Cornbread Dressing and Leftover Breakfast Waffles

      Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and friends and celebrate all the things that we are grateful for. This year we are especially thankful that our eldest sister has been transferred to a local convent 5 minutes away! We usually get a holiday phone call. This year, we had a holiday visit!!

     Our family's menu is anything but traditional...no turkey or pumpkin pie. This year, I was asked if we could have a more traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I had to ask what that even meant, and was given a list that included cornbread dressing. I have never made cornbread dressing and had only a vague idea what would be included: cornbread, onions, celery, sage, chicken stock.

     Someone asked, "Why didn't you just use the box mix?"
     Hello?  Do you know who you're talking to? I have to try scratch before I go to the box!

     I had a good recipe for cornbread, so that was my base. I found a recipe online for dressing that had multiple 5 star reviews and glowing comments ("Just like Grandma's!"), so I gave it a try. 

     The flavor was good, but the texture was wrong, sort of like a cornbread quiche. There may have been too much liquid. Regardless, this was simply...inadequate.

     I mentioned my quandary to a co-worker, and she said, "Girl! You never made cornbread dressing??"

   "Uh...no..."

   "You need to add bread! Just toast some white bread, cube it up, and stir it into your other ingredients!" But how much?? "I can't tell you, there is no 'recipe!' You just mix it until it looks right and bake it until it looks done!" Sigh.

     Ok, then, back to the drawing board. I didn't have white bread....but I did have seasoned croutons in the pantry! I remade the dressing, omitting most of the liquid, added crushed croutons, and chopped up the "quiche" and stirred that in as well, and baked it until it "looked done." This one was a success! Served on Thanksgiving, it had positive feedback. 

                        Cornbread Dressing

4 cups crumbled cornbread (recipe 2/2021)

2 cups seasoned croutons

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1-2 tsp dried sage (to your preference)

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 and 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, crush the croutons and mix with cornbread crumbles. Add enough chicken stock to moisten (not drown) your cornbread mixture. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and saute onion and celery until soft. Add herbs and saute a few minutes more, until fragrant, and add this to your bowl. Add salt and pepper, and taste a bit for seasoning. Stir in the eggs, and scrape into an 8x8 or 7x9 pan. Bake at 350 until golden brown, approximately 35 minutes.

     As well as it was received, there were still leftovers. What to do with leftover cornbread dressing? Well, the genius behind https://Smittenkitchen.com has come up with a perfect Black Friday breakfast or brunch idea: waffles. Yes, you read that correctly.

     Take 1/2 cup of leftover dressing and bake it in a waffle iron. Meanwhile, cook an egg over-easy, with butter, salt, and pepper. When the waffle is crisp, remove it from the iron to a plate, sprinkle with shredded cheddar, and top with your egg. It was fabulous! I will be making it again!