Contributed by:
Linda Swift
(lindaswift.net)
Contemporary & historical fiction
Story behind the recipe – In my family the main course for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas meals always featured baked ham, chicken, and cornbread dressing. My maternal grandmother, mother, and her five sisters used the same recipe for dressing which has now passed to me and to my daughter. No holiday meal seems complete without it and the ritual of preparing it evokes memories of warm kitchens filled with mouth-watering scents. These women are all gone now but as long as my daughter or I bake cornbread dressing, their presence remains with us.
What you’ll need – 1/2 cup of finely chopped onion, 1 cup finely chopped celery, 3/4 (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter, 4 cups baked and crumbled biscuits (I use one can), 4 cups crumbled cornbread (I use one box corn muffin mix), 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon freshly ground sage, 4-6 eggs, 2 cups chicken broth (from chicken or canned), one small pan for stovetop cooking, one large mixing bowl, and one baking dish about 9x13 inches.
Steps to the process
- Finely chop onion and celery.
- Cook in pan on stovetop until almost tender, using enough water to cover
- Add butter and stir until melted
- Crumble baked cornbread and biscuits into mixing bowl.
- Add onion, celery, and butter.
- Stir to moisten, then add slightly-beaten eggs, pepper, and sage.
- Add chicken broth (if mixture is not fairly thin, add additional broth)
- Pour into baking pan and bake at 375-400 degrees for 30-40 minutes
Comments -. Mixture should be brown on top but still slightly soft. If turkey is preferred instead of chicken, turkey broth should be used in place of chicken broth.
Blurb from THIS TIME FOREVER - The Civil War brought casualties beyond the bloody battlefields as North fought South. Philip Burke, against his family's wishes, volunteered to defend the Union and became a prisoner of war who bartered his medical expertise to remain out of prison. When the Union Army invaded Tennessee, Clarissa Wakefield's antebellum mansion became a Confederate hospital. Philip was placed in charge and against propriety she volunteered to stay on and help nurse the wounded. Clarissa's husband was a Confederate soldier and Philip's fiancée waited for him in Oswego but the fire between them soon raged out of control. As the opposing armies fought for possession of Chattanooga, Clarissa and Philip faced their own battle. Caught in the passions of war and love, with hurt inevitable either way, would they be faithful to their vows or listen to their hearts?