Guice Family Dressing

sausage, cornbread, jalapeño, pecan dressing

If I had to choose one dish that I cannot go without for Thanksgiving, it would be my family’s dressing recipe. I’m calling it the Guice Family Dressing, because it was developed by my mom’s oldest brother Billy Guice, but some modifications have been made along the way. Uncle Billy’s original recipe was published in the December 1990 issue of Bon Appetit magazine as “Big Billy’s Cornbread, Sausage, Chili & Pecan Dressing,” along with a host of other family holidays recipes. This dressing takes Southern staples like cornbread and pecans and infuses them with the heat of Louisiana flavors with the Andouille sausage. Some minor modifications have been made along the way, so the family name still remains attached to the recipe!

In its original form, Uncle Billy’s recipe called for boxed Jiffy Cornbread, which works wonderfully; however, I am a Martha White Buttermilk cornbread loyalist, so I cook that (x2) in a cast-iron skillet and crumble it up for the base. Having spent most of my childhood in Birmingham, Alabama, I like to give a nod to those roots and will occasionally substitute the andouille sausage for Conecuh. This can also solve problems for anyone who is heat-averse. Basically, any smoked sausage or kielbasa will do. And you’ll still get some mild heat from the jalapeño if you you do not use the andouille.

You’ll need the following equipment:

• Skillet for cornbread

• Saute pan

• large mixing bowl

• 13x9 baking dish

First, you’ll make your cornbread, let it cool, then crumble it into your large bowl. Your cornbread may have some dark brown crust at the bottom. If this happens, just discard any tough parts of the bread that are harder to crumble. While the bread is cooling, brown your sausage, then add in butter and onions to sauté a little longer. You’ll add this to your crumbled cornbread, along with the remaining ingredients. Stirring before transferring it to your baking dish

You’re going to bake slowly for about 30 minutes, covered with foil. Then bring it out of the oven, put a few more pats of butter on top, then return to the oven (uncovered) and bake for an additional hour or so. Always good to check after 45 minutes. You’ll know the dressing is ready when it is just dry to the touch.

For advance prep, you can make everything up to adding eggs and stock. Just mix everything in your bowl, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.