The day before making the stuffing, bake the cornbread: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter an 8-inch baking dish or cast iron skillet. If you are making crispy cornbread, pop that pan in the oven.

In a small saucepan or in the microwave, melt the milk with cubed butter. I find this easiest to do on the stovetop. Be sure it is just melted and not too hot, or you’ll need to let it cool before combining with the eggs.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt). Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until no streaks remain, then whisk in the crème fraiche or sour cream.

Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture. Do this slowly while whisking constantly, because it’s a little warm and you don’t want to cook your eggs.

Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Adding it slowly in the beginning will keep the dry ingredients from clumping. Try not to over mix by adding the next addition when the last one is almost incorporated.

Pour the batter into the buttered pan and spread it out so it bakes evenly.

Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until the top provides a little resistance when pressed lightly or until a cake tester comes out clean. Baking in a preheated skillet will decrease the bake time, so check it after 10 minutes just to see where it is and how long you think it has left. Even though we are making stuffing, that is no excuse to overbake!

Let cool in the skillet and then cut into 1 inch cubes or smaller to taste.

Spread cornbread and French bread cubes onto two baking sheets and dry overnight (~24 hours) at room temperature until they are crisp.

Dump into a large bowl and toss to mix.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add celery, carrots, onion, and spices. Cook until the onion is almost translucent. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Taste and add a little salt as desired.

Gradually ladle the hot broth mixture into the bowl with the bread, tossing gently. If the mixture is not moist enough, add more broth. Stir in parsley.

Transfer mixture to a 9x13 inch baking dish or a cast iron skillet. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes prior to serving.