Brown Butter Rosemary Cornbread Stuffing

You know the beloved children's story, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie"?  There could be a follow-up titled "If You Give A Parady A Side-Dish".   We admittedly go overboard at times, which is well-documented on this bloggy.  I spent this Thanksgiving with some dear friends who happen to be the rare sort of people who approach food like my family does, and while we definitively went overboard, the meal was fantastic.  On my list of dishes to contribute was stuffing, and so it began.

Stuffing, the usually humble, down-to-earth dish who is content to never be the star of the Thanksgiving show became a fancy-pants, bougie-fied (not a word, don't care) food in my hands and I have no regrets.  There was a brief moment in time between the cooking and eating of said stuffing where I feared I had gone too far, but one bite and a friend's declaration that it was the best stuffing he'd ever had and all doubts were laid to rest.

So now that you know this dish is over the top, I can tell you that I made my own cornbread to then make into stuffing.  I can admit that I browned butter not once, but twice.  And I can reassure you again that it is so worth it.  Please indulge me and add this to your Christmas meal, or next Thanksgiving, or any other reason you have to feast, because really, who says stuffing is just for Thanksgiving? Not I, and not this stuffing.

cornbread recipe barely adapted from Joy The Baker

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 square baking pan, line with parchment paper.

Brown the butter in a small saucepan. Heat slowly over medium-low heat until it begins to crackle and brown. Remove from heat, whisk together with eggs, buttermilk, and orange juice.

In a large bowl, blend orange zest and rosemary into sugar, pressing the zest and spice into the sugar to release the flavor. Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the large bowl with the flavored sugar, whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stir to combine. Pour batter into pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.


stuffing:
6 tablespoons butter

9 cups cubed cornbread, stale or toasted dry

1 onion, diced

2 eggs, beaten

3 tablespoons rosemary

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3.4 cup chicken stock.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown butter in a small saucepan until it begins to crackle and smell nutty. Remove from heat and transfer to a measuring cup or small bowl.

Mix together cornbread, diced onion, eggs, rosemary, salt, pepper, 3 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of chicken stock in a large bowl. Transfer to a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Drizzle the remaining butter and chicken stock over the top. Bake 30-45 minutes, until crisp and brown on top.