Herb and Apple Stuffing

I wouldn’t consider myself a stuffing man. It’s not something I usually think to have or make with a meal. And I am definitely not bold enough to try putting the stuffing in any raw bird. That’s just not something I am willing to try.

But this past Thanksgiving (yes, this recipe is looong overdue) I was willing to try a stuffing recipe. And I am glad that I did. This recipe turned out great. It was absolutely delicious and the leftover stuffing was the first of the Thanksgiving leftovers to bite the dust.

We had actually tried to make cute stuffing muffins from this recipe, packing the mixed stuffing into buttered muffin tins. The stuffing cooked fine, but it did not hold together in a muffin shape. Instead, it quickly came apart the minute we removed it from the tins. In the end, it was probably for the best. I liked the presentation of a platter full of stuffing, not pre-formed into muffin shapes.

This recipe will be a Thanksgiving staple, but it deserves to be made more often than once a year.

 Herb and Apple Stuffing

PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 35 minutes
YIELD:   Serves 6 to 8

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten's Thanksgiving

WHAT TO GRAB:
16 cups 1-inch bread cubes, white 
  or whole wheat (2 baguettes) 
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick) 
2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 large) 
2 cups medium-diced celery (3 large stalks) 
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large diced 
1 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley 
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 package button mushrooms, stems removed,
  roughly chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
1 cup vegetable stock

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Put the bread cubes on a 13 by 18 by 1-inch baking sheet and bake them in the oven for 7 minutes.

3. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter and add the onion, mushrooms, celery, apples, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 10 minutes, until the mixture is soft.

4. Combine the bread cubes and cooked vegetables in a large bowl and add the vegetable stock.

5.  Butter a 13 by 9 baking dish.  Pour the uncooked stuffing into the dish.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bread crumbs are lightly browned and the dish is fragrant.