Cornbread dressing with chorizo and poblano chiles is a great variation on traditional Thanksgiving dressing. (Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
A good pan dressing has been one of the highlights of the Thanksgiving table ever since I was old enough to remember trips to my grandmother’s house in Laurinburg, North Carolina. In today’s Denver Post Food section, I also included a recipe for a that I’ve used for years.
But good Thanksgiving dressings come from all points of the culinary compass, including the Southwest. Here’s an excellent one adapted from a recipe by the great . While you can use a yellow cornbread instead of blue cornbread, the latter will have a big “wow” factor with dinner guests, especially those hailing from the North. For the cornbread, use a non-sweet recipe and make it a day ahead so it has a chance to dry out a bit. Serves 8.
Southwest Cornbread Dressing With Chorizo and Chiles
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound bulk Mexican-style chorizo sausage
4 tablespoons butter
1 white onion, chopped
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup diced carrots
2 poblano peppers, char-roasted and diced
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
8 cups coarsely crumbled blue-corn bread
½ cup chicken stock
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.In a skillet, heat the oil over medium and add the chorizo, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Saute until brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a large mixing bowl. Wipe down the pan.
In the cleaned pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat and add the onions, celery, carrots, peppers and garlic. Saute for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are transluscent and soft. Add bourbon and boil for 3 minutes to reduce the liquid.
Remove pan from heat and add the thyme, sage and cilantro. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the chorizo, add the bread crumbs and chicken stock, and toss to moisten the crumbs.
Put the dressing into a 13×9 pan that has been prepped with cooking spray, cover with foil, then bake in a 350-degree oven for an hour. Remove the foil during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
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