It's almost here!

So Thanksgiving is almost here, and of course I must ask, "What are you cooking?" Almost every year, we go to a big family Thanksgiving dinner, but I still like to cook food at home, usually the day before or after. This year I'm keeping it simple with a turkey, small ham, stuffing and a green bean casserole. Believe it or not, I have never made a green bean casserole! I decided to forgo my usual sweet potato pie and try Alton Brown's famous recipe for green bean casserole.

I grew up making stuffing using hard crackers, not cubes of bread. It's put together totally in a pan, and then some is used to stuff the turkey, and some eaten as is. My Trini-style recipe is still my all-time fave, but last year I made a dressing using cornbread, and it definitely rivals my cracker stuffing. Ham, fresh collard greens, raisins and pecans are the stars of this dish, and it is baked for half hour in the oven. It makes a wonderful side dish for your holiday meal.

HAM AND GREENS CORNBREAD DRESSING

3 tbsp butter

1 cup chopped ham

3 cups chopped fresh collard greens

1 small onion, chopped

2 cups vegetable stock

2 eggs

6 cups crumbled cornbread

1 cup golden raisins

2/3 cup chopped pecans

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt butter in large pan over medium heat. Add ham and saute for 2 minutes. Add collard greens and onion to pan. Saute for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Pour vegetable stock into the pan with the collard greens, and let simmer for 5 minutes.

4. In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs. Add crumbled cornbread, raisins, pecans, salt, pepper, and vegetable stock and collard greens mixture. Mix well, then spread into a buttered baking dish (9-by-13 inch size). Cover dish with foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!