Original from Joy of Cooking "Apple and Onion Dressing" What I actually do on Thanksgiving: It calls for 7 cups of soft bread crumbs, but I find that breadcrumbs make everything way too mushy and I like the definition that you get from croutons. So, I use 1 package of (hard) stuffing croutons, usually the "herbed" or "seasoned" kind, found in the stuffing aisle, not in the salad dressing aisle. All the salad croutons (a) come with cheese and (b) come in tiny expensive packages. Anyway, it turns out to be about 9 cups in a package. Next, it calls for one cup each of onion and celery. I use more like two cups (of course, I just chop up a couple of onions and a pile of celery til it feels good, I don't actually measure.) It calls for 3 cups apples. I used 4+. I actually measured becuase it was convenient to dump the apples in a measuring cup while chopping. It calls for one cup raisins. I can't recall what I actually used. Somewhat more. One clove garlic. I scoff and put in three or four. 3/4 cup butter -- I use one cup canola oil so it'll be pareve and because I'm like 1.25'ing the recipe. 1/4 cup chopped parsley, I used somewhat more. When measuring parsley, pack it very very tightly into the measuring cup; the amount you actually get varies by like a factor of 20 between loose packing and tight packing. I leave out the salt; probably there's some in the herbed croutons. Preparation: Soak the raisins in boiling water while you chop stuff. Drain. Chop stuff that needs chopping. Cook the onion, celery, and garlic in the oil. Dump the croutons into a bowl, and add the apple and parsley and raisins and cooked stuff. Toss. (I actually stir after each addition so the things are pretty well distributed.) At this point, the stuffing is ready for the bird. For the vegetarian stuffing, toss with two cups or so of vegetable broth and bake for about 40 minutes at 350. ------- Original recipe 7 cups croutons (the kind for stuffing rather than the kind for salad) 1 Cup raisins 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 large onion (1 cup chopped) a couple of garlic cloves 3-4 stalks celery (1 cup chopped) 3 cups diced apple 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (I usually use more) (it calls for salt, but I never put it in) 1/4 teaspoon paprika (I usually use more)