Cornbread Stuffing and DIY Foraged Floral Arrangement

Hi Everyone! Wow, it has been a long week.  Let’s take a deep breath and talk about Thanksgiving Sides. I am joining five other fabulous cooks and we are sharing our favorite Thanksgiving Sides.  We will have a very different Thanksgiving this year as I am sure many of you are as well.  We will celebrate with our immediate family.  Hopefully next year we can all get back together.  Today let’s talk about my favorite Cornbread Stuffing and a DIY Foraged Floral Arrangement. Please excuse the appearance of my website.  It is in the process of being revamped.

I have been making this stuffing since 1994 when I found it in the Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit. It has been tweaked a bit over the years.  I use stuffing mix rather than preparing the cornbread in the original recipe.  I found it too sweet, and our family prefers this version.  We stuff the bird with this stuffing and serve oyster dressing on the side. It is much more veggie friendly than most stuffings as you can tell by the ingredients.  If you have a large iron skillet you can bake and serve it in the skillet.

CAJUN CORNBREAD STUFFING WITH ANDOUILLE AND PEPPERS

 

Here is my recipe adapted from the Epicurious Cajun Cornbread Recipe of 1994.

DIY FORAGED FLORAL ARRANGEMENT

In order to keep this post interesting, I thought I would share how to create a foraged floral arrangement for your table with five different florals. I don’t have many fall looking leaves or flora in my yard so if I can do it so can you!   I used pomegranate leaves and poms, multicolored lantana, pyracantha, hydrangea leaves, and gold lantana. 

 

Grab a vase and fill it as close to the top as you can. 

Add a couple of drops of bleach to the water to preserve the branches and flowers.

Cut a big bunch of branches to create the base. Cut some branches with poms attached.  Cut the stems at an angle so they will absorb more water. Remove any leaves that will be below the water level. Use taller branches in the center and angle out. Work your way around the vase. This will create your base so use plenty.

Work in a few Hydrangea branches for added color. Weave in the pom branches with poms attached and the lantana fronds.  Place the pyrancantha branches around the base (since mine were not very long).

 

Sometimes the simplest arrangements are the prettiest. 

This year we will smoke our turkey since we will have a small group.  We still want a pretty table, right?. I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of holiday-specific dinnerware that can only be used a couple of times a year.  These plates are old and discontinued but I have linked some similar ones below. The napkins are old from World Market, the napkin rings from Pottery Barn,  glassware from Target, and flatware from Bed Bath and Beyond.

SHOP THE POST

 

Thanks for reading Cornbread Stuffing and DIY Foraged Floral Arrangement. You might also enjoy our post Thanksgiving it is All About the Sides. Now let’s pop over and check out the rest of these yummy recipes.  My mouth is watering just thinking about them!