Southern Cornbread Dressing

Thanksgiving in the South, at least in my family, always includes cornbread dressing to go with the turkey. Traditionally, Southerners don't stuff the bird but cook a cornbread-based mixture in a pan. When I was growing up, my mother told me this was because cooking stuffing inside the turkey was dangerous -- it could lead to ptomaine poisoning.

This isn't just an old wives' tale. It's true that the stuffing can get soaked with turkey juices but not cook to a high enough temperature to be safe as it's buried deep inside the bird. Besides, there would never be enough stuffing to go around to give everyone an ample portion (not to mention seconds and leftovers).

My family frequently duplicated the basics of Thanksgiving dinner for Christmas dinner as well, and I always welcomed the opportunity to have turkey and dressing in December, too. We've gotten away from that habit, but really you can have turkey and dressing -- or chicken and dressing -- any time of year.

My mother did not have a written recipe for her dressing. She worked with some basic ratios but this was mostly a recipe that she made by look and feel. I've continued in this vein, but given that I only make this once per year at best, I decided to document what I did last year. So, with a few tweaks, this is essentially my mother's dressing. We frequently prepare a double recipe so that we can enjoy leftovers the next day, and have enough for guests to take some home if they like.

Kiwi Mango (or Papaya) Salsa

My friend Scott did a residency program in Hawaii years ago, and visits whenever he can. One of the treasures he brought back from his first visit was a community cookbook. As you might imagine, it's a little different than than the typical Junior League cookbooks we have around the southeast. The ingredients are heavy on tropical produce and seafood, and influence of Asian cuisine is strong. One recipe he introduced me to years ago was a kiwi papaya salsa. The original version was meant to be served with a cheese such as brie, accompanied by thin, crisp crackers or lavash. Over the years I've adapted the recipe and make it frequently, substituting mango for the papaya. It's light, healthy, delicious, and is not only a good accompaniment to cheese and crackers, but is a great side or relish with chicken, pork, or fish.

One small step for blogdom

In the spirit of, "Well, everybody else seems to be doing it, why not me?" here's my first stab at a blog. At this point the main focus is going to be on food and cooking (hence the title) but meandering is definitely a possibility. A lot of food blogs I've visited have lovely, high-quality pictures of dishes the authors prepared, and I'm not there yet. So for now, text will have to do. :D

To start, I'll launch right in and talk about today's menu. Last weekend I'd made some black bean soup, portioned into individual servings for the freezer. This morning I decided to have some for supper, but didn't want just "soup." I had pureed it and cooked it down to a pretty thick consistency, like thin refried beans, and thought it would be good over something. I made a pot of polenta, using fat-free half-and-half for part of the water, then poured it into a small loaf pan and put it in the refrigerator to chill. At dinner time I sliced off several slabs of the polenta, gave them a dusting of flour, and pan-fried until golden on both sides. I plated the polenta, then the warmed black bean soup was poured over. Topped with thinly sliced scallions and a dollop of sour cream made a hearty, warm, comforting entree. The side was a tomato-onion ragout, picked up on a rerun of Everyday Food today. Tomato-Onion Ragout (with Flounder).

I was pleased with the outcome, but next time I'd use polenta that was made with just water, and chilled for a longer period. It was cold but still a little soft. The ragout was excellent and I'll definitely be making that again as well!