A Stuffing “For The Rest Of Our Lives”

You can probably tell by now that I like to use a recipe when I'm cooking.  I'm good at following directions.  When I need to improvise in the kitchen, I panic.  What can I say, it's the perfectionist in me!  I want to know that it's going to taste good.  I'm not sure what came over me, but when I made that Stuffed Acorn Squash last week, I just knew I wanted make a few small changes to the recipe and turn it into a Thanksgiving Stuffing. I needed to test out the recipe before winging it on Thanksgiving, so on Friday night The Hub and I made a pre-Thanksgiving feast of breaded, pan-fried chicken, asparagus, and what I am calling, The Stuffing For The Rest Of Our Lives.

After trying out the stuffing, The Hub declared it, "the best stuffing he has ever had" and has requested it for every Thanksgiving "for the rest of our lives."  I think that means my improvisation was a success.  If you'd like to make this stuffing for your Thanksgiving, here is my recipe: You'll need:

• Large Baguette, cut into 1" cubes
• Ground Sweet Italian Sausage from 1-2 links, casing removed - optional*
• 6 strips of bacon
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 medium sized shallots, sliced thin
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp. rosemary, chopped
• 3 tbsp. sage, chopped
• 1/3 c.  heavy cream
• 1 c. shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper

Spread bread crumbs evenly into a 9"x13" pan.  Lightly toast in the oven at 200° about 5-7 minutes or until bread is just starting to harden.  Set aside in a bowl. Pre-heat oven to 350°. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove, crumble, and set aside. In the same pan, cook the sausage, shallots and celery until beginning to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary and sage and cook just until fragrant, about one minute (don't burn the garlic). In the bread bowl, combine the sausage-shallot-celery mixture, toasted bread cubes, cheese, and bacon. Pour in the cream and stir until everything is moistened. Add salt and pepper. Lightly coat the pan with cooking spray and spread stuffing in evenly.  Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes.  Uncover and cook another 10 minutes or until top layer of bread starts to get toasty. Enjoy! *When I did my trial run, I did not include sausage, but I plan to do so on Thursday!  The images below include bacon only.

2 Responses to “A Stuffing “For The Rest Of Our Lives””

1. Susan Davis says:

   November 25, 2010 at 5:03 pm

   Nat,

   I did a variation on your variation of the stuffing. I didn’t have alot of hope, because I have NEVER made good stuffing. I used a high quality pork sausage from the famers’ market, green onions, and apple. I used the spices you did and the cheese.
   It was pronounced as the stuffing they want for the rest of our Thanksgivings too! Thank you so much!
   I hope you had a lovely, warm Thanksgiving!

   Reply
   • Natalie says:

     November 26, 2010 at 8:26 pm

     Fantastic!! I will definitely have to try your variation sometime – it sounds delicious! Happy Holidays!

     Reply