So Many Dishes

I hope your Christmas has been a good one. Ken and I had a wonderful day that included lots of yummy food. I’m a bit late posting this, because we’ve had a busy few days. We’re also celebrating our wedding anniversary (our 53rd), plus there was Boxing Day soccer and a trip to the movies to see A Complete Unknown, which I highly recommend.

The day started with our traditional Christmas morning apple-cranberry pie. I lit the candle in the centerpiece and served on Christmas plates that I bought a few years ago, and it was a sugary and delicious start to the day.

We had great fun exchanging gifts. My dad began a tradition of putting clues on gift tags. At first, he only did it on gifts for my mother, but it soon spread to other family members. Ken sometimes takes it to extremes; there have been years when I’ve needed some sort of reference book to try to figure out clues. Usually, we end up collapsing with laughter.

Then, it was on to cooking. The first step was to make cornbread to serve as the base of a sausage and cornbread dressing. I used the Krusteaz honey cornbread mix, because it’s quick and easy. Ken’s job was to crumble the cooled cornbread, and he also took on the job of dishwasher. Since I was using lots of bowls and pans, that was a major contribution that I really appreciated.

The dressing recipe was a new one for me. Based on one that I found on the Washington Post website, I started by cutting the quantities in half, since I was cooking for 2 instead of 10 to 12. Instead of hot Italian sausage, I used a sage pork sausage freshly made at our local supermarket. I realized, after I had mixed everything together, that I had used the full amount of melted butter, but I don’t think I’d change it. We agreed that the result was delicious.

Of course, dressing is a side. Our main course was an apricot-glazed ham. We bought a little sliced quarter ham, and we’re still going to be eating ham leftovers for days. I’m sure that I’ll be blogging at least one recipe using leftover ham in the next few days.

Bottom line, it was a great dinner. We enjoyed a Spanish cava with the meal.

I’m including the cornbread dressing recipe, with my modifications.

Sausage and Cornbread Dressing

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• An 8-inch square pan of cornbread, cooled if freshly baked
• 1/2 pork sausage with sage (breakfast style sausage)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 large apple, cored and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste

Finely crumble the cornbread into a large bowl.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula, until no longer pink, 5 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the bowl with the cornbread crumbs, leaving the fat behind in the skillet.

Add the onion, apple, and celery to the skillet, still over medium-high. Cook, stirring from time to time, until softened but still somewhat crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the cornbread crumbs and sausage. Add the broth, melted butter, parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary, and gently mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Grease a shallow baking dish with butter. Transfer the dressing to the prepared pan and bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, uncovered, until the top is lightly browned and crusty. Serves 4 to 6.

Happy eating!