1 cup small dice bacon
1 cup small dice onions
1 cup small dice celery
2 Tbs. chopped fresh sage
1 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
16 cups corn bread, prepared in advance and crumbled into two-inch pieces (recipe follows)
2 cups pecan halves, toasted and rough chopped
For the corn bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups stone-ground white cornmeal
2 Tbs. baking powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
6 eggs
1 cup sour cream
11/3 cups whole buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Cook the bacon in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until it is almost crisp. Add the onions and celery and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Place the mixture in a large bowl, add the herbs, and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, broth, salt, and pepper. Add the corn bread and pecans to the onion and celery mixture and gently toss.
Pour the egg mix over the corn-bread mixture and gently stir together. Transfer it to a baking dish and bake it until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
For the corn bread:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place two 10-inch cast-iron skillets in the oven to heat them.
Sift the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together.
Put the eggs in a bowl and whisk them just enough to break them up. Stir in the sour cream, buttermilk, and vegetable oil.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over-mix. Pour the mixture into the hot skillets. Bake the corn bread for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Roughly crumble the corn bread into about two-inch pieces and leave it out overnight to dry.
