Cornbread Dressing with Pecans and Apples

Kathleen Purvis, food editor of the Charleston Observer, a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, Association of Food Journalists, and the James Beard Foundation, released "Pecans: A Taste of the South Cookbook" in early September. “Show me a recipe with pecans, and I have to try it,” Purvis says. This cookbook, which is part of the University of North Carolina Press’ A Taste of the South series, includes bits about pecans culinary history along with the author’s personal stories. Purvis’ recipe for dressing—also known as stuffing but baked separately in an oven dish—comes just in time for the cooler days of fall, and serves up nicely along any kind of roasted bird. 

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 4-6 cups crumbled cornbread
• 4-6 cups crusty sourdough bread, cut into small cubes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1.2 cup diced celery
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• ½ red apple, diced, skin-on
• 1 pound pork breakfast sausage
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3-4 cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp dried, rubbed sage
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, combine cornbread and sourdough bread and toss to mix. Heat olive oil and butter in skillet over medium heat, stirring often. Add celery and onion and cook just until the onion is soft and the celery is losing its crunch. Stir in pecans and cook for a few more minutes until fragrant. Remove from heat, stir into cornbread mixture along with diced apple. Brown sausage in skilled, crumbling it as it cooks. Drain sausage then combine with cornbread mix. Stir in the beaten eggs and enough chicken stock to make the mixture very moist. Moisture is needed for oven baking. Add the sage, marjoram, thyme, salt, and pepper. Spread mixture in baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove foil and add stock or drippings from roasting bird if dressing looks dry. Continue baking for another 15 minutes or until top is crunchy.