Sausage Cornbread Dressing

Last year was the first year that I ever made a complete Thanksgiving meal for a client.  It was a lot of fun but I was really nervous.😬  Thanksgiving is the holiday when we eat our most nostalgic foods.🍗🥔🌽🥖  We serve grandma's pretzel salad and aunt Linda's famous pecan pie and cousin David's special green bean casserole simply because it's what we've done every year.  Some of the dishes we don't even like but we continue to serve them because Thanksgiving just wouldn't be the same without them. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

So how was I supposed to make a Thanksgiving meal for someone else's family without knowing any of their long standing Thanksgiving traditions?  Luckily, this client gave me free reign to make whatever I thought would be best and told that my recipes would be the start of some new Thanksgiving traditions for them.  I was still nervous.  Thanksgiving food is personal and I certainly didn't want to step on Grandma's toes by making a different (ie wrong🤨) version of her infamous turkey dressing.😅  

Whether you refer to this as stuffing or dressing really doesn't matter in this case.  The more important question is do you like bread, cornbread, rice, sausage or oyster based dressing.  Each family seems to have their favorite dressing and whether its by choice or appointment - there seems to always be one person in every family who's been designated as the official dressing maker.  

I have my own theories about dressing preferences being regionally specific but I have no scientific research to back those up so I'll keep them to myself.  For now.😅😉  What I can confirm is that I have a lot of Georgia friends who prefer cornbread stuffing alongside their Thanksgiving turkey.  This wasn't something I grew up with so it was new to me but I've got to say - it's pretty delicious.  If you're looking for a new dressing recipe for your Thanksgiving table this year - consider this Sausage Cornbread Dressing.  Just a warning though:  This is so good that if you make this for your family - you might just become the designated dressing make from now on.😂  

Sausage Cornbread Dressing
Cornbread
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups whole milk
3 eggs
6 Tablespoons butter, melted

Dressing
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
12 ounces andouille sausage, cut into 1/4" pieces
2 onions, diced
2 bell peppers, chopped 
2 celery ribs, sliced thin
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 Tablespoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
​3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For cornbread: Whisk together milk, eggs and melted butter.  

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in separate bowl. 

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.  

Transfer batter to a greased 9x13" pan.  

Bake 20 minutes at 425.  

Melt 2 T. butter in skillet.  Add sausage, onions, bell peppers, celery and bacon.  Cook 8 minutes.  Add creole seasoning and garlic and cook 1 minute.  ​

Turn hot cornbread out onto baking sheet and crumble with forks. 

Add crumbled cornbread to sausage mixture.  

Combine broth, milk, eggs, parsley and pepper. ​

​Add to pan. 

Transfer mixture to empty cornbread pan.  (Don't pat down.)  Use a wooden spoon to make ridges 1/2" apart. 

Brush top of dressing with 4 T. melted butter.  

Bake 35 minutes at 425.  

Ciao!

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