A holiday staple at my house, this tranditional accompaniment to a turkey supper is made even more delectable by the addition of toasted pecans, savoury sausage and sweet, tangy cranberries. I serve it at Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving every year and some guest say it's the reason they come for dinner!. It is super easy to make ahead, then bake when ready, so there is less prep on the actual holiday. Stay tuned for the final photo after Christmas.
Serves 10-12
Ingredients:
10 pieces of whole grain bread - torn into pieces
8 pieces of white bread - torn into pieces
1/2 cup pecan pieces, roughly chopped
10 breakfast sausages
1/4 cup salted butter
3 celery ribs, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 cup fresh whole cranberries, chopped roughly
1 tsp thyme leaves
2 tsps ground sage
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups chicken stock
Directions:
1. Heat a frying pan over medium high heat (6 out of 10)
2. Add chopped pecans and stir or toss frequently until lightly toasted, about 5 mintues - set aside and wipe out the pan
3. Using the same pan, take sausages out of their casings and use a spatula to break the sausage into bits - brown and cook through
4. Add butter and melt it into the sausage bits and rendered fat, then add the onion, celery, herbs and spices- saute 15 minutes, stirring frequently
5. Stir in the cranberries and continue to cook about 5 minutes - remove from heat and allow to cool 10-15 minutes
6. Place all the bread pieces in a large vessel, like a turkey tray and toss to distribute both evenly
7. Pour the meat/veggie mixture over the top, pour broth evenly over it all and toss everything together until well combined
8. Grease a baking dish and firmly press the mixture evenly into it
9. Cover with foil and either freeze, refrigerate or bake as necessary
To bake:
Make sure the dressing is defrosted. Place, covered in foil, in an oven preheated to 375 degrees and bake 45 minutes, remove foil and bake abother 15 minutes or until top is browning. I do this as soon as the turkey comes out of the oven to rest.
Notes:
I use a bundt pan to store and bake my dressing, it unmolds beautifully. Any 9x13 pan would also work.
To remove casings from the sausage, squeeze it with one hand in the middle and use the other hand to press the contents out each end.
Freeze make-ahead dressing up to 3 months, refrigerate up to 3 days
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Calories 280
Total Fat 11g 14% Saturated Fat 3.9g 19% Cholesterol 31mg 10% Sodium 779mg 34% Total Carbohydrate 33.8g 12% Dietary Fiber 7.3g 26%
Total Sugars 2.6g Protein 14.6g Vitamin D 3mcg 13% Calcium 96mg 7% Iron 3mg 18% Potassium 182mg 4%
The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
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