Grateful for Every Mile, Every Reader - Browned Butter Cornbread Dressin’
Jack London was one of those larger-than-life figures who didn’t just write about adventure, he lived it. Most people know him from The Call of the Wild, but his real story was just as wild as his books. He sailed, explored, pushed limits, and packed more into his 40 years than most people do in a lifetime. So when he says, “The proper function of man is to live, not to exist,” he’s speaking from experience, and it’s a good reminder for all of us who thrive on doing hard things.
The Warm Up
There is a unique kind of thankfulness that shows up when you realize your fatigue is tied to answered prayers. Training plans you once dreamed of doing. Business opportunities you asked God to open. A life full, demanding, and growing you.
Yes, you feel stretched. Yes, some days feel heavy. But there was a time you longed for challenges like these. What a privilege to have miles on your legs and goals worth chasing. What a gift to be tired from building something meaningful. Pressure in training builds strength. Pressure in life builds character. Gratitude and grit go hand in hand.
Show up! Put in the work! Regroup! Put in the work! Don't quit! Believe in yourself! Develop your skills! Process > outcome! Be okay with uncomfortable! Compete!
The Journey
As we move through Thanksgiving week, I just want to say how thankful I am for the chance to connect with everyone who reads this each week. I hope this little newsletter is something you look forward to, because I’m certainly grateful for every person who opens it, reads it, and reaches out. I appreciate you more than you know. Wishing all of you a great week, a wonderful Thanksgiving with the people you love, and if you’re lining up for a local Turkey Trot, may you walk run away with a shiny new PR.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Meal Time
This week I’m bringing back one of my all-time favorite things to eat. I may have shared it years ago, but it deserves another round because it sits firmly in my top five dishes of all time. I don’t make it often, maybe once or twice a year, partly because it takes some work. But with Thanksgiving just two days away, or as my father always called it, “chicken-a-gobbler day”, it felt like the perfect time to share it again.
The recipe comes from my Nanny, Lucile. Thanksgiving at her home in Mississippi meant more food than I could ever list here, but my absolute favorite was her cornbread dressin’… no “g.” I’ve tweaked it slightly over the years by adding browned butter, which gives it a deeper, nuttier richness. Give me a big plate of this with some turkey or chicken gravy and I’m happy as a pig in… well, you know.
Browned Butter Cornbread Dressin’
Cornbread Ingredients
• 1 cup plain yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup plain yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
Turn oven to 425°F. Place a cast iron skillet in the oven. If you’re making muffins, put the muffin pan in as well.
Whisk together all dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and eggs.
Combine onion, wet and dry ingredients and stir until mixed. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes; it will rise slightly.
Add the stick of butter to the hot cast iron skillet and heat until browned, about 3–5 minutes.
Pour browned butter into the batter and stir.
Pour batter back into the hot cast iron skillet. Bake about 25 minutes, or until done.
Dressin’ Ingredients
• 1 whole chicken
• 2 cups cream of chicken soup
• Crumbled cornbread (from above)
• Stock reserved from boiling the chicken
• 1 whole chicken
• 2 cups cream of chicken soup
• Crumbled cornbread (from above)
• Stock reserved from boiling the chicken
Boil the whole chicken. Saving the stock.
Debone and shred.
Mix the shredded chicken, cream of chicken soup, crumbled cornbread, and enough chicken stock to get a dressing-like consistency.
Place in a casserole dish and bake at 350°F for 35–45 minutes.
I hope your Thanksgiving meal is wonderful and you have a great holiday.
This is What I Heard
This week’s video has absolutely nothing to do with endurance sports, but I had to share it because I’m a sucker for seeing how things are made. When I worked for Specialized Bicycles, I spent a lot of time in Taiwan and China, and every time we drove past a factory — and there are thousands of them — I’d stare out the window wondering what was being made inside. Half the time I wanted to tell the driver to pull over so I could walk in and ask for a tour.
There’s just something about watching raw materials turn into a finished product that gets me every time. Maybe it’s the rhythm, the precision, or just the simple satisfaction of seeing how things come together.
This video scratched that itch for me. Thought you might enjoy it too.
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