Thanksgiving isn't really about a bountiful table groaning with food. It is the one American holiday that brings the family together to say thanks for our many blessings as a nation. If they come together and eat quite a lot of good food while they are at it: well, what better way to enjoy the day?
My grandmother Chapman was a terrific cook and this cornbread dressing for turkey comes from her family, who had been in the United States one generation after immigrating from the lowlands of Scotland. So, though I don't know it to be true, I suspect this receipe is something modified from my grandmother's own celtic culture, with a lot of Alabama thrown in.
Ingredients
1 3/4 Cups corn meal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoot baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (beaten)
3 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons shortening (melted)
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
poultry seasoning (about 1 tablespoot)
Sift corn meal, soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In another dish combine eggs and buttermilk and add to dry ingredients, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Melt shortening in a skillet and saute onions and celery. Stir into cornbread batter and dump bak into the skillet. Bake at 450F degrees for about 20 minutes, until firm and golden brown on top. If you do this the night before, you can let the cornbread cool overnight.
When the bread is cool, break it up, ad some more chopped celery, a little milk and some poultry seasoning. If you have pecans, you can add them here. Make the stuffing damp with the milk so that it sticks together a little. Don't make it too wet as it will be moistened with juice from the turkey. You can add anything that suits you to the mix, even cranberries if you choose.
Mash it together with you hands and stuff the turkey using a large spoon. Cook the turkey as directed, and your dressing will be the hit of the gathering. My sister, the best cook in the family, has proved this on many a holiday. Enjoy!
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