Happy Thanksgiving Week
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for cooking. I expect this year's Thanksgiving feast to go much better than last year. The day before Thanksgiving 2020, I tested positive for Covid 19. Thankfully, I had prepared most of the food well in advance. Nevertheless, in addition to fever, chills and body aches, I had lost my sense of taste and smell which made for a miserable start to the 2020 holiday season. I will never wish that on anyone and pray that neither you or I ever have to deal with that (again).
To me, the aromas emanating from the kitchen around Thanksgiving are the appropriate kick-off to the most wonderful time of the year. There are several dishes that have become standard in my household for the Thanksgiving feast. This year we are having turkey, ham, beef tenderloin and Tofurkey as the main proteins and no such feast would be complete without my dressing - If we were going to put it into a turkey, I would call it stuffing. This year, I plan to serve this dressing as a standalone dish. Nevertheless, I may use the terms dressing and stuffing interchangeably.
I have varied my dressing recipe over the years but I am going to give you my old standby (primarily because I have already made it for my family to be served this Thursday). There are a couple of key ingredients that make this dressing really special. The main ingredient is rosemary cornbread (which is great by itself, with soup or chili or with any number of Cajun dishes such as crawfish etouffee with dirty rice). I got my first taste of rosemary cornbread at the House of Blues in the 1990s and I have been hooked ever since. Little did I know then that this would become the main ingredient of my classic Thanksgiving dressing.
For the record, my sister-in-law hates stuffing or dressing. Every Thanksgiving, I offer it and she says, "no thanks, I don't like to eat soggy bread." I just smile and say, "fine, more for us..." Somewhere probably going back to her childhood, she was probably served some disgusting version of Stovetop or other off-the-shelf stuffing and it tainted her view of this holiday staple forever. Too bad. My dish is far from soggy bread or the store-bought "made for those with no cooking skills" version. In fact, the way I make it ensures there is ample crunch to go with the moist poultry-flavors throughout. We'll get into that but it all starts with the rosemary cornbread. Here's how to make it.
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 whole large egg (or egg substitute equivalent)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/3 cup corn oil
1 cup light sour cream
3 large sprigs fresh rosemary, stems removed, finely chopped
Prepare a well-seasoned 9" to 10" iron skillet (non-stick also works) with butter and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Add all dry ingredients into a mixer and combine thoroughly.
Fold in the wet ingredients using the mixer on a low speed, taking care to mix thoroughly - do not over mix. Pour it out of the bowl and use a rubber spatula to transfer all of the "slurry" into your skillet. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 35 minutes. You can check with a toothpick to make sure it is done - when you put the toothpick into the center and it comes out clean, the cornbread is done. Remove from the oven and allow the cornbread to cool before using a sharp spatula to remove it from the skillet.
That's all there is to it. Now, if you are going to use it to make this dressing or stuffing, there are a couple of extra steps.
Once the cornbread cools, put it on a cutting board and cut it into .5" to 1" cubes. Transfer the cubes to a heatproof tray and place it on the bottom rack of your oven. Set the oven to "Broil" and give the cubes about 5 minutes in the oven before spinning the tray back-to-front. Watch the cubes for the next few minutes to ensure they do not burn. The cubes should turn dark brown on the edges, even blackened in spots - this is good. However, don't overdo it. When the cubes look nice and brown with crispy edges, carefully remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool.
With your browned crispy rosemary cornbread cubes as your foundation, here are the other ingredients you will need:
1 lb of mild Italian sausage (you can skip this but it sure is good)
1 yellow onion, finely diced
3 celery stalks, finely diced
1/4 cup of thyme and sage, finely chopped
3 cups of chicken stock
Salt and pepper to your individual taste
Start by cubing and toasting the rustic bread or Texas toast the same way you did the cornbread cubes.
Place a skillet on the stovetop over med-high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil or butter to the skillet and once hot, add the onion and celery. When the onion and celery begin to become translucent, add the garlic and reduce the heat. Take care not to burn the garlic. Transfer these sautéed veggies to your baking dish or pan.
Using the same skillet, cook the mild Italian sausage over medium-high heat until thoroughly browned. The sausage should be broken down to the consistency of ground beef so it can be spread among the bread and cornbread cubes.
Transfer the toasted cubes to your baking pan or dish, add the sausage, herbs and remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Once combined, add the 3 cups of chicken stock by pouring it over the entire pan so the cubes soak up the chicken broth.
Cover the baking dish or pan with foil and place into the oven for approximately 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake at the same temperature for another 35 to 40 minutes until the top and edges become crispy and browned.
This dressing can be made a week ahead, stored (covered) in the refrigerator for up to a week and re-heated. You can add more chicken stock if the stuffing becomes too dry.
And Then, Sherry Gravy
Remember that song by the Four Seasons? It went "Sheeerrrry, Sherry Gravy....Sheeerrrry, Sheeerrrry Gravy...Sherry, Won't You Come Out Tonight?" OK I know that's a little corny, but I digress.
It's amazing how a little alcohol adds such richness and flavor to an already great gravy. I have had a thing for Sherry since I was in high school. Although I was underage, my friend Christopher and I tried some Harvey's Bristol Cream and found it to be delightful. It's not the most exquisite aperitif on the market, but it is fabulous after dinner, especially around the holidays. I suppose I associate sherry with the holidays in my formative years and perfect to use here.
Sherry Gravy Ingredients
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup water
4 tablespoons of cooking or other dry sherry wine
Salt, pepper and granulated garlic powder to taste
Making tasty gravy starts with a roux. Do you know how to make a roux? It's easy.
Put your skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat, throw in 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter and stir the butter until it melts completely. I like to use a whisk if making a large batch but a fork or wooden spoon works fine as well. Spread 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour over the butter and mix by hand over medium-high heat until combined and the consistency of paste. If making a larger batch, know that a roux uses a 1:1 ratio of butter (or fat) to flour.
Viola', you've made a roux. Roux is the foundation for gravy but it's also essential to making etouffee sauce and other terrific Cajun dishes. Perfect this skill because you can use it over and over again.
Add the water to your roux and continue to stir. Once combined, add the chicken stock, continue stirring over heat. Once the gravy begins to bubble, add the garlic powder, salt and pepper until you like the taste.
Stir in the cooking sherry last and reduce the heat to low. If you boil the gravy with the sherry added, you will boil much of the rich flavor out of it - this is why you want to add it at the end. Continue stirring until you have a thick but smooth consistency with no lumps. If you ended up with lumpy gravy (not to be confused with Frank Zappa's inaugural solo LP by the same name), you can hit the gravy with an immersion mixer a few times to smooth it out.
The end result should be a fabulously flavorful gravy that will serve as the ultimate complement to any turkey and dressing. Add water if it is too thick or cook it down over medium-high heat until it thickens to your liking. If the gravy loses its rich sherry flavor, add a little more. If the gravy is still too thin, stir in a couple teaspoons of corn starch - that should thicken it right up. Taste the gravy often and stop adding or cooking when you reach perfection.
If you want to take this gravy over the top, start with turkey pan drippings and butter when you make your roux and toss in some more turkey giblets and other bits as you mix everything together. You can make this even more rich by adding more unsalted butter. Yowza! this sherry gravy ties everything together.
You can also make this up a week in advance, refrigerate and re-heat when desired. Now you're ready for the holidays.
Enjoy and remember to sing that song while you are cooking!
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