Sausage & Herb Stuffing

 I've never been a fan of stuffing (or dressing) until I made this recipe.  I grew up thinking that stuffing was chopped up pieces of white bread with some other things mixed it.  In the grand scheme of Thanksgiving dishes, it was nowhere near my favorite.  In fact, it only made it on my plate when I felt like I needed to try some because of the person who made it.  When I first made this stuffing, my mindset changed.  Stuffing is all about the bread, so it's important to use a good quality bread and to get it nice and stale before baking.  By letting the bread sit out and get stale, it soaks up more of the stock and gets nice and crispy.  These are my two general stuffing secrets that will really apply to any stuffing recipe.

Now onto the other secret: lots of herbs.  What makes this stuffing recipe so great is that it's simple, but honors the traditional fall ingredients.  With rosemary, sage and parsley, the herbaceous flavors in this stuffing are absolutely delicious.  Pair that with some crispy ciabatta bread and Italian sausage and you have yourself a great combination.  Add some carrots and celery and you have a complete meal.  Post Thanksgiving, I've been enjoying re-heated stuffing with poached eggs on top for breakfast.  I don't at all mind having lots of leftovers of this recipe because you can easily re-heat it by putting it in the oven for a few minutes to re-crisp.

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:

8 cups stale ciabatta bread, cubed 

2 lbs Italian sausage

3 carrots, chopped

6 ribs celery, chopped

4 tbs fresh rosemary

4 tbs fresh sage

4 tbs fresh parsley + more for topping

6-7 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup olive oil

4 cups chicken stock

Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Brown the sausage in a pan over medium heat for 7-8 minutes, until cooked through.  Remove from the pan and sauté garlic, celery and carrots until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and add to a 13x9" baking dish.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.  Set your oven to broil and cook an additional 3-5 minutes, until browned and crisp on top.
5. Remove from the oven and top with chopped parsley.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.