Rachael Ray: Curtis Stone Collard Greens Cornbread Dressing

Rachael Ray: Curtis Stone’s Collard Greens Cornbread Dressing

Curtis Stone was in Rachael’s kitchen, explaining that sometimes, especially on Thanksgiving, oven space can be a problem. He thought he could combine two sides to make one incredible side dish, beginning with Collard Greens Cornbread Dressing, which he makes using a homemade cornbread. This recipe is so packed full of flavor, you will wonder why you didn’t combine cornbread and collard greens before.

To get the recipe for Curtis Stone’s Dressing, click next page.

Rachael Ray: Collard Greens Cornbread Dressing Recipe Ingredients

For the Cornbread:

• 2 1/4 C yellow cornmeal
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter – melted + more softened buter to brush the pan
• 3/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 1/4 C buttermilk

For the Dressing:

• 1 lb bulk pork sausage or sweet Italian sausages – casings removed
• 1 large yellow onion – cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 bunches collard greens – leaves only, coarsley chopped
• 1/2 C chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 4 large eggs – beaten
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 C unsalted butter + more to coat the baking dish
• 4 stalks celery – cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 6 C reduced-sodium chicken stock – divided
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Rachael Ray: Collard Greens Cornbread Dressing Recipe Directions

1. To make the cornbread, preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with softened butter
3. Into a large bowl, sift the cornmeal, sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and 3 tbsp of melted butter
5. Make a well in the middle of the cornmeal mixture and stir in the buttermilk mixture until moistened
6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and baked for about 25 minutes or until golden brown
7. Let cool for about 10 minutes
8. Remove the cornbread from the baking dish and put on a cooling rack to cool entirely
9. Break the cornbread into 1 1/2-inch pieces and divide among two baking sheets
10. Leave the cornbread uncovered at room temperature overnight to dry out

For the Dressing:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
2. Bake the cornbread pieces, stirring often, for about 30 minutes, until they have dried out but not browned
3. Let cool
4. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and raise the temperatur to 350 degrees
5. Meanwhile, heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat
6. Add the oil and sausage and cook, breaking the sausage apart, for about 10 minutes or until browned
7. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to an extra-large bowl
8. Add the butter to the sausage drippings in the same skillet and stir until melted
9. Add the onion and celery, cook stirring often, for about 10 minutes
10. Work in 2-3 batches to stir in the greens, letting each batch wilt before adding more
11. Stir in one C of stock
12. Reduce the heat to medium
13. Cover and braise the greens, stirring occasionally, and add an additional cup of stock after the first 15 minutes, for about 30 minutes, until the greens are tender
14. Stir in the sage, parsley, thyme, and rosemary
15. Add the greens mixture to the sausage in the bowl
16. Gently toss the cornbread pieces into the bowl with the sausage and greens
17. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, pepper, salt, and 3 C of the stock
18. Gently fold th egg-broth mixture into the cornbread mixture, but be careful not to mash the cornbread
19. Set aside for about 15 minutes, tossing occasionally, to let the cornbread mixture absorb most of the liquid
20. Gently fold in the last C of stock
21. Butter a 9×13 baking dish
22. Transfer the dressing to the baking dish, then cover with foil and bake for about 50 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges
23. Uncover the dressing, increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees, and keep baking for about 15 minutes or until set and the top is brown and crisp