Cornbread and Chorizo Stuffing

I briefly contemplated doing a pumpernickel stuffing this year for Thanksgiving before going back to the cornbread comfort zone. I wanted to give it a southwestern flavour, so what better to pair cornbread with than chorizo? Of course, when I went to the store, all they had was merguez, so that didn't go as planned, but it was still tasty. The liquid amounts on the original recipe seemed entirely too low and some of the reviews stated it was a bit dry, so I doubled the egg and stock and found it stayed plenty moist. I also doubled the amount of sausage in the recipe, because who doesn't want more sausage?

Cornbread and Chorizo Stuffing (adapted from epicurious, originally Gourmet)

Ingredients
1 recipe cornbread
1/2 pound Spanish chorizo (cured spiced pork sausage), casing removed and sausage chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped (3 cups)
4 celery ribs, coarsely chopped (3 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Butter a 3-quart shallow baking dish.
2. Crumble corn bread into 1/2-inch pieces, spreading out in 1 layer in 2 large 4-sided sheet pans. Bake, stirring occasionally, until dry, about 20 minutes. Cool completely and transfer to a large bowl.
3. Meanwhile, cook chorizo in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Add onions, celery, garlic, oregano, and 1 1/4 teaspoon salt and sauté until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.
5. Add to vegetables corn bread.
6. Whisk together broth and egg, then pour over stuffing and toss well.
7. Transfer to baking dish and cover tightly with buttered foil. Bake in upper third of oven 1 hour.
8. Remove foil and bake until top is golden, about 15 minutes more.

Cornbread Dressing

This was the one recipe I messed up on for Thanksgiving, but I think it turned out okay in the end!  While I realize, it's not a true southern cornbread dressing (or stuffing if you prefer that term), because it includes french bread (it shouldn't have any other bread ... or if you must put in other bread, it should really be leftover biscuits), I wanted to make it slightly more authentic by adding sage and eggs to help it stick together.  Unfortunately, my brain was not working until after I put the eggs into the hot broth mixture!  Insta-cooked eggs!  My one other change to this recipe was to use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth out of consideration for vegetarian guests.

I've included the cornbread recipe first ... then the cornbread dressing.  The Metro near me sells corn flour and something that they translate as corn semolina which looks remarkably like cornmeal to me, but I'm not completely sure what it is!  Regardless, the mystery corn semolina seemed to work.

Cornbread (from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients

¼ cups Plus 2 Tablespoons Shortening
1 cup Yellow Corn Meal
½ cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Buttermilk
½ cups Milk
1 whole Egg
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Baking Soda

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Heat 2 tbsp shortening in an iron skillet, muffin pan, or other baking pan.
3. Combine corn meal, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, and egg. Add baking powder and baking soda. Stir.   Mix with corn meal mixture.
5. Melt 1/4 cup shortening in microwave.  Add to mixture, stirring constantly.
6. Pour into hot pan, smoothing surface with spatula. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. 

Cornbread Dressing (from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients

1 whole Pan Of Cornbread
1 loaf French Bread, Somewhat Crusty
1/2 cup Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
2 cups Celery, Chopped
4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth (or vegetable broth)
¼ cups Fresh Parsley, Chopped
½ teaspoons Dried Basil
2 teaspoons (to 3 Teaspoons) Fresh Rosemary, Chopped
2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped
½ teaspoons Thyme
Salt To Taste
2 eggs

1. Chop the cornbread and loaf of French bread up into 1-inch cubes. Spread them out on two baking sheets and let them dry for approximately 24 hours.
2. Warm up a large skillet over medium heat and add butter. When it’s melted add the onion and celery and cook for a few minutes until onions are almost translucent. While it’s cooking chop up any fresh herbs you will be using.
3. Add 4 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add ½ a teaspoon of basil, ½ teaspoon of ground thyme, a few teaspoons of fresh chopped rosemary and ¼ cup of chopped fresh parsley. Stir until combined.
4. Allow the broth mixture to cool.  Beat eggs in a separate bowl, then add to the cooled broth mixture.
5. Place all of your dried bread cubes into a large bowl and mix them up a bit. Gradually ladle the broth mixture into the bread, tossing lightly as you go. Keep gradually adding the broth mixture, tasting as you go and adding more seasoning and herbs if needed. Add salt carefully. You don’t want to over salt your stuffing. If the mixture is not quite moist enough add a bit more chicken broth and stir.
6. Place in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.