Side Dish — SOUTHERN Blended Stuffing (Half White/Half Cornbread) by dvdlee

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Side Dish -- SOUTHERN Blended Stuffing (Half White/Half Cornbread)
Submitted by dvdlee on November 16, 2004 at 9:08 am

DESCRIPTION
Side Dish -- SOUTHERN Blended Stuffing (Half White/Half Cornbread)

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under Misc. Recipes & Requests

INSTRUCTIONS
I love stuffing -- but I don't like it made with 100% white bread or with 100% cornbread. So for many years I've made Blended Stuffing -- combining the best of both worlds (white bread and cornbread). It has more character and taste than 100% white bread stuffing, but not the heaviness and very strong corn taste of 100% cornbread stuffing.

My mother made this style of stuffing, but used the Pepperidge Farm mix with cornbread then added a bit of this and that. Here is my version (which has a lot less fat, but still delicious). Nowdays, I like to bake a herb bread (one of the Stuffing breads from Beth Hensperger's The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook is great, or use what I have listed below, or make up your own). Use the herb bread with the homemade cornbread.

Don't try to do this in one day!! You have to bake both breads, then let them stale a little bit, then mix and bake the dressing. But you can always bake the breads ahead, and then just mix it up when you want to have "homemade" dressing.

I don't believe in stuffing the turkey or chicken anymore. It can be dangerous food safety-wise, increases the roasting time considerably, is a pain to stuff and serve and often creates a "messy" looking bird. (Since frequently the stuffing will spill out of the cavity.) Baking the stuffing separately is a lot more controlled and easier.

(Technically stuffing is what you call this when it is baked in the bird, dressing is what you call it when baked separately.)

Another entree option is to add cooked turkey meat to the stuffing for a one-main-dish meal.

For a 13 x 9 x 2 pan of dressing make the following:

2 batchs of the Southern Cornbread recipe I have posted here.
1 Loaf of homemade bread (1 & 1/2 pound size) (see above for the source of the recipe I use) OR you can use any white or light whole wheat bread recipe but I suggest adding the following herbs.

2 teaspoons each of dried sage, thyme;
1 teaspoon dried marjoram and chives;
1/8 of a cup fresh minced parsley.

Or you can add 1 Tablespoon or so of poultry seasoning + parsley to the bread, or any other herb combination you like.

If you use fresh herbs, mince finely. I would add around 1/3 to 1/2 cup of fresh herbs (including the parsley).

The herb bread doesn't have to be that strong, since you will be adjusting herb & spice levels later.

Preparing the Breads
To make the bread cubes, cut the white bread into 1/2-inch slices, and leave them out overnight. The next day, cut the slices into 1/2-inch cubes and allow them to dry for another night. If you are in a hurry, you can dry the slices in a 225-degree oven until stale and brittle brittle (not brown!), 30 or so minutes. Then cut them into cubes and proceed.

Take the cornbread and cut it into wedges or squares (around 4x4 squares). Let the cornbread dry overnight. With your hand, roughly crumble the cornbread. You don't want a fine powder, but to have the cornbread kind of chunky. (You will have a lot of crumbs, but that's OK -- but some needs to be chunky.)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for baking dish
1 large onion, chopped medium (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 medium celery stalks, diced medium (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 generous teaspoon salt
6 cups stale or dried white bread (cut in around 1/2-inch cubes)
6 cups stale cornbread chunks
Additional Herbs: dried sage, thyme, marjoram and parsley (Start with around 1/2 teaspoon of each herb, but add around 1/8 of a cupof pasley
2 cups + chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth (home-made is fabulous, but boxed is OK)
2 or 3 large eggs, beaten lightly (number of eggs depends on how "firm" you like your stuffing, 2 makes it more loose, 3 firmer)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter (or oil, or use cooking spray) a 13x9 baking dish.

Heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until fully melted; pour off 2 tablespoons butter and reserve.

Return skillet to heat; add onion and celery and saut?, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 8 minutes.

Turn onion mixture into large mixing bowl. Add bread cubes, cornbread crumbs, stock, and salt and toss gently to distribute dry and wet ingredients evenly. Add additional herbs to taste and adjust the salt and pepper. (Add any "custom" ingredients at this time.) You may need to add additional broth to make sure the dressing is moist enough (I like mine very wet & moist) -- but don't forget you will be adding the eggs too!

Slightly beat the eggs and add to the stuffing mixture. Lightly mix in until well combined. (Taste and adjuste herbs, salt & pepper before adding eggs to prevent any bacterial danger from the raw eggs.)

Turn mixture into the buttered 13-x 9-inch baking dish, drizzle with reserved melted butter, cover tightly with foil, and bake until fragrant, about 25 minutes. If you like a crispy crust, remove foil for the last 7 minutes of baking.

Customizing Your Dressing
The recipe above produces a good basic herb dressing, don't be scare to customize yours so it becomes your very own.

Some suggestions are (don't do ALL of these in a batch!! LOL)

Add around 1/2 pound of drained, cooked sausage (with sage is nice)
Chop and add 2 to 3 hard boiled eggs
Chop and add giblets (except the liver) to the dressing
Add pecans or walnuts (around 1/3 of a cup)
Add dried cranberries to the basic mix
Add some diced and sauted fennel
Add a pint of oysters (use the oyster juice to replace part of the chicken stock)
Add diced and sauteed mushrooms
Etc.

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