Happy Thanksgiving! Today I wanted to share how to make my mom's Thanksgiving dressing. You'll probably think I'm biased (okay, I am....), but she truly has such a special talent in the kitchen! She can cook and bake with the best of them. I'd put her up against The Pioneer Woman or Paula Deen any day!
The recipe for the blueberry cake she makes is a family secret, but I can share her secrets for her dressing. My mom gave my husband the blueberry cake recipe a few years ago, and anytime the cake is mentioned, my sister threatens us to keep it in the family.
Since I'm safe sharing this how-to, let's get to it. I wish the pictures were better, but I tried to capture it all (photos and notes) with my iPad so that I will have visual help when I try to do it on my own.
Let's get started....
She's making a double recipe of her dressing (which is not from a recipe), and she starts by making a pan of cornbread then crumbling it in a large bowl. (The cornbread recipe is a modified version of Southern Living's "Old-Fashioned Cornbread" recipe.)
She also uses biscuits in her dressing, about 6 in this double recipe. She crumbles them like she does the cornbread, and mixes them in.
While she is preparing the cornbread and biscuits, she cooks onions and celery on the stove. She puts a little oil in the skillet, and cooks about 2 cups of each for the double recipe.
She also uses chopped, hard-boiled eggs in her dressing. She uses 2 in a single recipe and 5 in a double recipe. Here she uses her hand-chopper to chop the eggs.
On the left, she has a container of chicken broth from boiling a whole chicken the day before. She adds enough broth to make the mixture "not soupy" but enough to keep the dressing from drying out. (HUH? I guess this part will come from experience, but I have NONE right now!)
Mix in the cooked onion and celery.
And the chopped eggs.
Add a little more broth...
And mix by hand. Notice my mom wears gloves for this part. Those are completely optional. :)
She then spreads the dressing in a large, oversized pan. She stuck her finger in the dressing to check the depth... about to her knuckle.
Notice these small pans? They're for guess who!!
Top with THIN pats of butter. This will help the dressing to brown and taste yummy!
Cook in a 350 degree oven til brown, about an hour.
Here's the secret to her recipe:
This cornmeal is purchased in the town where my dad is from called Hartford, Alabama. It a little town in south Alabama near Dothan, where my mom is from. My mom swears that this cornmeal is what makes the difference in her dressing. She says that the cornmeal that is purchased in the grocery store is not like this meal. The company website can be found HERE.
I can't wait to enjoy her cooking today! Baked ham, greens, peas, dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole... the sofa is already calling me.
Afterwards, we're all going to watch Duck Dynasty. My parents haven't seen it yet but have been hearing me talk about it for a while. My dad has his southern sayings and mannerisms that remind me so much of Si and Phil! I think he'll get a real kick out of the show.
If you're not familiar with Duck Dynasty, here's a short video clip for ya.
I'm so thankful for my family and friends, good food, and family times together. I hope each of you has a wonderful day!
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