Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Thanksgiving With a Little South on the Side

RileyAdamsFoodBlogPostpic_thumb_thumb[3]

Getting ready for Thanksgiving always involves a lot of rushing around—at least for me!

Somehow I seem to have a hard time getting a handle on my list of things to do. Or on my grocery list! The number of times I go to the store is a little scary. :)

But Thanksgiving day is a wonderful little oasis. You wouldn’t think that’s true, but really, much of the work goes into the preparation…besides, the whole family here usually ends up with a lovely Thanksgiving nap after all the food! And Southern cooking is famously heavy.

The business of the prep work and my forgetfulness is exactly why this recipe for Southern Cornbread Dressing comes in handy. As long as I can remember the corn meal (which I usually have in my pantry, anyway) and some celery, I have all the other ingredients readily available in my house.

Note: You’ll be using about half of the cornbread that you prepare, with this recipe. So you can either cut up and serve the rest of the cornbread to have with your meal (buttered!) or else you can double the ingredients to use the full amount.

Another Note: Most Southerners will prepare this traditional dish by using a corn meal mix…which isn’t sweet like Jiffy is. But if you like a sweet cornbread and a sweet dressing/stuffing, you can use a sweet mix like Jiffy, instead.

The cornbread will need to be made first, according to the package directions.1289931752448

Ingredients
  • 16 oz. corn meal mix to prepare according to package(or, if you’d rather have sweet cornbread and sweet dressing, try a sweet mix like Jiffy, instead)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 tablespoon dried sage (sage isn’t to everyone’s taste—you can use more or less of the sage—I’ve used as much as 2T)
  • salt and pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a long, glass casserole dish.
  2. Cook the corn meal mix according to package instructions. Let it cool and crumble.
  3. Saute the onion and celery in the butter until softened.
  4. In a large bowl, combine and mix well: onions, celery, 3 cups of the crumbled corn bread, chicken stock, the egg, cream of mushroom soup, sage and salt and pepper; mix well.
  5. Place into glass casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Riley/Elizabeth

Hope y’all have a wonderful Thanksgiving next week!


Delicious and Suspicious (July 6 2010) Riley Adams
Pretty is as Pretty Dies –Elizabeth Spann Craig

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19 comments:

  1. Oh, your cornbread stuffing sounds wonderful! Good tips on the sweet versus not sweet cornbread (I'd have to go with unsweetened.) And I think you're right about Thanksgiving. The days leading up to it are crazier than the actual date -- at least by the end of the day. I always look forward to the morning after. All those leftovers in the fridge for breakfast! ~ Cleo

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  2. always make extras... love cornbread with a little honey in the mornings...

    This sounds really good. The soup must make this spectacularly different from what would be expected... I need to take a real close look at this recipe, sounds great

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  3. Just like we make love it southern comfort food. :)
    The World of Book Reviews

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  4. I like the mushroom soup in this one. I've tried all kinds of recipes for dressing, but that addition is a new one for me.

    Since Jiffy mixes are made in my state and I am a Yankee I have to say I prefer my cornbread sweet. :)

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  5. Thanks for sharing a little Southern Thanksgiving with us, Elizabeth. Great recipe! I tend to like my cornbread sweet, but in this case I may try it with regular cornmeal. Love it!

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  6. Elizabeth, for years I made cornbread dressing for a friend. Every year, she was polite about it, but it was never quite right. She finally told me that I was making it with sweet cornbread, and as a Southerner, she liked savory cornbread! Who knew? Southerners drink all that sweet tea, who would think they wouldn't like sweet cornbread? LOL!

    ~ Krista

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  7. Interesting adding all the savory things to a cornbread. Love it. Thanks for an easy recipe!

    ~Avery

    AveryAames.com
    Killer Characters

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  8. Cleo--I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who eats "real" food for breakfast!

