Cornbread- sausage stuffing a rich alternative

with chicken broth, eggs, browned sausage and aromatics.

To increase richness, drizzled melted butter over the dressing before baking it, which helped crisp the top. Homemade cornbread dressing and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Whisk milk, oil, and eggs together in bowl.

In large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in milk mixture until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake on lower rack until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

Reduce oven to 250 degrees. Cut cornbread into 1-inch squares. Divide cornbread between 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake, stirring occasionally, until dry, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cornbread cool completely on sheets, about 30 minutes.

For the dressing: Cook sausage in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes; transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat left in pan. Add onions, celery, and 2 tablespoons butter to fat in pan and cook over medium-high heat until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, sage, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, remove from heat, and let cool for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk half-and-half, eggs, salt, and cayenne together. Slowly whisk in warm broth mixture until incorporated. Gently fold in dried cornbread and sausage. Let mixture sit, tossing occasionally, until cornbread is saturated, about 20 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Transfer cornbread mixture to prepared pan. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter and drizzle evenly over top. Bake on upper rack until top is golden brown and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes and serve.

PER SERVING: 512 calories, 18 g protein, 39 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 31 g fat (10 g saturated), 205 mg cholesterol, 737 mg sodium