Chef Jeraldo
I'm sure there are several close by who would invite me over, but I am not really in the sociable mood.
I bought a WHOLE CHICKEN a couple of weeks ago, froze it, then last night I thawed it slowly.
I looked up the method for Brining your bird, so this morning I got fresh thyme, rosemary and lemon oregano, lots of salt & pepper, and oddly on a whim, I put in some Jasmine Tea (whole) Brought that up to a boil, then let it cool, so now after washing my bird, it is in the brining mix for an overnight bath
I feel sure most people think of the dressing/stuffing they grew up with is the best, and I am the same.
I've had people make "Oyster Dressing" (Eww Yuck) but not for me.
Mama's dressing consisted or Hoecake cornbread, crumbled
(I just spoke with my older sister yesterday who reminded me of the ingredients and proportion of them to make this corn bread, I could hardly avoid eating it)
White Rice
I praise God mama taught me how to cook perfect rice.
She also included chopped onion, the cooked giblets (the organs chopped up) and the juice from that cooking, and boiled egg.
I was never fond of Giblet Gravy, but it is necessary for the flavor and binding/moisture of the dressing.
Just to be faithful to that recipe, I am also including ONE boiled ayg ha ha
So I've done her one up, I have red and white onion chopped, plus celery
There is also an Anaheim Pepper from my garden in there, no heat just flavor
Crumble some of the cornbread
So now this is waiting on the giblet stuff, but I think it will sit in the fridge overnight. I don't want anything to spoil before I finish this assembly
Mama's hoe cake cornbread
Almost half and half cornmeal and flour, a little more cornmeal.
note, my sister said to use self rising flour AND self rising cornmeal.
The hoecakes need to be yellow for authenticity, otherwise you might think you were eating a pancake.
I did not have self rising flour or yellow cornmeal, so I used half yellow and half white (self rising) cornmeal, AND I added a small amount of baking powder.
That seemed to do the trick
Get your pan good and hot with your choice of vegetable oil
Get those dry ingredients in a bowl with the one raw egg, start mixing with cold water until you get a consistency that will pour
Watch for it to begin to form bubbles around the edge,
When it rises, and starts bubbles nearer the center, that is the sign that you can turn it
Don't have your pan TOO hot, you don't want it to burn, this will be up to you as a matter of experimentation. Flipping it too soon will cause it to break, let it go too long and it will get kinda burned
Jes purfecto!
"Thanksgiving Bird part one"
by
Jerry E Smith
©11/21/2023
Continued tomorrow:
All these photos were taken today by me
Using my cellphone
