I grew up eating a classic bread, onion, celery, sage and apple stuffing.  I have learned to love cornbread stuffing since becoming gluten-free and changing the base of the stuffing seems to have opened the floodgates of experimentation.  I have been fickle about stuffings for the last few years.  I have been playing the field and experimenting with all kinds of flavours.

In the end though, I really crave the balance of sweet and savory from the stuffing of my childhood.  This is the most satisfying cornbread stuffing recipe that I have tried.   It embraces  buttery crusty deliciousness of cornbread.  It uses the simple, classic  savory combination of onion celery and sage that I crave.  Apples are not the best choice for a cornbread stuffing because the texture is too soggy.  The texture and intensity of dried cherries and/or dried plums work better.I highly recommend making the cornbread recipe at this link for this stuffing.  It is a southern style cornbread, which means that it is dense and savory with a delicious crust.  This recipe will not work with a fluffy sweet Northern style cornbread.  The good news is that this cornbread recipe is really, really easy to make.  You might want to let it bake for an extra five minutes so that it is has a nice golden crust.CORNBREAD STUFFING WITH SAGE AND DRIED CHERRIES (GLUTEN-FREE)

• 4 recipes gluten-free skillet cornbread (Make each batch in its own skillet to maximize the amount of delicious crust that ends up in your stuffing)
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 4 yellow onions, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 bunch fresh sage, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups dried cherries (you can replace 1 cup with pitted prunes)
• More butter (optional)
• about 1/3 cup turkey or chicken stock (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the cornbread into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Warm the butter over medium heat in a very large skillet.  Add the onion, celery, sage.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent and sweet.  Don’t let them brown.  A sweet clear onion is preferable to a caramelized onion in this recipe.  There should still be some melted butter and juice from the vegetables in the bottom of the pan when you turn off the heat.  Add the cherries and/ or prunes.
3. You can do all of the above days in advance if you like.  About an hour before you want to serve the stuffing, combine the toasted cornbread cubes and the vegetable mixture and spread it out in a large casserole or two small casserole dishes.  Warm the stuffing in the oven (about 350 degrees) for  30  to 45 minutes before serving.  If you are not content with level of browned crispness on your cornbread you can dot the top with a few slabs of butter.  If you are worried that the stuffing will be too dry pour about 1/3 cup of turkey or chicken stock onto the stuffing and cover it with foil while it bakes.  You can also actually stuff a bird with it if you like, but I personally prefer my stuffing baked on the side.

HERE ARE SOME OTHER IDEAS FOR THANKSGIVING….

Parsnip Pear Whip https://bigsislittledish.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/whipped-pear-and-parsnip-side-dish-better-than-pie/

Roasted Duck with a Crispy Skin https://bigsislittledish.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/how-to-roast-a-duck-duck-goose-fat/

Cauliflower Gratin with Horseradish https://bigsislittledish.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/cauliflower-gratin-with-horseradish-and-poppy-seeds/

Pumpkin Walnut Soup https://bigsislittledish.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/pumpkin-walnut-soup/