Apple, Prune And Sausage Stuffing

• 1 pound fresh white bread without crust, cubed (for 7 to 8 cups of bread cubes)
• 1/2 pound pitted prunes
• 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage (fresh turkey or duck sausage can be substituted)
• 5 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 stalks celery, diced fine
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced fine
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 2 teaspoons ground sage
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 to 13 cup chicken or turkey stock, approximately

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread bread cubes on one or more baking sheets and toast in oven until dry and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
3. Transfer bread to a very large mixing bowl and set aside.
4. While bread is toasting, put prunes in a small saucepan, cover with water, bring to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes, until tender.
5. Drain and chop prunes in a food processor or by hand.
6. Fold prunes into the bread cubes.
7. Crumble sausage into a large, heavy skillet and saute, stirring with a fork, until cooked through and browned.
8. Drain well of fat and add to the bread cube mixture.
9. Discard the fat.
10. Add the butter to the skillet and saute the celery, onion and apples over medium-high heat until tender, about 15 minutes.
11. Add sage, thyme, salt and pepper.
12. Stir in the stock.
13. Add the contents of the skillet to the bread mixture and toss to combine all ingredients.
14. Adjust seasonings and, if necessary, add more stock.
15. The bread in the stuffing mixture should be just moist, neither crunchy nor sodden.
16. Let stuffing cool and refrigerate if not using immediately.
17. The turkey should be stuffed just before roasting.
18. Any excess stuffing can be baked in a covered casserole during the final half hour the turkey is roasting.

white bread, prunes, sausage, butter, stalks celery, yellow onion, apples, ground sage, thyme, salt, chicken

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/83 (may not work)