Cornbread Dressing with Winston’s Sausage

When I was a kid, I used to eat so much on Thanksgiving that I would invariably get a stomach ache and spend a good portion of the evening on the couch asking my mom when the pain would subside.  My brother Mark is known to have done this well into adulthood.  It must be genetic, we just couldn’t help ourselves.  These days, I have more self-restraint when it comes to portion size but I still love to indulge in all the special food that we prepare only for the Holidays. Stuffing (or dressing) is one of those dishes. We usually have stuffing, potatoes, corn pudding and Yorkshire puddings on Thanksgiving. Let me know if you think of any other carbs we should consider adding.  As you can see we try to include them all.

I mix it up with the stuffing, trying different variations each year.  I think I am always trying to find a stuffing that is as good as my mom’s.  My mom makes it with the gizzards and actually stuffs the bird.  Hers is the best. Like me, she doesn’t really follow recipes so the only time “I’ve” been able to make her version is when she made it and I helped.  Yes, I should have taken notes but I think I took a bunch of goofy pics elbow deep in turkey-cavity with my brother instead.  Some things you never outgrow. 

Still, I’ve got a good thing going with the addition of Winston’s sausages.  I’ve made versions of this stuffing/dressing with cornbread, brown bread and white bread but always with Winston’s Irish sausages, which got me to thinking, do they even eat stuffing in Ireland? Based on a quick perusal of the internet, I feel pretty confident that they do and that that they regularly add Irish sausages to theirs. Another great idea that, apparently, I was not the first to have (along with 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner, which my brother and I invented in the bathtub WAY before PertPlus hit the shelves). No matter. This stuffing is still really good.

Ingredients

8 cups ½” cubes cornbread

1 pound bulk Winston’s sausage, casings removed

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, divided, plus more for baking dish

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tbs chopped chives

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 pears or apples, peeled, chopped

¼ cup dried cranberries or cherries

½ cup pecan pieces

½ cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon dried sage leaves

2 cups (or more) low-sodium chicken broth, divided

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 large eggs, beaten to blend

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300°. Divide cornbread between 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Bake, tossing occasionally, until beginning to brown in spots and dry out, 40–45 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up with a spoon, until dark brown, 6–8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a small bowl; let cool.

Reduce heat to medium and heat 8 Tbsp. butter in same skillet. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Add pears/apples and wine, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is almost completely evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 400°. Butter a 13x9x2” baking dish. Combine sausage, onion mixture, dried fruit, pecans, parsley, thyme, sage, and 1½ cups broth in a large bowl.

Add cornbread and toss to combine; season with salt and pepper. Let sit 10 minutes, then add remaining ½ cup broth and toss, adding more broth if needed (bread should be very moist but not soggy).

Add eggs and mix gently just to combine.

Transfer dressing to prepared baking dish and dot with remaining 2 Tbsp. butter.

Cover dressing with foil and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until dressing is golden and crisp on top, 20–30 minutes longer.

Have a bunch of people you love over to help you eat it all. 

I would love to know what she's thinking... maybe "Ah-ha! THIS must be where I got my blue eyes"?

Make Ahead Upsidedown Pear Gingerbread Cake

It was the first time we had to extend our new table. 

How was your Thanksgiving?  This was the fourth Thanksgiving we’ve had at our house. With a few years under our belts (and our three little additions to the headcount) I’ve learned that anything that can be done in advance, should be done in advance.  Also, delegate. Our people are always happy to bring something and even happier to take requests. And because they are family and friends-so-close-they-are-also-family, I’m not shy. I ask for exactly what we need to round out the meal as well as the specific dishes that I know I want to eat. That takes care of at least half of everything. The rest, well, that’s where planning comes into play.

This year I made one of our desserts a full two weeks in advance and froze it. Paul made fun of me for this but mostly as retaliation for not allowing him to sneak a piece. I won’t lie to you, I made this one for me. I LOVE gingerbread. The deeper and darker the better. My father-in-law has told me in the past that gingerbread is a food memory for him and I’m not surprised. Gingerbread cake goes perfectly with a cup of  tea and the type of brisk late-autumn weather that can be found both in Chicago and Ireland.

I’m not sure how I landed on this particular recipe. I just knew that I wanted to do something different for dessert and after reading all of the reviews for this cake, I was sold. I’m also a sucker for upsidedown-anything and desserts that scream to be served warm with vanilla ice cream on top.

For once I actually followed the recipe (almost), which can be found here. I used ¾ cup dark molasses and ¼ cup agave nectar because I couldn’t find light molasses and I folded about a pear's worth of diced pears into the cake batter before pouring it over the topping. I cooked the cake longer than 50 minutes. I recently learned that the internal temperature of a cake should be 206°F.  This helps immensely in dealing with variation caused by the size and material of different baking pans.  It's more reliable than the toothpick test because it allows you to know when the cake is almost done, so you don't overcook it.  For this cake, I used a 10 inch cast iron dutch oven and it took close to 80 minutes for the center to cook through.

