Jessie’s Sausage Dressing

“Growing up, our holiday table was always huge, like 20+ people!  My favorite dish on the table was the “Sausage Stuffing.”  We called it stuffing though we never actually stuffed the bird, so technically it’s dressing.  Though I think sausage stuffing rolls off the tongue better.  Regardless, it’s delicious and should be celebrated year round.  And don’t leave out the fennel, I beg you.”

- Jessie, Lead Copywriter        

Ingredients:
16 cups Sourdough bread cubes, torn
4 tablespoons (½ stick) Unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
2 Yellow onions, diced
2 Celery stalks, diced
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored, and diced (or Pears are good too!)
1 Fennel bulb, sliced (save the fronds for stock!)
 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons Black pepper, freshly ground
2 pounds Hot ground sausage (not Italian, breakfast)
2 cups Chicken stock
1 cup Dried cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Toast your torn bread on a baking sheet for 10 minutes.  
3. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter and warm the oil.
4. Add the onion, celery, apple, parsley, salt, and pepper and sauté until softened, about ten minutes.
5. Once toasted, move bread to a large bowl. 
6. Add the sautéed veg to the bowl.
7. In the same pan, brown your sausage.
8. Add sausage to the bowl. 
9. Add the chicken stock and cranberries to the bowl and toss to combine.
10. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.
11. Bake for about 30 minutes, until warmed through and top slightly browned.

*You can make this a day in advance and refrigerate the casserole dish.  Increase the bake time to about 45 minutes to an hour.

*Serves: 8-10