It pretty much goes without saying that the United States' relationship with the continent of Africa is long and complex. The forced removal and enslavement of African people is something we are still dealing with the repercussions of today. The book we are currently discussing takes a unique look at this diaspora, namely how the presence of these African nations has influenced American cuisine. Because of the nature of the history involved, it is difficult to nail down specific origins of some of the techniques and flavors mentioned in this cookbook. The book, Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine by Jessica B. Harris, narrows the recipes for this group to three focuses: Southern recipes, Northern recipes, and innovation/improvisation.
The recipe we are going to be looking at today is a distinctly Southern one: Cornbread stuffing. If you haven't tried some variation of this one before, as I hadn't, you are missing out. As I mentioned in my previous entry about food memoirs, there is a distinct difference between stuffing and dressing. I won't be opening that can again. But the dish I am preparing today is devoid of an actual turkey to stuff, so dressing it shall be.
You start with a cornbread mix, adding salt, pepper, and fresh chopped sage. I breathed a sigh of relief at this. The last time I tried to make cornbread it was from scratch let me tell you it did NOT turn out nicely. You people from the summer of Cookbook Club know what I'm talking about here. Once again to save time and space I halved the recipe. I made my cornbread, and much to my solace it turned out fairly good.
The next step is to cut it into half inch chunks. The dryness made the cornbread quite crumbly, so this step proved somewhat difficult.
Once you have your cornbread chunkified, let it sit out uncovered overnight. That's right, you picked a multi-day recipe. Deal with it. And don't worry, it's worth it.
Next you melt some butter and cook up the onion and celery you chopped up.
Mix everything together, then slowly ladle and fold in your turkey stock. Bake for an hour, and you're done!
I tried it and it was absolutely delicious. My kids naturally refused, BUT my wife tried it and agreed it's better than store bought! And isn't that the True Goal of any home cook?