Mmmmmm mmmmm who doesn’t love stuffing(aka dressing)?!? Stuffing has to be one of my all-time favorite parts of any holiday meal. Moist, carbalicious, frequently involving some kind of pork product – honestly, what’s not to love?!? We happen to love stuffing so much, that for our pre-holiday gorge-fest Nicole and I made two different versions. I went for a southern classic: good ol’ cornbread stuffing. My stuffing was made with day old cornbread, garlic sausage, sauteed onions, celery, leeks, garlic and peppers. The outcome – a moist, savory sausage cornbread delight perfect for drenching with gravy! (Did I mention that’s one of my favorite things about stuffing? Eating it with lots of gravy!)
Nicole made a sourdough, apple & bacon stuffing that was also out of this world! I was surprised at exactly how much I loved the flavor that the sourdough added to the stuffing. I shouldn’t have been surprised considering how much I love sourdough and bacon, but I’m kind of dense. 😉 Perhaps we should start a new tradition of having two different stuffings at every holiday meal! Even if there are only two people in attendance.
*In case anyone hasn’t been to What We’re Eating in a while, this is part of a special Holiday series featuring recipes that Nicole, from Pinch My Salt, Tyler and I cooked and feasted on together! Here’s a list of all the dishes in the series so far:
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Wrapped in Prosciutto
Extra Creamy Mashed Potato Casserole
Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls
Herb Roasted Turkey Breast
Sourdough, Bacon & Apple Stuffing
Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing (your reading it!)
A Stuffing/Dressing Recipe, by Amanda
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Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing (aka Dressing)
1 recipe cornbread, day old and crumbled (recipe follows)
1 1/2 lbs garlic sausage, (you can use any sausage you like)
1 tsp canola oil
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 leek, white part only, washed, trimmed & diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth (plus more if needed)
3 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
2 tbsp butter, in a small dice
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Preheat a saute pan over medium-high to high heat. Add 1 tsp canola oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot add the sausage, removed from the casings, into the pan. Use a spoon or spatula to break up the sausage. Brown the sausage for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally to allow all areas to brown evenly.
Remove browned sausage from pan using a slotted spoon. Transfer to a paper towel lined dish to drain some of the oil.
Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the rendered fat from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and place the saute pan back on the burner. Add the onion, celery, pepper and leek to the pan. Saute for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the garlic to the pan and saute for another 1-2 minutes.
While the veggies are sauteing, place the crumbled cornbread and browned sausage into a large mixing bowl.
Once the veggies have finished sauteing, add them to the mixing bowl with the cornbread. Add all remaining ingredients except butter to the bowl. Stir to combine. If the stuffing appears on the dry-side, stir in more chicken broth in 1/4 cup increments.
Place stuffing into a greased 13x9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Sprinkle diced, cold butter over the top of the stuffing.
Place stuffing in preheated 375 degree oven. Bake at 375 for about 40-50 minutes, or until the top is golden and the stuffing is cooked through. Remove from oven and serve hot! Enjoy!
Notes:
*You may vary the temperature at which the stuffing is cooked, as is often necessary with holiday meals. For 350 degrees, cook the stuffing for about 1 hour. For 400 or 425 degrees cook for about 30 minutes.
A Cornbread Recipe, by Amanda
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Basic Cornbread
2 cups yellow corn meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup whole milk
2 eggs
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp butter, room temperature
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Oil a 3-quart baking dish (glass, enamel-coated, or cast iron will work)with 1 tbsp room-temperature butter and place into preheated oven. Preheat pan for about 7 minutes until pan is hot. Butter may brown.
While the pan is heating, add the first 6 ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine evenly.
In a separate mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, whole milk and eggs. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
Add the melted butter and milk and egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed through. Do not over stir. (Batter will be very thin.)
Remove hot baking dish from oven. Pour batter directly into hot baking dish. Place into preheated 450 degree oven. Bake at 450 for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. (A few specks of cornbread are alright but no batter!) Allow corn bread to cool for 10 minutes before serving. If saving for use in cornbread stuffing, allow bread to cool completely before covering. Enjoy!
