The King's Christmas Feast
The Feast Dressing
This is pan dressing, not turkey stuffing. We are cooking the dressing
in a pan and the turkey is cooking unstuffed.
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You'll need one pan of cornbread (the chef suggests that you always cook
cornbread in an iron pan... in fact the chef uses iron for almost all cooking.
The pan doesn't have to be iron, but iron is probably the best way to make
cornbread.
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4 tablespoons butter
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3 large stalks chopped celery
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1 large yellow onion (yellow will give a better result than white or red
or sweet onions.
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4 eggs, beaten (beat them after they are at room temperature, if you have
time).
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3 ½ to 4 cups liquid stock (the chef usually makes this stock
by boiling a whole chicken with an onion and a carrot and lightly seasoned
with salt and pepper).
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2 jalapenos, finely diced (you can omit these, but they impart a great
flavor)
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3 garlic cloves, finely diced
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1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
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About one teaspoon of each sage and cayenne to taste
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About two teaspoons of black pepper and two teaspoons salt to taste.
Many people are tempted to buy stock in cans however, in the chef's
experience, such cans of stock are loaded with MSG (which goes under many
names) and is not good for your anti-aging program ... in fact MSG is widely
considered to be dangerous to your health. And, among other things, it
is used to fatten laboratory rats.
First. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Second. Grease one 9 by 13 inch baking dish and set aside.
Third. Crumble the cooled cornbread into a large mixing bowl; never
use hot cornbread (you prepared the cornbread in advance per the cornbread
recipe. Let the cornbread cool; when cool break into large chucks and crumble
into a large mixing bowl). Set the crumbled cornbread aside.
Fourth. Chop the celery and onion and in a large iron skillet, over
medium heat, melt the butter, put the onions and celery in the pan and
sautee; the celery and onion until soft.
Fifth In a the large mixing bowl of crumbled cornbread, combine the
celery, onions, eggs, liquid stock, peppers, garlic, sage, salt, black
pepper, and cayenne ( or any seasonings of choice, such as sage) to taste;
mix well. The finished mixture, before cooking, should be just very slightly
on the soupy side, not too dry or stiff. You can add more stock if desired.
You can still taste it at this point to adjust your seasonings to suit.
Sixth. Place the mixture into the prepared greased baking dish and bake
at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes; it should be bubbly
around the edges and hot in the center. Everything was cooked from the
beginning other than the eggs, so when you feel the eggs are cooked, it
should be ready --- and you should always use a thermometer if in doubt.
This wonderful dressing can literally be served as meal in itself.
The King often says to the chef, "We don't have to wait another whole
year for a bowl of fresh hot dressing."
