The Dressing Blessing ~ Thanksgiving 2016

THANKSGIVING is my favorite holiday for the simple joys of faith, grateful hearts, good food, and family. We make time to be together around the table and make time to count our blessings. This year my parents, Tom & Lois Maloy (who just celebrated SIXTY YEARS of marriage yesterday) shared stories of their courtship and early marriage. It was a good, good day.

Today I am sharing yet another favorite recipe and this one is extra special to me because it’s my dad’s recipe. He taught me how to make CORNBREAD DRESSING several years ago. I loved spending that Thanksgiving morning in the kitchen with him and wrote down everything he did. Since I was given the “dressing blessing,” I wanted to share the recipe with you today. It’s simple, Southern, and very traditional. I don’t know how to make just a little bit – but you could half everything to make just one pan of dressing. We have 20-22 people at our table, so I make plenty!

INGREDIENTS for DRESSING – CORNBREAD Ingredients listed separately below!
8 cups crumbled cornbread (My cornbread recipe is below if you need one).
4 pieces of white bread (dried out or toast if you need to)
2 cups of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned crumbs (packaged mix)
1 can Herbed Cream of Chicken Soup – YES!
2 medium onions, diced small
3-4 stalks of celery, diced small
1 stick of butter (I use salted) to saute onions and celery
2 tsp. (more or less to taste) Poultry Seasoning
4 eggs, beaten
8-9 cups of chicken broth 

Instructions:
1. Make cornbread first – I usually do it the day before, and this is a 12′ skillet.Cornbread Recipe
2 cups White Lily Self-Rising Buttermilk Cornmeal
1 stick of melted butter (I use salted)
1 1/2 cups of buttermilk
1/4 cup of corn oil plus more to coat the skillet
1 egg beaten

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and then pour 1/4 cup of corn oil (or vegetable oil) into your cast iron skillet, swirl it around to cover sides. You can then slide into hot oven to heat oiled skillet, or heat on your stovetop (my preference).

In a mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients: melted butter, oil, beaten egg and buttermilk. Stir in the cornmeal and whisk well. Now pour the cornbread batter into the hot greased skillet and place skillet in oven. Bake 20-25 minutes until nicely browned.

2. Make your chicken stock early so it can simmer a couple of hours, unless you are using store-bought chicken stock. I fill a stock pot with 3-4 quarts of water. I prefer to use a whole hen, but you can use 3-4 chicken thighs  (and if you’re roasting a turkey, add the turkey neck), 2 onions quartered, 2-3 stalks of celery with leaves, 1/2 stick of butter, salt/pepper. Simmer.

3. To begin making the dressing, you need a large bowl or pot. First combine the crumbled cornbread, dry white bread and the Pepperidge Farm herbed seasoning crumbs together in a large bowl. Set aside.
4. Melt a stick of butter in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the diced onion and celery together until it is soft, transparent – but do not let it brown! Pour the onions/celery over the cornbread mixture.
5. Next, add in the can of Herbed Cream of Chicken Soup and the 2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning (add more to taste if you like a stronger flavor). Some people really like ground sage, but we are divided on that, so I leave it out.

6. Now strain your chicken stock (broth) so you just have the liquid (not the meat, celery, onions). Pour 7-8 cups of the hot broth over the whole mixture and stir well. You want the dressing to be the consistency of oatmeal, not too soupy, not too thick. TASTE NOW BEFORE ADDING RAW EGGS!  This is where you can taste the dressing and add salt/pepper or more seasoning if you’d like.  We say Less Is More when it comes to sage/poultry seasoning.
7. Add the 4 beaten eggs and mix again.

8. Pour the dressing into 2 buttered/greased 9×13 casserole dishes (or two large cast iron skillets that have been well-greased), and bake at 400-425 degrees until browned on top, 30-45 minutes.

I forgot to take a picture of the “browned/baked” dressing, but I found two pictures that show it among the Thanksgiving spread (and my delightful grandchildren) our family enjoyed. It is in the oval dish on the far right and in the partially consumed dish below!

Cornbread dressing is a staple at Southern tables. We don’t say stuffing, we say dressing. We are usually stuffed after a delicious Thanksgiving meal, but we don’t stuff the turkey! 🙂

One last thing! I make the dressing the day before Thanksgiving and leave it in the fridge in a big bowl. The next day I put it in my casseroles (or skillets) for baking. I think it helps the flavors all meld together – but actually it also gives me time to do all the other cooking I have to do for Thanksgiving!

Counting my blessings this Thanksgiving Day!