Cornbread photos by Zachary Cross

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, whether with family, friends, or having some restful alone time. Our family made a 10-day trip around the southeast seeing family and friends.

For Thanksgiving Day I finally made the cornbread dressing recipe I promised a couple of weeks ago. It is so yummy! It was pretty, too, with the green of the celery contrasting with the yellow of the cornbread – made more yellow by the inclusion of extra egg. I used a little more sweetener and butter in that batch of cornbread, too (see updated options from the cornbread post). Unfortunately we dug in before I took a photo. I was running late with dinner and did not want to make anyone wait any longer!

Zachary took some photos of the cornbread, however. I moved it to a lower rack while it was baking; normally it does not sink or get that brown. Remember to either use your cornbread fresh or store it well-wrapped. You don’t want it drying out like a regular bread stuffing (more experienced stuffing makers, please let me know if I am wrong here!).

I am not a very experienced dressing maker so I do not have a lot of options to offer for this recipe, nor did I make many changes. I forgot to pick up fresh herbs, so I left them out all together; I find dried sage and thyme too strong for my tastes.

Remember this dressing is gluten-free. I made it with turkey stock, but I imagine it would be good with a good homemade vegetable stock.

Cornbread Dressing

Adapted Slightly from Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing

By Gluten-Free on a Shoestring

Ingredients:

1 recipe gluten-free cornbread
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 ½ cups chopped celery
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground sage (didn’t use)
1 tablespoon dried thyme (didn’t use)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a medium-size casserole dish and set it aside. Note from Heather: I used a 9 x 13 inch pan. A smaller pan would probably work as well, though it needs to be bigger than 8 x 8.

In a large skillet, place the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the diced onion and chopped celery, and mix to combine. Add the salt and pepper, and mix to combine. Cover and cook for about 6 minutes, or until the vegetables are fork tender. Uncover and add the sage and thyme and mix to combine. Remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside to cool briefly.

Remove the cornbread from the baking dish and slice into cubes with a sharp knife. In a large bowl, place the cornbread cubes, add the cooked vegetables and mix gently to combine. Beat the stock with the eggs, and pour the mixture into the bowl. Mix gently again to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared casserole dish and spread into an even layer.

Place in the center of the oven and bake until the eggs are set and the tops of the cornbread cubes are golden brown (about 25 minutes). Serve immediately.

Find a printable recipe here

Bonus photo of pink grits, cooked:

I think these grits are technically from blue corn. Ask Brad from Riverview Farms Milling to tell you more about it.

This week’s fun plant geek fact: the pink/purple color comes from anthocyanins, also found in berries, cabbage, and nightshades, among other plants. The color reminds me of the pink that beets produce, but that is from betalain.