Jiffy Cornbread Dressing

Christmas Day is Saturday and CJ and Shanice arrived Friday evening. They came in the door and Shanice was carrying a covered dish and smiling in a way that was different from the smile she usually carries — a contained smile, a smile that was holding something — and before she could say anything I looked at her and said, you have news. She looked at CJ. He looked at me. Then she said yes. They are expecting a baby. August.

I sat down. I have been sitting down for the important news for several years now, which is a good habit I developed after CJ's engagement because standing felt like the wrong posture for receiving something that big. I sat down and Shanice sat across from me and CJ stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders, and I looked at them for a long moment in the kitchen light. Then I said, tell me everything. She told me: nine weeks, confirmed Tuesday, first trimester almost done, they have told no one else yet. They wanted me to be first.

They wanted me to be first. I have thought about that phrase every day since they said it. Of everyone they could have told — her parents, his sister — they came to my kitchen on Christmas Eve and they told me first. Because this baby is coming into this kitchen. Because this baby will grow up knowing what Bernice's Table is and why it exists and whose face is on the cover of the recipe booklet and what it means to make her grandmother's tea cakes from memory without measuring. Because this child is arriving into a story that started long before CJ and Shanice and that will continue long after me, and they knew that and they wanted me to be the first one in on it.

I am going to be a grandmother. Saturday is my fifty-third birthday. It is already the best birthday I have had in years.

Shanice walked in carrying a covered dish, and it turned out she was carrying two things she hadn’t told me about yet. We ate that dressing at Christmas dinner — all of us around my table, knowing what we knew, this quiet enormous joy sitting right in the middle of everything — and I have never tasted anything so good in my life. I’m writing down this recipe now because the baby is going to grow up eating it, and I want it to be right every single time.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 10–12

Ingredients

2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
2 eggs (for cornbread)
2/3 cup milk (for cornbread)
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup yellow onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, warm
2 eggs, beaten (for dressing)
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Bake the cornbread. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix both boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix with 2 eggs and 2/3 cup milk until just combined. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish and bake for 18–22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely, then crumble into a large mixing bowl.
Sauté the vegetables. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter and cook celery and onion for 6–8 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add to the crumbled cornbread and stir to combine.
Season the mixture. Add sage, thyme, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder to the bowl. Stir well so the seasoning is evenly distributed throughout the cornbread crumble.
Add the liquid. Pour warm chicken broth over the cornbread mixture gradually, stirring as you go. Add the 2 beaten eggs and mix until the dressing is moist and cohesive but not soupy. Adjust broth as needed — the mixture should be wet but hold together when pressed.
Bake the dressing. Transfer the mixture to a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake at 350°F for 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the center is set. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Jiffy Cornbread Dressing — The Dish She Carried Through the Door