It’s that time of
year (already), where my thoughts turn to stuffing! Here’s my favorite recipe (posted
yet again—because it seems I won’t be content until everyone in America makes
this stuffing).
Hope your
Thanksgiving is fabulous! And I know that the holiday season can be hard for
many people for any number of reasons, so if you’re currently in that space, I wish
for you a moment or two of grace and safe passage through to the other side.
Cornbread &
Scallion Stuffing
Adapted from the
beloved, still-missed Gourmet magazine,
November 1992
(It’s actually called Cornbread, Sausage &
Scallion Stuffing, but in an uncharacteristic nod to heart-health, I don’t put
in the sausage. See the note below if you’d like to add the sausage.)
For the cornbread:
§ 1 cup all-purpose flour
§ 1 1/3 cups yellow cornmeal
§ 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
§ 1 teaspoon salt
§ 1 cup milk
§ 1 large egg
§ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and
cooled
For the stuffing:
§ ¾ stick unsalted butter plus an additional 2
tablespoons if baking the stuffing separately
§ 2 cups finely chopped onion
§ 1 ½ cups finely chopped celery
§ 2 teaspoons crumbed dried sage
§ 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crumbled
§ 1 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
§ ½ cup thinly sliced scallions
§ 1 ½ cups chicken broth if baking the stuffing
separately
Make the cornbread: In a bowl stir together the flour, the
cornmeal, the baking powder, and the salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the
milk, the egg, and the butter, and add the milk mixture to the cornmeal
mixture, and stir the batter until it is just combined. Pour the batter into a
greased 8-inch-square baking pan (I actually use a cast iron skillet) and bake
the cornbread in the middle of a preheated 425 F oven for 20-25 minutes, or
until a tester comes out clean. (The corn bread may be made 2 days in advance
and kept wrapped tightly in foil at room temperature.)
Into a jellyroll pan, crumble the corn bread
coarse, bake it in the middle of a preheated 325 F oven, stirring occasionally,
for 30 minutes, or until it is dry and golden, and let it cool.
Make the stuffing: In a large skillet, melt 6 tablespoons
of butter and cook the onion and the celery over moderately low heat, stirring
occasionally, until the vegetables are softened. Add the sage, marjoram,
rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, for 3
minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, add the corn bread, the scallion,
and salt and pepper to taste, and combine the stuffing gently but thoroughly.
Let the stuffing cool completely before using it to stuff a 12-14 pound turkey.
The stuffing can be baked separately: Spoon
the stuffing into a buttered 3- to 4-quart casserole, drizzle it with the
broth, and dot the top with the additional 2 tablespoons of butter, cut into
bits. Bake the stuffing, covered, in the middle of a preheated 325 F degree
oven for 30 minutes and bake it, uncovered, for 30 minutes more.
Serves 8-10; fewer if I am one
of the dinner guests!
Note: Here are the
instructions if you want to add the sausage: The recipe calls for “3/4 lb bulk
pork sausage” that you brown in a skillet. Remove it from the pan—leaving the
fat—and proceed with cooking the onions, etc. Add the sausage at the end, when
you combine the cornbread and scallion with the onion mixture.
