Special Message from Brian Wilson:
Ahhhhh, Thanksgiving! It's the time of year we all stop and consider the blessings we have been granted — give thanks for the many good things in our lives — and consume copious amounts of food.
Don't get me wrong. I have more blessing to count than most, and I try to be thankful all year round. But, what better way to celebrate those things than with a big 'ol batch of cornbread dressing.
What? You say your family doesn't know the unbridled joy of cornbread dressing. You're in luck. Morning's on the Mall is here to help.
As I write this, I am carefully handling a yellowed and tattered piece of paper that contains the treasured Wilson family recipe for cornbread dressing. It has been handed down from generation to generation. The list of ingredients has been a family secret for centuries, OK — maybe a year or two — OK, maybe we took it from a magazine we read a while back. Time blurs these things, but that's not important right now. What is important is that I will again share this recipe with you.
Follow this recipe carefully and you will leave behind forever whatever it was that you once used to stuff your bird.
Start with a pan of cornbread (I make mine from scratch, but the cornbread mixes will do fine). After the cornbread cools, break it up into tiny pieces in a big bowl. Pour in one package of herbal stuffing. Chop up an onion and some celery — add a little seasoning to taste. Add three eggs.
Start mushing it up with your hands as you add canned chicken broth until everything is moist. The goal here is to make it about the consistency of thick oatmeal. Put the mixture in a pan and cook for an hour to an hour and a half at 400 degrees.
Put a big 'ol scoop on your plate and smother it in giblet gravy. Roll your eyes toward the heavens and shout in unison, "Good gosh, almighty! This is delicious!"
When you savor this delectable side dish — this manna from heaven — you will have one more thing to be thankful for.
I am very thankful for you. Happy Thanksgiving!
Brian
