Kathryn's Cornbread Dressing

The day before Thanksgiving was always set aside as the day to make THE Cornbread Dressing.  What's for dinner on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving?  Cornbread with butter.  There wasn't time to do anything else but make dressing and get it in the fridge so that Thanksgiving day could be given over to roasting turkey, cooking fresh vegetables, heating pans of dressing, and--just before dinner--making gravy.

Other guests at the family table would bring their assigned special contributions.  Brocolli and Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce made their way onto the table at times.  Fresh Green Beans were a staple.  My Grandmother Bunny's Sweet Potato Casserole rivaled any dessert, but was part of the dinner plate.  She blended cream, cinnamon, and brown sugar with the mashed sweet potatoes, and topped it with marshmallows that got crunchy and brown when heated in the oven.  She also sectioned big navel oranges and grated fresh coconut for a chilled Ambrosia.  At the table there was always a platter of celery sticks (probably left over from the dressing, but it added a fresh crunch) and seedless black olives big enough to ride over the fingertips of children like so many shiny black puppet heads.  And, of course, there was Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce--the gel kind that you had to force from the can by opening both ends.  Once extricated, it was laid on its side and sliced for serving.

My mother Kathryn's Cornbread Dressing recipe was an unwritten masterpiece, but fortunately she held a dressing 'lab' one year.  With batches of cornbread baking, and celery, onions and parsley being chopped and sautéed, her kitchen and the whole house was full of the most wonderful aromas.  Mom always invited her stepmother Bunny to spend the holiday week with her and my stepfather Tommy.  It was a race to see if there would be enough cornbread left for the dressing after Bunny and Tommy got through 'testing it' hot out of the oven and dripping with melted buter.


Everyone got in on the laughter and preparation.  With an extinguished match in mouth to fend off the tears, Mom's housekeeper Elizabeth would chop cups of onions.  My sister-in-law Iris and I joined the chopping, dicing, mincing, and sautéing.  We wanted to learn how to make the dressing, capture the recipe in black and white, and carry on the tradition in our own homes.  We all relished the simple task of creating a delicious ritual of food and fellowship.


What follows is the recipe for Kathryn's Cornbread Dressing.


Stock
Place turkey neck and giblets removed from bird (yes, there are gizzards, livers, heart and neck in a bag in the cavity of the bird!) in a pot along with celery stalks and chunks of onion.  Cover with water; boil until liquid is flavorful.  Reduce stock if desired.  Strain out vegetables and meaty parts.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Reserve for dressing as well as gravy-making.  (Some people chop the livers and other meaty stuff to add to the gravy.  Me?  I like my gravy smooth, so I toss the neck, gizzards, liver, etc. right along with the boiled limp celery and onion.)


Cornbread and Bread
Bake 4 recipes of cornbread for this dressing recipe that serves ~ 20-30.  


This is the single recipe of Easy Corn Bread from back of Aunt Jemimah corn meal box.  It serves 8.

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Quaker or Aunt Jemima corn meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 egg whites or 1 egg, beaten


1. Heat oven to 400° F. Grease 8- or 9-inch pan.


2. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened.


3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

4.  Cool and crumble cornbread.

Toast and crumble ~12 slices bread (any type).


Dressing
In a large bowl, mix crumbled cooled cornbread with ~ 12  slices toasted, crumbled bread.
Saute:
3 white onions (~2 cups chopped)
3 bunches green onions, including tops (~1 cup sliced)
in 1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) butter
Saute:
3 small bunches celery (~5 cups chopped)
2 bunches parsley (~4 cups chopped)
in 1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) butter


1.  Add sauteed vegetables to the crumbled breads.  Mix by hand.  Salt and pepper to taste.


2.  Moisten with stock until dressing "holds together" when pressed into a ball.  (Too much stock will make dressing soggy and mushy, so add stock a little at a time.)


3.  Turn Dressing into a large oven-proof dish that has been sprayed with oil or non-stick cooking spray.  Cover and refrigerate overnight if desired.


4.  Bake covered in 325 degree oven until thoroughly heated.  Uncover during last 10 minutes or so to brown.


For me, it's not Thanksgiving without this Cornbread Dressing.  I can roast a whole turkey, or grill up marinated turkey breasts--the production of the big bird is not necessary.  Only the dressing!