he did not like it, he would therefore from that point moving forward, not like anything called stuffing.  A dilema because I had stale bread and leftover celery from Christmas morning bloodies and when you find yourself with those  two ingredients and it is winter - you make stuffing.  And I did.  I did also, however, when querried as to what was for dinner, rename it as bread pudding.  Needless to say it was a hit!

Hodge Podge of Stale PlannedOver Bread

Left over bread - if you see from my picture I used bagels
Onion
Celery
Mushrooms
Eggs
Broth or Stock
Salt and Pepper
Bell's seasoning

Saute onions, mushrooms and celery in a little butter and olive oil until translucent and soft.  Transfer to a bowl.  If your bread is not dried out - put it in a 350 oven for 20 minutes.  Add cubed or torn bread to bowl with onions add two beaten eggs, stock and seasoning to taste.  Mixture should be pretty wet.  This can even be made in advance, refridgerated, check if additional broth needs to be added and continue.  Place mixture in a baking dish 350 45-60 minutes!

Enjoy! Happy Eating!