A Thanksgiving Cornbread Dressing
INGRIDIENTS
1-1/2 cup yellow or Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
1/2 cup butter, melted
6 cups corn bread (may use gluten free mix)
4 slices or more white bread, toasted (may use gluten free bread)
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1/2 cup of parsley, minced
4 eggs
Hot broth (1/2 - 1 cup)
Black pepper to taste
Poultry seasoning or dried sage (1 - 1-1/2 teaspoons)
PREP (In Mimi's exact words, see notes for practical tips)
Sauté onions and celery slowly in butter until soft, not brown, and keep in refrigerator. Add broth mixture to crumbled breads and mix well. (Use canned broth if you don't have enough and you may use some milk). Beat eggs and add. Add seasonings. May stuff chicken or turkey but I like to cook in casserole at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Make broth by cooking liver giblets and neck in water to cover. Add onion and a piece of celery, salt and pepper.
NOTES
Put the cornbread mix into a buttered 9x13 casserole dish. Cover with foil for the first 35 minutes and remove for the last 10-15 minutes.
No need to put sautéed vegetables in refrigerator unless you are making them a day ahead, which she often did.
If using poultry seasoning or dried sage, add this to the onions when you sauté them. If using fresh sage, add when mixing ingredients.
I estimated the amount of broth in ingredients list above to be 1/2 to 1 cup. She did not specify. I have learned from my sister and cousin who make this often, that it needs too be much "soupier" than you think so it doesn't dry out. So add more if you need to.
Don't sauté the green onion or parsley. Put those in raw. You can also try leaving the celery out when you sauté the onions and put them in fresh, too, for some extra crunch (Ina Garten does this in her version). I really like the green onion and parsley in Mimi's version and think it makes the dish more visually pleasing and the taste is a bit "fresher" than other versions.
I estimated the poultry seasoning/sage to be 1-1/2 teaspoons; she did not specify. She suggested to use one or the other. If you want to use both, use 1 teaspoon of each.
I use Bob's Red Mill gluten free cornbread mix and it works well. Make sure your mix, if using, isn't too sweet.
Dressing is baked in a casserole dish and stuffing is stuffed in a turkey to bake.
Fresh broth makes all the difference.
