Holiday Dressing

 in Favorite Recipes by

Provided by Sybil Rampy for the November 2018 issue of BurlesonNOW Magazine.

  • Cornbread:
  • 3/4 cup shortening
  • 4 cups yellow corn meal
  • 1 1/3 cups flour
  • 2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 2/3 cups milk
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • Dressing:
  • 1 large loaf white bread
  • 2 sticks butter (divided use)
  • 8 cups onion, chopped
  • 8 cups celery, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp. poultry seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp. sage
  • 1 tsp. seasoned salt
  • 2 tsp. black pepper
  • 8 eggs
  • 7 1/2 cups chicken broth
  1. For cornbread: Preheat oven to 450 F. Melt ­shortening in a 9×13-inch pan; set aside. 
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together corn meal and next 3 ingredients. Add milk and eggs; stir. Add melted shortening; mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared pan; smooth the top. 
  3. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool and crumble.
  4. For dressing: Toast loaf of bread in a 300 F oven until brown on both sides. Cool and crumble.
  5. Melt 1 stick of butter in a large skillet. Add onion; sauté. Set aside.
  6. Melt 1 stick butter in another large skillet. Add celery; sauté.
  7. Lower the middle oven rack one position. Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine bread and cornbread in a bowl or pot large enough to mix all ingredients. Add onion, celery and seasonin­gs; stir. Mix in eggs until well combined. Add chicken broth; mix well.
  8. Grease 2 fairly large casserole dishes. Fill each 2/3 to 3/4 full with mixture. Smooth with spoon; bake for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until brown. Take out a square in the middle of the dressing with a fork. Gently pull up to check for doneness. If the center of the dressing no longer looks wet, replace the plug. It will dry more while it cools.
  9. Tip: To save time, complete all steps ahead of time, before adding eggs and chicken broth.