Take This Class

Well Thanksgiving is here…and how quick it came!  If you’re scrambling around last minute trying to toss together a Turkey Day dinner, or prepare something quick and easy to bring to a host(ess) house, here’s a couple of side dishes that are nutritious, delicious and cuts down cooking time from Self Magazine!

Serves 8
Ingredients

Corn bread
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
* 1 cup cornmeal
* 1 cup flour
* 3 tablespoons sugar
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1 cup skim milk
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Stuffing
1 large orange
* 1 bag (12 oz) fresh or frozen cranberries, fully thawed
* 2 tablespoons honey (optional)
* 4 oz Neufchâtel (reduced-fat cream cheese)
* Corn bread crumbs (from recipe above)
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation

For corn bread
Preheat oven to 400° and coat a 9″ square baking pan (or one 12-muffin muffin tin) generously with cooking spray. Mix cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and a fat pinch of salt in a large bowl. In another bowl beat together milk, egg and butter. Pour wet ingredients into dry, stirring until just combined. Don’t worry in the slightest about the odd lump. Pour into pan and bake about 15 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool.
For stuffing
Zest the orange (i.e., grate the peel), then juice it. Put cranberries in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the juice and zest. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and add honey if you’re going for that option. (I like my stuffing vibrantly astringent and don’t add honey, but I know that most people prefer it to have less edge.) Cover, turn down the heat slightly and simmer about 5 minutes. Add Neufchâtel in small bits and stir, off the heat, until it melts, then add crumbled corn bread?and here’s where you can leave it (refrigerated for up to 24 hours) until you want to bake it. At which time, beat in eggs and season with salt, pepper and cinnamon.
Assembly
Fill an ovenproof dish with stuffing. I use a pan that’s 8″ square and 1 1/2″ deep. I know that doesn’t sound very big, but you’ll get 9 brownie-sized slabs out of it. Bake in a 375° oven for about 30 minutes. If you want to stuff the turkey with this stuffing, and it certainly benefits because the stuffing absorbs the meatiness from the bird, remember to include the weight of the stuffing in the total cooking time.