Good gravy, it's almost Thanksgiving!

Dressing, sweet potatoes and cranberry, please report to the table

Nov 22, 2023

Thanksgiving turkey isn’t complete without dressing and gravy. Thanks to my long friendship with the late, great chef John Bennett, I learned the best cornbread dressing recipe I’ve ever eaten.

JB was never shy about adding butter or cream to anything; however, since this recipe didn’t have a place for cream, he poured on the butter. We lost JB in 2019. His birthday would’ve been this weekend, so be sure to raise a glass of “the good stuff” to Oklahoma’s dearly departed Chef Emeritus.

I’ve tossed in recipes for giblet gravy and a spicy variation on cranberry sauce, but you won’t want to miss the sweet potato recipe chef Kurt Fleischfresser shared with me many years ago. The Big Kahuna isn’t big on piling sweet on top of sweet potatoes, so he came up with what he called Girl Scout Sweet Potatoes because they evoke campfire vibes.

Cornbread Dressing

1 cup unsalted butter (2 full sticks)

2 cups onion, finely diced

2 cups celery, finely diced

6 to 8 leaves fresh sage, minced

2 leaves from two sprigs of thyme, minced

2 cloves garlic, mashed in 2 teaspoons salt

2 cups chicken broth or stock

1 package Shawnee Mills buttermilk cornbread

2/3 cup buttermilk

15-20 pecans halves

1-2 red jalapeno or Fresno peppers, optional

1/2 loaf Italian bread

Make the cornbread batter via instructions on the package then pour it into a greased pan or skillet. Place pecan halves on top of the batter and bake according to package instructions.

Cut the halved Italian loaf in slices and toast on a sheet pan in the rack below the cornbread for about 5 minutes, making sure not to let it darken.

When the breads are ready, set them aside in a large mixing bowl.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, celery, and optional peppers. Simmer 5 minutes then add the garlic and herbs. Simmer another 5 minutes, lowering the temperature to medium-low, making sure the ingredients don't darken too much as they will cook again in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Combine the breads, onion-celery mixture and broth in the mixing bowl. Combine thoroughly and place in a loaf pan for a fluffy dressing, a large skillet for a crispier version.

Source: Chef John Bennett as told to Dave Cathey

Giblet Gravy

1 turkey gizzard

1 turkey liver, about ¼ pound

1 tablespoon butter

1½ cups onions, chopped small

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

3 tablespoons flour (Wondra is foolproof)

3 cups broth, preferably turkey but chicken works great

1 cup water

1 bay leaf

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Remove membrane from the gizzard then chop finely. Then chop the liver separately.

Heat butter in heavy saucepan over medium-low flame. Add onions and garlic and sweat about 10 minutes.

Increase flame to medium and add chopped gizzard, liver and thyme. Simmer about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Sprinkle with flour and stir thoroughly. Add broth, water, bay leaf, salt, and pepper to blend. Simmer over low flame, stirring often and skimming any fat or scum, until reduced to about 3½ cups. Roughly 90 minutes. Stir in basting juices from the turkey after it’s removed from an oven.

Source: Dave Cathey

Girl Scout Sweet Potatoes

4 medium sweet potatoes, washed

8 strips hickory-smoked bacon

2 ancho chiles, slightly toasted and seeded

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced into rings

1 teaspoon garlic, mashed into puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the sweet potatoes in half from end to end.

Divide the garlic puree onto half of each sweet potato. Do the same with the onion and chile, then season with salt and pepper. Put the matching halves on the stacked halves like a top bun.

Lay out four large squares of foil and put two strips of bacon diagonally on the squares. Set the stuffed potato on the bacon and wrap bacon around as tight as possible then seal with the foil around.

When all the potatoes are wrapped, bake for an hour or until they can be easily pierced with a skewer.

Let rest a few minutes, unwrap and serve.

Source: Chef Kurt Fleischfresser, The Tasting Room/Western Concepts Restaurant Group.

Habanero-Cranberry Sauce

1 bag fresh cranberries

1 habanero chile

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed

Put first five ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to boil.

Lower heat and simmer until it thickens. Remove from heat and add orange juice.

Let cool about 15 minutes, then place in a food processor.

Pulse to desired consistency.