San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
GRANNY’S CORNBREAD DRESSING
Jan Waddy, Features and Taste Editor: Whether my family celebrated Thanksgiving in Baytown or Lake Jackson, we could always count on having Granny's cornbread dressing. As with many family recipes, the origin of this cornbread dressing recipe is unknown. It's been a staple for as long as my mother can remember, wrapped up in memories and passed down like the Wild Turkeys plates. My grandparents would make their own chicken broth when boiling the chicken, tossing in celery, onion, carrots and seasonings, but store-bought chicken broth can be used. As a treat for those of us who loved oysters, Granddad would divide up some of the dressing and bake it separately with freshly shucked oysters in the mix. But the exact amount of oysters wasn't written down. The first time I made my Granny's cornbread dressing was Thanksgiving 17 years ago, when my son was 3 months old. My grandparents were still living at the time but unable to make the trip from Texas with my parents and other family members to meet their newest family member in Florida. One bite of Granny's cornbread dressing and Texas didn't seem so far away. —
• 1 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast
• 2 cups chicken broth, divided
• 1 package yellow cornbread, cooked according to directions, then crumbled
• 6-8 slices white bread, toasted, then torn into pieces • 1 cup cooked white rice
• 3⁄4 cup chopped celery
• 3⁄4 cup chopped white onion
• 1 stick salted butter, plus more for buttering casserole dish
• 3 boiled eggs, chopped • 2 eggs, beaten
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried sage Instructions: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Boil chicken breast, then remove skin and separate meat from the bone. Chop chicken.
Pour 1 cup broth over crumbled cornbread, toast and rice in a large bowl. Saute celery and onions in butter till tender. Combine bread and rice mixture with sauteed celery and onions, chopped chicken, boiled eggs, salt, pepper, sage and beaten eggs. Mix well by hand, then scoop into a buttered casserole dish.
Pour 1 cup chicken broth over the top. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.
Makes 8-10 servings