Thanksgiving Checklist: Cornbread Dressing

 


Thanksgiving Table at Project Good Life

  In the South, we make dressing (not stuffing) and use cornbread as the base. If you have never made cornbread dressing, I suggest that you try it. You'll never go back.  Even the Urban Family, who makes their own white bread stuffing for our Thanksgiving buffet each year, also has taken to savoring some of our cornbread goodness.  As with most of my holiday recipes, the method that I use for making cornbread dressing originated from my Grandmother.  My Grandmother would make cornbread dressing not just on holidays -- she'd sometimes use it for other family meals.  Her secret ingredient? More sage than anyone would think is reasonable.  Over the years, I have added a few touches to our family's cornbread dressing, including adding sausage.   Southern Living, which is my Bible for good cooking, has many good recipes for cornbread dressing.  For those so inclined, here is the Project Good Life method for making cornbread dressing.  Method: You need buttermilk biscuits, cornbread, sausage, broth, onions, celery, dry, ground sage, and parsley.  Prepare biscuits and cornbread (enough to make approximately 4 cups of each crumbled).  Set aside for cooling. Once cooled, then crumble.  Finely dice onion and celery and mix with crumbles.  Add lots of ground sage, a dash of salt, and a dash of pepper.  If desired, add small bits of parsley.  Mix bread and spices together.  On the stove, cook one or two packages of Jimmy Dean sausage (I buy the package with sage).  Once cooked, make sure that sausage is broken into fine crumbles.  Add to bread mixture.  Heat one to two cups of broth over the stove and pour over bread mixture once broth is boiling.  Mix in with bread mixture so that mixture is moist (but not runny).  Bake in oven on 350 for around 20-30 minutes.  If serving with a turkey, on a platter, place some dressing around the outer edges of the bird.  Serve the remaining dressing in a casserole dish.