Turkey with Andouille & oyster dressing

Andouille and Oyster Dressing Ingredients:
12 cups cornbread
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound andouille sausage (cubed)
1 pint oysters (shucked and free of shell)
½ cup oyster liquor
1 yellow onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
4 cups chicken broth or stock
½ cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 pinch cayenne
6 sprigs fresh thyme

Cornbread ingredients:
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Steps:
Cornbread: Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease two 8-or 9-inch cast iron skillets
Mix together dry ingredients and add butter, eggs and buttermilk, mixing well.
Place mixture in heated skillets and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown
Set aside and allow it to cool

Dressing: Heat large sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add canola oil and sausage. Render sausage for approximately 5 minutes. Remove sausage from pan, leaving the rendered fat.
In same pan, add onion, bell pepper, and celery. Saute for 3-4 minutes or until slightly tender. Add oysters and liquor and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, crumble cornbread and add the cooled sauté mixture, salt, pepper, cayenne, fresh thyme, heavy cream, and eggs. Mix together well.
Place mixture in greased baking dish and pour chicken broth over it, allowing the cornbread to soak it in.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

The Fish House
600 South Barracks Street
Pensacola, Florida 32502
(850) 470-0003
http://fishhouse.goodgrits.com/index.php

About the Restaurant:
The Fish House is an upscale restaurant with dockside dining overlooking beautiful Pensacola Bay and Seville Harbor. Just steps away from Historic Seville Square, the award-winning restaurant features an inventive menu of fresh, daily seafood selections, house-smoked steaks, sushi, a handpicked wine list with over 300 wines, and their world-famous Grits a Ya Ya: A delectable Southern specialty of smoked Gouda cheese grits smothered with a sauce of fresh cream, sauteed Gulf shrimp, spinach, portobello mushrooms, applewood-smoked bacon, garlic, and shallots.

The Fish House has a full bar, Late night menu and Brunch on Sundays.

About the Chef:
Chef Billy Ballou, a Pensacola native, was an eager learner and hard worker at an early age, starting a lawn care business when he was 9. Its success was eventually recognized in the Pensacola News Journal, for by the time he was 12, he was maintaining 25 laws each week. At the age of 15, his hard work paid off hen he purchased his first vehicle, a Chevy S-10 truck, in cash.

Aside from a thriving business, the young entrepreneur had two other passions that he developed at a young age – golf and cooking. Billy was a solid competitive golfer on the Gulf Breeze High School golf team. He also pursued a love for cooking by working at restaurants after golf practice and on weekends. After graduating from high school, he gave up competitive golf to dedicate himself to becoming a chef. His reason for this career choice was the instant gratification and creative freedom he felt when he was in the condition.

Billy attended Johnson and Wales college and studied culinary arts. After college, he went backpacking through Scotland and England, experiencing different cultures and cuisines. Upon his return to the United States, he spent two years as a sous chef for Legendary, Inc., and then moved to an opportunity with the Great Southern Restaurant Group, where he worked his way from prep chef to executive chef in two and a half years.