Cornbread Dressing
In the future, we'll definitely amp up the herbs--we like a fair amount of sage--but otherwise it was very good. Ranked higher than the cranberry apple dressing of years past. Adapted slightly. Took a shortcut with the bagged stuffing but given my time, I couldn't swing making an extra bread.
I was asked about our menu: I brined a 13 pounder and then slathered our turkey with compound herb butter beneath the skin before cooking. I have it on good authority that it was fall off the bone tender and juicy. Not a big turkey fan myself. *shrugs* Knew I wanted to give Mom a well deserved break from the kitchen, so did a very maneagable menu (mostly) solo including a quarter spiral sliced ham with glaze, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, fresh cranberry sauce, tinned cranberry sauce, what was intended to be a fruit salad, rolls and two pies. Mom, to her credit, only snuck in the kitchen a few times, insisting on rinsing dishes, wiping down the table, etc. Oh, and she did make our gravy from pan drippings.
Most of our week was spent relaxing--football watching, the requisite Macy Day's parade, two movie rentals, rounds of gin rummy and Scattegories, friends, a quick walkabout in Smithfield. On Mom and Ted's next trip up, we hope to visit Charlotte via rail and also pop up to the Biltmore.
2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
6 large eggs, divided
2 cups buttermilk
2 TBSP bacon drippings or melted butter
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 bunches green onions, chopped
1 (16 ounce) package herb-stuffing mix (I used Pepperedige Farm)
5 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth, divided
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together 2 eggs and buttermilk. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can substitute just shy of one cup of whole milk and add in 1 TBSP of white vinegar. Let that stand for 5 minutes before using.
Stir together dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened. Heat bacon drippings in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or 9-inch round cakepan in a 425 oven 5 minutes. Stir hot drippings into batter. Pour into hot skillet. Bake cornbread at 425 for 25 minutes or until golden; cool and crumble. This may be frozen in a large heavy-duty zip-top bag up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add green onions and celery. Saute until tender. Stir together onion mixture, cornbread, stuffing mix and 4 cans of broth (you'll have one left). Spoon dressing into a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish and allow to sit, covered, overnight in the fridge. This will allow the flavors to meld and marry.
On cook day, beat 4 remaining eggs in a bowl. Remove dressing from fridge and mix eggs in thoroughly. Check to see how much broth has been absorbed and add last remaining can if need be. Bake cornbread at 350 for 1 hour or until lightly browned. It may be necessary to taste it. If underside of cornbread of cornbread remains creamy in consistency, mix it with a large spoon and continue cooking, checking periodicially.
I was asked about our menu: I brined a 13 pounder and then slathered our turkey with compound herb butter beneath the skin before cooking. I have it on good authority that it was fall off the bone tender and juicy. Not a big turkey fan myself. *shrugs* Knew I wanted to give Mom a well deserved break from the kitchen, so did a very maneagable menu (mostly) solo including a quarter spiral sliced ham with glaze, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, fresh cranberry sauce, tinned cranberry sauce, what was intended to be a fruit salad, rolls and two pies. Mom, to her credit, only snuck in the kitchen a few times, insisting on rinsing dishes, wiping down the table, etc. Oh, and she did make our gravy from pan drippings.
Most of our week was spent relaxing--football watching, the requisite Macy Day's parade, two movie rentals, rounds of gin rummy and Scattegories, friends, a quick walkabout in Smithfield. On Mom and Ted's next trip up, we hope to visit Charlotte via rail and also pop up to the Biltmore.
2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
6 large eggs, divided
2 cups buttermilk
2 TBSP bacon drippings or melted butter
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 bunches green onions, chopped
1 (16 ounce) package herb-stuffing mix (I used Pepperedige Farm)
5 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth, divided
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together 2 eggs and buttermilk. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can substitute just shy of one cup of whole milk and add in 1 TBSP of white vinegar. Let that stand for 5 minutes before using.
Stir together dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened. Heat bacon drippings in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or 9-inch round cakepan in a 425 oven 5 minutes. Stir hot drippings into batter. Pour into hot skillet. Bake cornbread at 425 for 25 minutes or until golden; cool and crumble. This may be frozen in a large heavy-duty zip-top bag up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add green onions and celery. Saute until tender. Stir together onion mixture, cornbread, stuffing mix and 4 cans of broth (you'll have one left). Spoon dressing into a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish and allow to sit, covered, overnight in the fridge. This will allow the flavors to meld and marry.
On cook day, beat 4 remaining eggs in a bowl. Remove dressing from fridge and mix eggs in thoroughly. Check to see how much broth has been absorbed and add last remaining can if need be. Bake cornbread at 350 for 1 hour or until lightly browned. It may be necessary to taste it. If underside of cornbread of cornbread remains creamy in consistency, mix it with a large spoon and continue cooking, checking periodicially.