Roasted Squash & Andouille Dressing

2 great dressings in 1

Where ever you live you just may call this by another name - like, stuffing or farce, from the Latin farcire (and French farcir) means to stuff. Forcemeat, another common term still used in sausage making, is another name hung over from the middle ages. And there is dressing, a favored term from the Victorian days when the upper crust did not care to use the name, stuffing. Some folks are strict in choosing their words; stuffing goes inside and dressing is a pan dish. In the south, we pretty much cook this as a side dish normally with a cornbread base and call it dressing, nothing to do with any strict formality as in the late 1800's or as being politically correct today, but more to do with just plain ol' good eating.

When Thanksgiving comes around, there is nothing that takes the place of Grandmother’s cornbread dressing, you know the one that starts out by simmering a hen for its meat and rich stock making the dressing so flavorful. Then second to none on many tables down here is oyster dressing, a tradition in the south, in fact, many times we serve both. 

Then there are times when I get a hankering for some other dressing (but not on Thanksgiving) and my other favorites are squash dressing and andouille dressing. Both are made similar to the cornbread version but yielding a taste altogether different. So when I decided the other day to make a pan of dressing to go with baked chicken and gravy, I just couldn’t decide and that is how this recipe came about, a combination of both. For a dressing with an astounding taste, try this one the next time you get a yearning for a different side dish - you will be glad you did. Enjoy!

Roasted Squash & Andouille Dressing

2 pounds yellow squash, washed & sliced into 1/2-inch slices
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced andouille or smoked sausage
1/4 cup butter
1 chopped cup onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
5 cups crumbled cooked cornbread
3 or 4 slices of day old bread, torn into small pieces
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup
2 large eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
Chicken broth as needed

Sprinkle both sides of the sliced squash lightly with salt. Place the colander in the sink, or in a larger bowl, to catch the water. After an hour, wipe the squash dry with paper towels, and place on a well-oiled baking tray, not touching. Brush a little oil on the top sides of the squash and lightly sprinkle with pepper. Roast in a 400-degree F. oven for about 30 minutes or until tender and slightly brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Place the sausage in a large skillet and brown with the butter on medium heat. Add the onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic and cook until tender. Remove to a large bowl.
Add the green onions, cornbread and bread to the bowl, Mix the milk and cream with the chicken soup, eggs and fold into the cornbread mixture. Lightly season with salt, black pepper, the desired amount of cayenne and thyme mixing well into a slightly mushy consistency. Add chicken broth if needed. Fold in the squash saving a few larger slices for the top.

Pour dressing into a large 13x9 inch casserole dish. Place the remaining squash on top and press each piece into the dressing.

Cover with foil and bake in the 400-degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking another 15 minutes or until brown.

Comments

  1. That looks wonderful. I grew up in a dressing family (we never stuffed a bird) and married into a stuffing family (who always, always stuffed the bird). I like it either way and call it both, to the confusion of everyone.

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  2. Of course I always have cornbread dressing on my Thanksgiving table, but I also occasionally enjoy something a little different. And does this ever look delicious!

    Would you believe I've never had andouille sausage? Don't even know if I could find it locally here in Georgia. I'm gonna have to find some to purchase online just so I can say I've had it and know what it's like!

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  3. What a unique stuffing/dressing, Drick. I will be tempted to make this on any chilly fall day - not just Thanksgiving.

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  4. Yeah, this is a great dressing Drick!
    We did a yellow squash casserole that was quite similar to this one and would include sausage and shrimp also.

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  5. My stuffing every year has always come out of a box but this looks like something I need to try. By the way, I'm holding a CSN giveaway on my blog and you're welcome to come by and enter. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2010/11/45-csn-giveaway.html

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  6. I love stuffing and always make it homemade, this would be perfect for the thanksgiving table sounds creamy with the soup in it~

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  7. This looks awesome! I've just made my first dressing in a crock pot, and think that this has the potential to blow that out of the water and then some! What a great dish!

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  8. That is one beautiful dressing...I will have to try one with the squash, the texture
    must be great :)

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  9. Oh wow amazing dressing Drick! I think I could make a meal out of this.

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  10. That is a very impressive dressing! Beautiful presentation my friend :-0

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  11. Holy crap. I love it. Almost as much as I love you.

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  12. perfect dressing, Ilove the useof squash and the bite from the sausage.. great with chicken, honestly I would drizzle gravy and eat it by the bowl!!
    sweetlife

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  13. My husband is making his second attempt at deep frying a turkey this year. (I have a backup turkey ready to roast in the roaster just in case.) Your dressing sounds like the perfect side for his fried turkey. I wonder if it would work in a slow cooker instead of the oven. I need to conserve the oven space.

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  14. Now that is one mighty fine looking dressing, Drick! Love the combo of the squash and the Andouille! I'm printing it out, for sure! Thanks for sharing, cher!

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