Favorite Thanksgiving 2013 Recipes



People have been requesting my recipe for Crawfish Crab Cornbread Dressing so I'm finally getting around to writing on my neglected blog. 

Between making gourmet brownies (think peanut butter crunch topped Belgian chocolate, German chocolate, or pecan pie) and holiday food I have been very busy in the kitchen.  I have not been making too many healthy dishes though.  This time of year I get a little carried away, but right after Thanksgiving Day I went back to eating the lighter, more plant based foods I enjoy.  Thinking about what I made for Thanksgiving, by far the most popular dish was my Crawfish Crab Cornbread dressing.  I had tasted a similar dressing at a work luncheon a couple years ago and knew I needed to make it one day.   I took my already popular and loved family favorite cornbread dressing and added a few things such as crawfish, crab, and Creole seasoning.  People couldn’t get enough of it, including Jason’s (my future son in law) son, Joe.  Apparently that was the only leftover he wanted to eat for days.  The other dish that was well liked was my grandmother, Elton Hollar’s, creamed corn.  During my November visit to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, I asked my aunt Mabel to give me the exact instructions on how it was made.  It’s very simple but much, much better than corn casserole or canned creamed corn, in my opinion.

I also smoked a fresh turkey after brining it for 24 hours.  It was really moist and delicious!  I have a secret technique now, thanks to my friend, Lisa Wright, which gave it the most amazing golden brown skin.  I put some cheesecloth in melted butter and Creole seasoning and wrapped the turkey in cheesecloth before putting it in the smoker. 

Crawfish and Crab Cornbread Dressing

Chef Julia Dunaway

Makes 10 servings

4 T butter

8 ounces spicy pork sausage, removed from casing, browned and drained (I used Jimmy Dean’s.)

 

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, diced

½ green bell pepper, diced

½ red bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups frozen Louisiana crawfish tails, thawed and squeezed dry

1 cup lump crab meat

2 scallions, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme

2 T Creole seasoning

6 cups crumbled cornbread (I use Central Market cornbread or make my own from scratch—don’t use Jiffy box mix—too sweet.)

2 cups chicken stock

½ cup heavy cream

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet and cook the onion, celery, peppers and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the crawfish and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the sausage and mix well.  Place all ingredients in a large bowl and add the seasonings, cornbread, stock, cream and eggs.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Dressing may be covered and refrigerated for  up to 1 day or freeze for several weeks.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Add more stock if you like a moister dressing.  Serve immediately with Louisiana hot sauce or Sriracha.

 

 

 

Creamed Corn

 

 

 

Creamed corn

Elton Hollar (Zack Steele’s mother)

5-6 ears fresh corn, cut from the cob and corn juices scraped off

2 pieces bacon, cut into pieces and fat rendered

2 T unsalted butter

Add corn and 1 cup of water and butter to the bacon drippings.  Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook for approximately 5 minutes.

Mix 2 T flour into ¼ cup water and add to corn mixture.

Add ½ cup half and half or cream.

Season with salt and pepper.

 Add ins:  green chile, jalapeno pepper, chopped bacon, cheese