Thai Basil Honey Cornbread Dressing

Last Thanksgiving, I made this special Thai Basil Dressing using a Honey Cornbread.

The result was delicious!

The Honey Cornbread and Deviled Pecans make this a sweet treat.  The Thai Basil adds a nice spicy flavor too.

For a printable version of the full recipe, click on the hyperlink below:

Thai Basil Honey Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients

Deviled Pecans

3 cups Pecan halves
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Cumin Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 teaspoon smoked Paprika
1 tablespoon Ancho Chile Powder
1/2 cup Turbinado Sugar
2 Egg Whites beaten to soft peaks

Directions

Take the pecan halves and put them in a big bowl. Add smoked paprika, salt, ground cumin, Cayenne pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to the pecans.

Now add ground ancho chili powder, tabasco, Worcestershire Sauce, Turbinado Sugar and beaten egg whites. Mix it all up until all the pecans are coated.

Put the pecans on a cookie sheet that is covered with parchment paper. Bake in an oven for 3 minutes at 325°F degrees.

Take the pecans out of the oven, stir, put back in the oven and continue to bake for 18 more minutes until the pecans are dry and roasted. Check the pecans every five minutes to make sure they don’t burn.

Once the pecans are baked, take them off the parchment paper and put the pecans on paper towels to drain.

Honey Cornbread

2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 cups Yellow Cornmeal
1/2 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Baking Powder
2 cups heavy Cream
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup Honey
4 Eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder and white sugar. Mix well.

Add heavy cream, oil, honey and slightly beaten eggs to the flour mixture. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture in to a greased pan. Bake at 400°F degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the Honey Cornbread cool until you can handle. Cut the honey cornbread in half and cut into 1 inch cubes. Crumble the other half into coarse crumbs.

Dressing

2 sticks Butter cut into chunks
2 medium Yellow Onions, chopped
3 ribs Celery, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh Sage, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh Thai Basil, chopped
2 pinches Kosher Salt
2 pinches Black Pepper
1 pound bulk spicy Italian Sausage
6 cups Cornbread, half crumbled, half cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 cup fresh Parsley, chopped
3 cups deviled Pecans
1/4 cup good quality Bourbon (can be substituted with chicken stock)
1/2 to 3/4 cup Chicken Stock (enough to moisten the mixture)

Directions

Preparing the Herbs

Pinch few Thai basil leaves that are near the new grown leaves of the plant. Make sure that you are cutting it next to the joint so that it will not affect the growth of the plant.

Clip a few leaves from the sage plant. Make sure that you are clipping the leaves that are near the new grown leaves.

Clip a small sprig of rosemary.

Clip a small bunch of parsley, clipping close to the stem.

Wash the Thai Basil leaves with cool water so that it will liven up the leaves. Place the leaves on a paper towel. Cut the leaves with herb scissors and put them in a bowl.

When you are washing the sage leaves, make sure that you are clipping of the tiny stem from the leaves, dry the leaves in a paper towel once they are washed. Cut the leaves with the herb scissors, put them in a bowl.

Wash the rosemary leaves with cool water. Go against the stem of the rosemary so that you can separate the leaves from the stem. Chop it with the herb scissors and put the leaves in a bowl.

Wash the parsley leaves with cool water. Separate the leaves from the stem either by using your hand or with the kitchen utility scissors. Put the leaves in a bowl and chop them finer.

Making the Onion Mixture

Add onion to butter that is cubed, turn your heat down when the onions are translucent.

Add the celery, rosemary, sage, basil, salt and pepper. Stir and allow the mixture to cook a bit longer.

Sausage

Brown the sausage.

Preparing the Dressing

Add the onion mixture to the sausage in a big pot and mix it well. Add the crumbled and cubed cornbread to the pot and mix it well. Add the pecan and parsley. Add one fourth cup of any type of Bourbon to the mixture and stir the mixture well. 

Add chicken broth to the mixture and mix well for few minutes.

Put the mixture in a greased oven dish and bake at 350°F degrees until the mixture is heated thoroughly.

The Thai Basil dressing is out of the oven now and is ready to be served!