    A Year on the Grill--It DOES make it different. You could skip the cream of mushroom and just add an extra egg to the mix....but that's not as much fun. :)

    ~ Babs ~It's real comfort food, isn't it? :)

    Janel--The soup really helps to make it moist, too! And if Jiffy is made in your state, I'd say it's a MUSt to use it! :)

    Julie--Give it a go and see what you think! Of course, usually we'll slather the top of cornbread with real butter, so I guess we're still getting a little sweetness in there.

    Krista--I've always thought it was odd, too! Usually if you say "sugar," Southerners are all over it. Why we like our cornbread unsweetened is really beyond me!

    Avery--We can't eat too much of this or we'll fill up on dressing!

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  9. I just posted last night with Cleo that my favorite Turkey day side dish was cornbread dressing with lots of sage. And I love making it with Jiffy cornbread mix because I like the "sweet"! Oh, yeah, bring it on! Nurse JudyMac

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  10. Southern Cornbread, made with stone ground corn meal, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, salt and fat, is one of our authentic American foods. they still make it this way in the south and I am always horrified, here in Boston, to eat the super-sweet cake-like almost dessert called cornbread.
    I always serve cornbread with chili con carne. Adding sugar and/or white flour is a no-no, sort of like, making Chicken Kiev with margarine.

    Great blog, by the way.

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  11. Great recipe. The celery is usually the one thing I forget until I'm pulling all of the ingredients out and then it's too late to rush to the store for just that. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  12. We have a saying in Texas: "Cake is sweet, cornbread is NOT!" So, my vote is for unsweet every time. If there is a recipe on the box for blueberry muffins (there is, on the Jiffy box), then it's way too sweet for stuffing!
    In other words, what Odette said, LOL!

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  13. As a southerner, I was raised on non-sweetened. But living north of the M/D line for over 20 years before moving back south, I can enjoy it either way.

    My favorite recipe is made with stone ground cornmeal, green chilies, & creamed corn (real, not the canned stuff) and cheddar cheese.
    (geekette)

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  14. This Southern girl gets her sweet on hot buttered cornbread by pouring on a little syrup, sometimes for breakfast but most often for dessert. (Usually after we've had cornbread with a meal like chili) And I like lots of sage in my cornbread dressing, yum! Never tried adding mushroom soup, but think I'll try it this year.

    Elizabeth, I want to thank you for the dinner inspiration one night last week, with your topic on Chicken Pot Pie. Couldn't think of what to fix in a hurry with my *deja* chicken til I remembered your post. Saved the day!

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  15. NurseJudyMac55--Another sage fan! Yay! I love it, but it's a very distinctive taste, isn't it?

    Grapeshot/Odette--Buttermilk makes it EVEN better! I always feel like I'm the bad influence on the blog, though...heavy food! And always fattening. But Southern cooking is so good...must be the sticks of butter and sour cream in everything. :)

    Oh, it's perfect with chili con carne! And now I want some... :)

    Mason--I think I've even made it without celery before, just with cream of celery soup! Sometimes I forget it, too!

    Shel--All the Southerners came out to play today! It's the cornbread, for sure! You're right--sweet is a dessert taste.

    Geekette--Yum! And those green chilies give it a little kick, too!

    Lynn--And you've *made* my day! I'm so glad to help out with your supper dilemma!

    Syrup on cornbread sounds wonderful! Y'all are all getting me hungry... :)

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  16. Not a big fan of dressing, but I do love cornbread warm from the oven slathered with butter. Sweet cornbread, huge fan. I grew up on Jiffy or Martha White.

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  17. Vickie--Ah, warm cornbread! With lots of butter. :) I'm a fan, too.

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  18. I make my cornbread in a big cast iron skillet with bacon drippings coating the bottom a couple of days before I'm going to make the stuffing then use onion sage celery the broth from the gibblets,which is dinner for my dogs. It's my granny's recipe for stuffing She usually put a little honey in the cornbread batter so I guess it would be sweet

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  19. Dressing is one of my favorite thing to make during the holidays. I don't use a cornbread mix though, I make it from scratch. I use my grannies recipe. I've never tried it with cream of mushroom soup before, I will have to try it that way.

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