Thanksgiving Day 2 - The stuffing

We're very fortunate to have my husband's family close by so I've only actually had to do a full Thanksgiving myself once. I made this stuffing and now it is a tradition! It comes from Williams Sonoma and I just can't say enough about thier recipes. Everyone I've tried has been a winner.

If you're not a fan of sausage, just leave it out.

Bread and Sausage Stuffing

Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:
1 loaf sourdough French bread, about 1 lb., cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 leek, white and light green portions, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup half-and-half
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Spread the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.In a large fry pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sausage, onion, leek, celery and sage and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the meat browns and is cooked through and the vegetables are translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and fold in the bread cubes, parsley and half-and-half. Stir in the stock until the mixture is evenly moistened. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool completely before stuffing into the cavities of the turkey. Serves 8 to 10.

You can either use this savory mixture to stuff the turkey (see yesterday's recipe) and then spoon any extra stuffing into a buttered baking dish and bake it alongside the turkey during the last 40 minutes of roasting or just pile it all in a large baking dish. While the turkey rests, keep the stuffing in the oven to develop a golden brown crust.

Posted by: Sallie & Julia