posted by techgoddess 08-26-100 12:11 AM
Miss Bettie's Cornbread Dressing
3 pans cornbread (usually cooked in a 10 inch iron skillet)
6 to 8 biscuits (homemade... refrigerator biscuits would change the flavor)
4 boiled eggs
1 large bag chicken breast strips (bag should have a couple dozen in them)
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can chicken broth
oregano, to taste
basil, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup vermouth cooking wine
4 celery stalks (use inner stalks for tenderness and best flavor)
1 medium onion (Vidalia, if available)
1/8 cup poultry seasoning
1 tblsp. salt
2 tblsp. black pepper
Make three pans of cornbread, using your favorite cornbread recipe. Make one batch of biscuits. Boil four eggs.
Pour can of chicken broth in a large pot. Add chicken tenders, and fill the pan the rest of the way with water to cover the chicken. Add the 1/2 cup of vermouth (the kind you buy in the grocery store) and sprinkle in some oregano, basil, salt and pepper (however much you like). Stir it all up. Cook chicken tenders over medium heat until done. Save the broth after the chicken is cooked. Run it through a strainer to get rid of the bits of foam and fat that accumulate while the chicken is cooking.
Chop the celery and onion, and mash the eggs with a potato masher.
Crumble the cornbread and biscuits into a very large container to have room for mixing. Add the mashed eggs and the celery and onion to the bread mixture, and mix well. Tear the chicken tenders into bite sized pieces (throwing away the "gristly" parts). Add the chicken to the mixture and mix well. Sprinkle poultry seasoning, black pepper and salt over mixture and mix well.
Just before cooking, add enough chicken broth to thoroughly moisten the mixture. Stir it up good to make sure the whole mixture gets wet!
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then check to see if brown. If not, continue to cook until top is slightly brown. (Time depends on quantity of dressing.)