Hmmm…. I must have mistakenly thought that this thread was about recipes and celebrating Thanksgiving. So, I am going forward in that light….
In the South, most of us are used to having cornbread dressing at Thanksgiving. For those not familiar with dressing, it is like stuffing but it cooked outside of the turkey, never stuffed inside. And it’s really personal – everyone likes it the way their mom or grandmother made it. And no matter how old we all get, if we don’t have our moms and grandmothers here anymore, we especially miss them during the holidays. Those who do still have them have no idea what a treasure that is.
My grandmother and my mom never had a “recipe” and so my cornbread dressing is just never as good as theirs. But here is a recipe that is pretty close. My grandmother always told me to add enough turkey broth so that you could stir a fork through the dressing easily.
Cornbread Dressing Recipe
(Serves 12 people.)
1. Prepare 2 ½ quarts of broth with preceding instructions. Allow to cool.
2. Bake two 8 x 8 pans of cornbread from your favorite recipe. Cool completely and break into small pieces.
3. Tear or crumble 8 slices of white bread and allow it to sit out only long enough to dry it slightly.
4. Put breads in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the following:
* 1 cup white onions, chopped
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
* 1 teaspoon sage
* 1 teaspoon salt
* ½ teaspoon black pepper
* ½ cup butter
* 4 beaten eggs
* 8 to10 cups turkey broth
Toss the ingredients together until all bread is dampened but not mushy. More or less broth may be added to combine the ingredients. Use several cups of the stuffing to fill the turkey. Place the rest in a casserole dish. Top with chopped green onions. Cover with foil and refrigerate.
When ready to bake, heat oven to 400º F. Place casserole dish in the hot oven and bake for one hour. Remove the foil and return to the oven for about 10 minutes longer to brown.