This is my favorite part of Thanksgiving. I could eat this for days, and I do. Add over easy eggs to it the next day for breakfast, so yummy!
The corn bread makes enough for you to steal a couple pieces to eat right away, you will use about 2/3 for the stuffing. You can make the corn bread a couple days ahead; it's okay if the corn bread is dried out some. You can also make the stuffing the day before Thanksgiving and refrigerate it until the big day. Take the dish out an hour or two before putting in the oven.
Ingredients
Corn Bread
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
1/2 vegetable oil
4 large eggs
Stuffing
1 pound sweet Italian Sausage
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
2 tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup chicken broth
Instructions
For Cornbread: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Butter 13x9x2-inch baking dish.
In medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder & salt. In liquid measuring cup whisk together milk & vegetable oil, then whisk in eggs. Add milk mixture to dry mixture and stir until just evenly moistened.
Transfer batter to prepared baking dish and bake until corn bread edges are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean. About 25 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Can be made a couple days ahead.
You will need 8 cups of coarsely crumbled cornbread for the stuffing (about 2/3 of the pan). The rest you can eat fresh the day you make the cornbread.
For Stuffing: Butter 15x10x2 glass baking dish. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
In large skillet over medium high heat, sauté sausage until browned and cooked through, breaking up into small chunks. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl.
Add butter to same skilled and melt over medium heat. Add celery, onions & sage; sauté until onions beige to soften, about 10 minutes. Add vegetable mixture to sausage bowl. Add parsley, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper to sausage bowl and stir to combine everything.
In small bowl, whisk together eggs and chicken broth. Stir crumbled corn bread and egg mixture into sausage mixture. Transfer stuffing to prepared baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 20 minutes longer. Carefully use the broiler if top needs to crisp up more. Serve & enjoy!