Sausage, Cranberry, and Corn Bread Stuffing
- 1 1/2 loavesCorn Bread
- 2 cups pecans
- 7 leeks (about 1 pound; white and pale green parts only)
- 3 celery ribs
- 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage (about 3 links)
- 2 cups fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup packed fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves
- 2 cups chicken broth
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Cut corn bread into 1/2-inch cubes and in 2 large shallow baking pans bake in middle of oven until just dry, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer corn bread from 1 pan to a large bowl and in pan toast pecans in oven until insides are golden, 10 to 20 minutes.
- Halve leeks lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces.
- In a bowl of cold water wash leeks well and lift from water into a sieve to drain.
- Chop celery.
- In a 12-inch skillet cook leeks and celery in butter with salt and pepper to taste over moderately low heat, stirring, until leeks are tender, about 25 minutes.
- Remove sausage from casings and break into small pieces.
- Add sausage to leek mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until sausage is cooked through.
- In a small heavy saucepan cook cranberries with sugar over moderately high heat, stirring, 5 minutes, or until some begin to burst.
- Chop parsley.
- To bowl of corn bread add remaining corn bread cubes, pecans, sausage mixture, cranberries, parsley, broth, and salt and pepper to taste and toss together.
- Cool stuffing completely.
- Stuffing may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
- Bring stuffing to room temperature before proceeding.
- Any frozen poultry destined for stuffing should be completely thawed, and the stuffing itself brought to room temperature before it's put into the turkey.
- Do not stuff your bird the night before you cook it; such a seeming time-saver can have dangerous results.
- Instead, it is best to loosely fill the bird's neck and body cavities immediately before roasting.
- And always use a meat or instant-read thermometer: The meat is done when the temperature of the thickest part of the thigh (be careful not to touch the bones) reaches 180F.
- ; the stuffing baked inside the bird is done at 160-165F.
- After roasting, let your stuffed poultry stand 15 to 20 minutes, a double assurance that the requisite temperatures for food safety have been reached.
- In a shallow baking dish bake stuffing in preheated 325 F. oven 1 hour (for moist stuffing, bake covered entire time; for less moist stuffing with a slightly crisp top, uncover halfway through baking time).
bread, pecans, leeks, celery, butter, sausage, cranberries, sugar, parsley, chicken broth
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sausage-cranberry-and-corn-bread-stuffing-14452 (may not work)