by Patricia Kennedy
When you are within about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours of serving the meal, complete the dressing. To do this, you melt a stick of butter. Saute about � cup to 1 cup of chopped onions. � cup to 1 cup of chopped celery, a healthy amount of regular parsley, chopped. Let mixture cook until onions becomes transparent. My sister Gin always mashed this mixture to soften it further. (No, it is not like mashed potatoes, it just makes it softer.) Now add to the dressing mix with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning to taste (actually I usually add a bit of sage too, but not too much. Add three eggs into the mixture. Stir until all ingredients are mixed well. Pour into a glass, oblong pyrex baking pans - make sure that you grease the baking dishes before you pour in the mixture.
Bake for about an hour in the middle rack of an oven at about 425 degrees. Enjoy. It is worth the effort if you like dressing. Certainly, if you prefer, you can use it as a stuffing mix for the turkey; or you can serve it both ways.
This recipe can be doubled or tripled. You will need to bake two pans of cornbread. I used to use pie pans. Always use yellow cornmeal. You follow the basic recipe on the cornmeal box except that you spread it into two pans, not one. Be careful not to burn it, but you want it somewhat crispy. My sister, Gin always stressed that you should add a bit more oil than what is called for in the recipe -- maybe another two tablespoons. (Hint.) You can make the cornbread the day before along with the pumpkin pie because there is too much to do on the day of the feast. When you are ready to make the dressing, crumble the cornbread in a very large bowl. Also add 2 to 3 crackers, which you crumble, or leftover French bread and/or biscuits. I use to save these items up the week before I needed them, and store them in the freezer. To the mixture of crumbled cornbread, crackers, and other breads (use whatever you have) add the 2 to 3 cans of chicken broth. Let it soak for several hours.
