Italian Sausage and Green Apple Holiday Dressing.

This has been my go-to dressing or stuffing recipe for the last 2 years. I’m not a “stuff your bird” kindof cook, so I always opt for making a dressing, not a stuffing.
It allows for more crispy pieces throughout the dish.
Using Italian Sausage is rather important as it adds heaps of flavor without needing to add much for spice yourself. This year, I was able to find some Italian Beef Sausage at my local market - and just took the dish up to the next level!

This recipe can be made in advance and simply cooked when you need it.
So it’s a perfect holiday dish that doesn’t add much stress to showtime.

Herbs, Sausage, Bread, Wine, Apple - simple, yet so flavorful.

Ingredients

• Cubed Bread - enough to fill a sheet pan, I used sourdough.

• 1 lb. Ground Italian sausage, Beef or Pork (Mild or spicy)

• 1 small onion, diced (or half a large onion)

• 2 ribs celery, trimmed and diced

• 1 large apple, diced. (I used granny smith)

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 cups chicken stock

• 1/2 cup white wine (also can use hard apple cider)

• White Wine Vinegar or Lemon Juice, etc - just need a splash or squeeze)

• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 2 Tbsp butter

• 2 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

• 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped + more for garnish.

• 2 Sprigs Rosemary, chopped

• 2 eggs, beaten and seasoned.

Instructions or Inspiration

Dry Your Fresh Bread Cubes: I use fresh bread so I can easily use the rest of the bread for anything else. Fire up oven to 250°. Cube up your fresh bread. Spread the bread cubes out in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake until just starting to brown or dried out (like stale bread), about 15 minutes or so. I used fresh sourdough bread, but you can really use whatever you can find.

Fry the Italian sausage: Heat a large cast iron pan over medium heat and cook the sausage, breaking it up into small delicious pieces. Fry until browned, then remove from the pan. Like ground beef, you can continue to fry and most of the fat will absorb back into the meat. (About 15 mins). Take off and let cool.

Return the pan to Medium Heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter + 1 tbsp of Olive Oil. Add the onion and celery and cook (Add S&P), about three minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and apple. Cook for another 3 minutes, or until the apples are slightly softened. Season with salt and pepper. Add all the herbs and cook one minute longer, and then add in your wine or cider! Reduce the heat to medium low and let the mixture simmer for another 3-4 mins. Splash in a little of your white wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon. Take off the heat.

Let the mixture cool down a bit, and then combine it with the sausage and bread in a large bowl. In another bowl, add the seasoned beaten eggs and chicken stock and stir to mix thoroughly. Add to your dressing mixture and stir to combine. Use the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and grease a cast iron pan. Transfer the dressing to the cast iron pan and bake at 350° until browned on top, about 40 to 45 minutes. You can broil the top too at the end if you want to go a little more crispy. (If making the day before, just cover your cast iron pan with foil and bake the next day. Remove foil for at least 20 mins to get browned).
Garnish with remaining parsley.

Served alongside creamy mash and Italian Beef Brasato.