Cornbread Dressing

This classic recipe was featured in our "Taste of the South" column last year. It makes one large and one small pan of dressing, so freeze one pan for another meal.

Yield: Makes 16 to 18 servings

Ingredients

• 1  cup  butter or margarine, divided
• 3  cups  self-rising white cornmeal mix
• 1  cup  all-purpose flour
• 7  large eggs, divided
• 3  cups  buttermilk
• 3  cups  soft, white breadcrumbs
• 2  large sweet onions, diced
• 4  celery ribs, diced
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped fresh sage
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1  tablespoon  seasoned pepper
• 7  cups  chicken broth

Preparation

Place 1/2 cup butter in a 13- x 9-inch pan; heat in oven at 425° for 4 minutes.

Stir together cornmeal and flour; whisk in 3 eggs and buttermilk.

Pour hot butter into batter, and stir until blended. Pour batter into pan.

Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Crumble cornbread into a large bowl; stir in breadcrumbs, and set aside.

Melt remaining 1/2 cup butter in a skillet over medium heat; add onions and celery, and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in sage, parsley, and seasoned pepper; sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir into cornbread mixture.

Whisk together chicken broth and remaining 4 eggs; stir into cornbread mixture. Pour evenly into 1 lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan and 1 lightly greased 8-inch square pan.

Bake at 400° for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used White Lily Self-Rising Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix.