My favorite dish during Thanksgiving is actually the dressing, or stuffing. A sausage herb dish, I’m going to share my recipe with you and I know that it will be a hit at your Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner. It’s easy too!

Total prep and cooking time is a little over an hour. Here is what you need:

16 cups 1-inch bread cubes, white or Italian (1 1/2 pound loaf)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 cups medium-diced Spanish onion (2 onions)

1 cup medium-diced celery, peeled (2 stalks)

2 Granny Smith or Gala apples, unpeeled, cored and large-diced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4-pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (without rye)

1 cup organic chicken stock

1 cup dried cranberries or currants

1 Bottle of wine, while it’s in the oven for the cook

The rest is really easy:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan, spray the cubes lightly with canola or olive oil and bake for 7 minutes. Remove and raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Place the bread cubes to a large  mixing bowl.

After, in a large sauté pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, apples, parsley, salt and pepper. Sauté over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened, but do not brown. Add to the bread cubes along with the pan drippings.

In the same sauté pan add 4 tablespoons of butter, slowly cook the sausage over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, then break up the sausage with a chopper or fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables.

Add the chicken stock and cranberries or currants to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned on top and hot in the middle.

If you like to present your turkey stuffed simply remove what you have inside the bird, either lemon or oranges or apples and fill the turkey with the prepared stuffing.

This is a true hit at my Thanksgiving Dinners with family and friends. One quick hint-substituting oysters for sausage is incredible as well!

ENJOY!!

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