Martha Stewart's Cornbread Dressing and Chocolate Pecan Pie

Every Thanksgiving, all of my life, we have had amazing Cornbread Dressing.  It's Dressing Y'all.  And you just cannot put cornbread into "stuffing."  We are truly Southerners, we don't stuff, we dress.

Our Turkey's sitting in the refrigerator right now.... thawing for the big day.

Now that we cleared that up, let's take it up North to Martha Stewart's wonderful version of Cornbread Dressing!  Except she doesn't know it's Dressing y'all.  It's a great one.  In fact, it's the closest thing to My Mama's Cornbread Dressing that you'll see here because I 'm not giving out the family recipe. Even on the "blahhhhg." :)


Martha Stewart's Cornbread Dressing - It's Good! 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pecans
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 cups crumbled Cornbread
• 5 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 10 ounces wild mushrooms (chanterelles, oyster, and shiitake)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup Homemade Chicken Stock

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spread pecans on a baking sheet. Place in oven to toast until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Set aside.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet. Cut cornbread into 2-inch-thick slices. Place, cut side down, on a 17-by-12-inch baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter. Toast cornbread until golden brown, 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
3. Heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet on medium high. Add shallots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper; cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add white wine; continue cooking until absorbed, about 1 minute. Add cream. Cook 30 seconds; remove pan from heat.
4. Crumble cornbread into a large bowl. Add mushroom mixture and toasted pecans; toss.

Cook's Note

If you bake this stuffing outside the turkey, add chicken stock, and bake in a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish until the stuffing is crusty and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve the extra cornbread to your guests.

Since Ms. Martha does such a fine job, I'll share that famous Martha Stewart's Chocolate Pecan Pie!  recipe.  It is a family recipe now.  We started our own tradition 14 Thanksgiving's ago.  And we love it!

What are your favorite Thanksgiving Recipes, North, South, East or West?  Happy Thanksgiving early!


Warmly,   Carolina Mama