
My little boy is 7 and a half (as he will tell you) and he just had his first bite of dressing, thank you very much to Udi’s Gluten-Free Bread. Thanksgiving dinner is my absolute favorite dinner of the entire year, and I replicate it several times throughout the year, on a smaller scale with a Roasted Turkey Breast.
This recipe doubles easily, but I’m only making one smallish casserole pan for those of us who require it. My sister-in-law, Lucy, brings the traditional, gluten-laden casserole, enough to feed an army with leftovers the next day. Please tell me you’ve made a turkey sandwich slathered with stuffing and gravy…heaven.
The thing with dressing is to add in the ingredients you like – fruit, oysters, spices. I’ll omit the pork sausage for our Jewish friends who have Christmas dinner with our family each year and instead will add a chicken and apple sausage. Make it your own and change it up each year until you arrive at your own perfect concoction.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Yield: 8×8 casserole
7 c. Udi’s bread (about 10 pieces) stacked 5 at a time, cut into cubes (4 crosswise cuts each way)
2 sweet Italian pork sausage links (make sure they are gluten-free, of course)
1 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 T fresh, chopped Italian parsley
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. sage
grinding of fresh black pepper
butter or oil
parchment paper or aluminum foil (Reynold’s now makes a parchment paper you can find at any supermarket)
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- Spread bread cubes on a cookie sheet and place in a 200 degree oven for 7-8 minutes until dried. Remove and set aside.
- Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- In a large skillet, squeeze sausage from it’s casings and brown, separating with the back of a wooden spoon, about 7-8 minutes.
- Once sausage is browned, add chopped onions and celery and saute until wilted, another 7-8 minutes.
- Into large mixing bowl, combine dried bread cubes and sausage, celery and onion mixture. Add all remaining ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Transfer stuffing to a well buttered or oiled the casserole pan and cover with parchment or aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove parchment or foil and increase oven to broil and crisp top of casserole for 1 minute.