Alex's 2 Day Corn Bread Stuffing

The following cornbread stuffing recipe was a delicious addition to Thanksgiving dinner, saintly in flavor, angelic in texture, but made with some devilish ingredients.

For the second year in a row, my best friend, Alex drove 7 hours from Redding,California, to spend Thanksgiving with me in Portland, Oregon. Alex, a creature of holiday habit, likes to eat the dishes she had every year growing up at Thanksgiving.  I realized- this Thanksgiving, how special particular dishes were to her when the first thing she said to me after our initial greetings was:

 “I really want to make my mom’s cornbread stuffing, not the stovetop stuffing you got last year.”

Alex's stuffing is yummy but is not for the faint of heart- I mean that figuratively and literally. Figuratively, this spicy recipe takes stamina-it took Alex two days to make, and she had to handle turkey giblets! Literally, it has a lot of artery clogging fat and more calories per serving than I would care to count.

Alex’s 2 Day Cornbread Stuffing 

Pair with a 12 - 15 lb. bird.  

Ingredients

• 3 cups crumbled day old cornbread.
• 3 cups cubed white bread (Alex used a small par baked baguette)
• Liver, Gizzard & Heart of turkey.  
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried Thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
• salt to taste
• 3/4 tsp. or more fresh ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf finely chopped
• Tabasco to taste
• 15  roasted chestnuts chopped
• 1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)



Chestnuts ready to peel

• 1 lb mild Italian sausage

 Method

Day 1: Roast Chestnuts and Bake Cornbread

Roasted Chestnuts

About 15 chestnuts, buy extra-sometimes they are spoiled or get damaged while cooking or peeling.

Score the top of the chestnut using a paring knife. Carve an x, deep enough to penetrate the outer skin.

Roast on 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. Chestnuts are done when skin around the scoring starts to peel and pop. When cool enough to handle remove the skins.

Peeled & chopped chestnuts

http://homecooking.about.com/od/nutrecipes/r/blmisc38.htm

Corn Bread

http://www.alberscorn.com/recipes/cornmeal/AlbersCornBread.aspx

After corn bread has cooled cut it in half and let it sit uncovered over night to dry out.

Cut corn bread in half to dry out

Day 2:

1. Crumble the corn bread into a large mixing bowl
 

2. Toast the cubed white bread evenly & add to cornbread
 

3. Mince the giblets.
 

4. Heat 1/2 the butter in a large skillet: add giblets, sausage, vegetables, spices & tabasco. Medium to low heat, approximately 20 mins.  A Dutch oven could also be used.

5. Mix in chestnuts & craisins.
 

6. Add remaining butter. After the butter melts, combine all with bread in a mixing bowl.
 

7. Stuff the body cavities of the turkey & secure with kitchen twine (NEVER stuff the bird & let it sit overnight.)
 

8. Instead of stuffing the bird, Alex put the stuffing in a large casserole dish and baked it for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

What do you have to have for the holidays?