Let's start Thanksgiving Week off with arguably one of the most important parts of the dinner itself: the stuffing. And if you're making cornbread stuffing this year, here's a tip, for the best results, make it yourself! Amy Traverso, who's the Senior Food Editor at Yankee Magazine came by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her recipe for homemade cornbread stuffing. She says the problem with most store-bought cornbread is that it's just too sweet. This fixes that by using homemade cornbread, which Amy has a recipe for from the Apple Lover's Cookbook. She told Tonia she adds apple cider to the broth mixture, along with an aromatic mixture of onions and shallots. She says for an added touch of elegance, sprinkle with pecans and walnuts for a real New England style stuffing that probably won't leave leftovers.
For The Cornbread:
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pan
- 2 large eggs
- 1-1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425° and grease a 9-inch square baking pan.In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and milk. Pour over the dry ingredients and fold together until just combined; don’t overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool; then cut into squares
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
For the Stuffing
Ingredients
- 4 cups (10 ounces) cubed cornbread (1-inch pieces)
- 2 cups (7 ounces) cubed brown bread (1-inch pieces)
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, plus more for greasing pan
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces chouriço, linguiça, chorizo, or other cooked spicy sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
- 1 cup apple cider
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter and set aside. Arrange the cornbread and brown bread cubes on a large rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and cook until toasted, about 15 minutes. Set aside.Increase oven temperature to 375°. Melt the butter in a large skillet, then add the onion, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened, 6 minutes, then add the sausage and cook 5 minutes more. Add parsley, stir, then remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, chicken stock and cider until blended.
Put the bread cubes into a large bowl, then add the sausage mixture and toss to combine. Pour the chicken stock, eggs and cider over all and gently toss together. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for at least 45 minutes and up to 1 day. Bake until cooked through and crispy on top, 40 to 45 minutes.
