Last year I had two thanksgivings, back to back. My fiance’s family had a Thanksgiving lunch, and a little later my family had an early Thanksgiving dinner. My family kills it at Thanksgiving. My mom’s stuffing is wonderful, Tina’s pies are next level, and on the whole, we have very high expectations when it comes to Thanksgiving sides. My intention with the Thanksgiving lunch was to taste a little bit of everything, but save room for the Thomas family bacchanalia a little later.
That didn’t really work out.
Steve’s smoked turkey, Sharon’s pecan pie, and Bruce’s spicy cornbread dressing made my steely reserve buckle immediately. It was just too delicious. So yep, I was the person who had two entire Thanksgiving dinners, within two hours of each other. I was too full to feel shame.
Bruce’s stuffing was one of the stand outs from the whole gluttonous day. It’s spicy, a little sweet, and you can eat it by the handful, it’s that delicious. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 cups chopped white onions
5 garlic cloves, minced
18 ounces fresh anaheim chiles (~6 large), chopped (with seeds for spice)
18 ounces fresh poblano chiles, chopped (with seeds)
4 to 6 fresh jalapeños
1 1⁄2 tablespoons ground new mexico chiles
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
3⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
3⁄4 teaspoon fresh oregano, roughly chopped
3⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
one 13×9 inch masa cornbread cut into 1 inch cubes, preferably a day old (this is about 8 cups)
6 ounces monterey jack cheese, cut into 1⁄4 inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a 15 x 10 baking dish and set aside.
Melt the butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until translucent and tender (about 5 minutes). Add the fresh chiles and sauté until they begin to soften (about 12 to 14 minutes). Stir in ground chiles, salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl to cool. Once cool, stir in the cilantro. You can stick it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.
Add the cornbread to the chili mixture and toss gently. Toss in the cheese. Whisk the eggs and broth together, then pour over stuffing and toss gently to moisten. Transfer stuffing to the buttered dish.
Cover dish with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake the stuffing until heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is golden, about 30 minutes longer.