You see all the holes I made while taking its temperature? That was probably overkill on the checking. Good thing this cake is made to be flipped. 

Here’s where I followed instructions that I probably shouldn’t have. I waited 5 minutes before flipping the cake out onto a cake plate. By then the pan had cooled down so much that almost all of my pear pieces stuck to the bottom on the dish. I didn’t let it bother me. My people aren’t prissy. I just stuck the pears back on and went about my day. Yes, the cake would have been prettier without the sticking. But it was destined for a big scoop of slowly melting vanilla goodness anyway and still looked up to the task. Plus, it was freezer friendly so all I had to do on the big day was remove it from the freezer, unwrap it and warm it in a low oven before serving.

My carefully placed pears got all out of line during the flip but still smelled SO good. The top was shiny and sticky in the best way. 

It was a good feeling to head into the Thanksgiving cooking frenzy with one dish stowed away.  It made the rest of the planning that much easier.  But when yesterday came I was reminded that, while we are fortunate to have such an abundance of food, its not what's on the plate that is important so much as the people we are breaking bread with. We've been blessed with an amazing group to gather with each year in addition to the family and friends both near and far who are always with us. There is so much to be thankful for.  

Thank goodness for this guy, my father-in-law, AKA master meat carver. 

And this little blessing too, on her first Thanksgiving. 

Braised Chicken Thighs with Mustard and Boiled Cider

We just got back from visiting my parents in sunny southern California and had a fabulous time. My parents live in Carlsbad, where the weather is always perfect and the beach is only a few minutes away. We took the kids to the San Diego Zoo but beyond that, we mostly just hung out and “relaxed”, which looks a lot different than it did pre-kiddos, but was still a welcomed break from our usual day-to day. There was a little bit of cooking but not too much and that was fine with me.

Beach time. 

When we got back on Saturday evening the kids were super-excited to be home and playing with their toys in their space was more fun than usual. For me there was unpacking to be done and a time change to be reckoned with so that we could all be ready to face the week ahead by Monday. As much as I wanted to spend a sleepy Sunday on the couch, I knew I had to venture out for groceries and cook something for dinner (and preferably to eat one more time during the week). If there is one thing being a parent has taught me, it’s that sucking it up and doing something you don’t feel like doing right now can have a major payoff later. So, with the knowledge that my future-self would thank me, my little assistant and I went to the store and brought back chicken thighs that we found on special.

This one got all of the Irish genes.

Braised chicken thighs don’t take very long at all but always seem to take longer than my usual weeknight schedule allows. I keep them on the regular weekend rotation and always make enough for leftovers. Even though it was sad to leave the sunshine state there’s something to be said for the seasons and seasonal cooking. It’s been a gorgeous fall here in Chicago and I couldn’t think of a more fetching fall supper to get us back in the saddle.

Next week is Thanksgiving! We’re having Turkey but I’ve also been promised an Irish bacon for my Thanksgiving spread. Stop by the boutique for all sorts of Holiday foods from desserts to condiments to breads to sausages.

Public Service Announcement: Cornbread stuffing with Winston's sausages is the best. 

Braised Chicken Thighs with Mustard and Boiled Cider

Serves 6

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

8 chicken thighs (I used boneless, skinless)

Salt and pepper

2 cups chicken stock or broth

1 shallot, sliced

5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

A few sprigs of thyme (optional)

2 tablespoons boiled cider (recipe for boiled cider can be found here but honey or maple syrup are both good substitutes)

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

½ cup dry white wine or sherry

2 tablespoons cold water

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Parsley or chives for garnish

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pan or dutch oven over high heat.

Wait until oil becomes very hot.

Add chicken thighs and sear until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.  Do this in at least two batches.

Once browned all over, set chicken aside on a plate and start searing the remaining chicken.

After browning all of the chicken pieces, add shallot, garlic and thyme (if using) and cook until onion begins to soften, 3-5 minutes.

Add wine or sherry and reduce until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as you go.  

Add stock or broth, boiled cider and dijon and bring to a boil.

Turn off heat and place pan, mostly covered (I put it in the oven with the lid just slightly ajar), in the oven for about 40 minutes.

Remove chicken, taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if necessary.  

To thicken sauce (optional), mix water and cornstarch until fully combined and no powder remains, just white liquid.

Add cornstarch slurry to sauce and bring sauce to a boil.

Add cider vinegar.

Remove pan from heat, pour sauce over chicken, garnish with parsley or chives and serve.