On Fri 21 Nov 2008 09:55:51p, Christine Dabney told us...

> On Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:48:35 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> > wrote:
>
>>On Fri 21 Nov 2008 06:36:08p, Christine Dabney told us...
>>
>>> I think I found one of my mistakes
>>> though...and I will try to see if that is the culprit, when I do a
>>> test run this weekend.
>>
>>Christine, what do you think you mistake is?
>>
>>What is your recipe?
>>
>>Admittedly, I only make cornbread dressing for myself, but I don’t
>>consider that I’ve ever had a failure.
>
> I don't think I have a recipe yet. For my regular stuffing, I do. But
> cornbread stuffing I don't. I looked at the one that Edna Lewis has
> in one of her books, and that looks very good. It does have pecans in
> it.

I don’t actually have a written recipe either. Rather, I eyeball everything
that goes in it, just as my mother and grandmother did. It just has to
“look” right.

> My mistake (and I could be wrong) was that I didn't moisten the whole
> batch of stuffing. I made a batch (stuffing mix, sauteed onions,
> celery, spices) and then just put it in a pan. Poured over some broth
> to moisten (as some folks suggested) and then baked it. It has always
> been mixture of soggy and burnt.

I’d be willing to bet that this is your major problem. I can give you
technique, but not really a recipe.

> I think this time, I am going to try to pour some broth over it before
> I put it in the pan, and stir it around til it is evenly moistened..
> Not dripping, or soggy. Then put it in the pan and bake it.
>
> Think that will work?

What I do… I bake my cornbread and biscuits at least a day before and put
them in ziplock bags at room temperature. I use a ratio of 2/3 crumbled
cornbread to 1/3 crumbled biscuits. Dressing cooked out of the bird needs
more fat. I use a stick of unsalted butter to a pan of cornbread that uses 1
cup of cornmeal and 4-6 biscuits. (Note: the finished recipe fills an 8 x 8
inch baking dish. I partially cook the onion and celery in the butter, but
not until entirely tender. I add an initial amount of sage and poultry
seasoning, salt and black pepper, to the dry mixture before adding the
butter, celery, and onions. Toss the mixture gently with two forks until
well mixed. Then I beat together 2 large or 1 extra large eggs together with
about ½ cup broth. Pour this over the bread mixture and toss again to mix
well. At this point I add any other additions like toasted pecans, dried
cranberries, etc., and mix in. Then, and only then, do I add more broth to
adjust the consistency. The entire mixture should be fairy moist. The eggs
will bind it and some of the moisture will cook out during baking. Cornbread
dressing should not be confused with the “dry and fluffy” stuffing made from
regular bread. It is more solid and definitely more moist. Lastly, I turn
the mixture into the baking dish, pressing down very lightly and smoothing
the top. Bake covered with foil for about 45 minutes, then remove the foil
and continue to bake until top is nicely brown.

That’s it! Really good cornbread dressing. Oh, some recipes call for using
a mixture of regular white bread with the cornbread. We *always* used
biscuits.

HTH


> Back to what Jill is going to do. I went out shopping this evening,
> and while I was out, I was thinking about what she plans to do for
> dinner. It occurred to me, that while Jill is not a sweets person, a
> lot of folks love Thanksgiving desserts. I am wondering if the CNA is
> one such person.
>
> Anyway, I wanted to suggest to Jill, and it is only a suggestion, that
> she might want to consider some sort of dessert as well?

A holiday dessert is definitely in order, whether Jill wants to eat it or
not.

>
> Christine
>
>
>
> Don't know if that will make a difference or not, but I have seen
> enough folks give directions for doing it that way, that it might be
> worth a try.
>

Well, that’s part of what I just wrote.

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)
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