Sausage Cranberry And Pecan Stuffing Food

SAUSAGE, CRANBERRY, AND CORN BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325° F.
• Cut corn bread into 1/2-inch cubes and in 2 large shallow baking pans bake in middle of oven until just dry, about 20 minutes. Transfer corn bread from 1 pan to a large bowl and in pan toast pecans in oven until insides are golden, 10 to 20 minutes.
• Halve leeks lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. In a bowl of cold water wash leeks well and lift from water into a sieve to drain. Chop celery. In a 12-inch skillet cook leeks and celery in butter with salt and pepper to taste over moderately low heat, stirring, until leeks are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove sausage from casings and break into small pieces. Add sausage to leek mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until sausage is cooked through.
• In a small heavy saucepan cook cranberries with sugar over moderately high heat, stirring, 5 minutes, or until some begin to burst. Chop parsley.
• To bowl of corn bread add remaining corn bread cubes, pecans, sausage mixture, cranberries, parsley, broth, and salt and pepper to taste and toss together. Cool stuffing completely. Stuffing may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring stuffing to room temperature before proceeding.
• For cooking stuffing inside poultry:
• Any frozen poultry destined for stuffing should be completely thawed, and the stuffing itself brought to room temperature before it's put into the turkey. Do not stuff your bird the night before you cook it; such a seeming time-saver can have dangerous results. Instead, it is best to loosely fill the bird's neck and body cavities immediately before roasting. And always use a meat or instant-read thermometer: The meat is done when the temperature of the thickest part of the thigh (be careful not to touch the bones) reaches 180°F.; the stuffing baked inside the bird is done at 160°-165°F. After roasting, let your stuffed poultry stand 15 to 20 minutes, a double assurance that the requisite temperatures for food safety have been reached.
• For cooking all or part of stuffing outside poultry:
• In a shallow baking dish bake stuffing in preheated 325° F. oven 1 hour (for moist stuffing, bake covered entire time; for less moist stuffing with a slightly crisp top, uncover halfway through baking time).

BUTTERED PECAN, CRANBERRY AND APRICOT SAUSAGE STUFFING LOAF

Steps:

• For the topping: butter a 1kg (2 lb) loaf tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. Lay the four pecan halves and the bay leaves alternately in a line along the bottom of the tin. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas 5.
• For the stuffing: heat 50g of the butter for the stuffing in a large frying pan with the oil until the butter has melted. Add the onions and fry for 8-10 minutes until softened and starting to turn golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in the ground coriander and the rest of the butter and fry for another 3-4 minutes to soften and to caramelise the onions a bit more. Tip in the nuts and stir them around until they start to look toasty.
• Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the breadcrumbs, sausage meat, apricots, cranberries, orange zest, sage leaves, egg and some salt and pepper to season. When combined, spoon the stuffing into the tin and pack it down lightly. Cover with a piece of buttered greaseproof paper.
• Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the paper and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a few minutes.
• Discard the paper, loosen the sides with a round-bladed knife and turn out the stuffing so the pecans and bay leaves are on the top. Slice to serve.

CRANBERRY PECAN STUFFING

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring orange juice and cranberries to a boil. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a large bowl., In the same skillet, melt butter. Add celery and onion; saute until tender. Stir in poultry seasoning., Add to sausage mixture. Stir in the stuffing cubes, orange juice mixture, apple, pecans, salt, pepper and enough broth to reach desired moistness., Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake until lightly browned, 10-15 minutes longer.

SAUSAGE, CRANBERRY, AND PECAN STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Toast bread in a large shallow baking pan in middle of oven until dry and pale golden, about 20 minutes.
• Cook sausage in a large heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring and breaking up large lumps, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.
• Add butter to fat remaining in skillet and cook onions, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add celery, apple, and garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl with sausage and stir in bread, pecans, cranberries, sage, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Transfer stuffing to a buttered 3- to 4-quart shallow baking dish and drizzle with broth. (Use 1 1/2 cups broth if you like a moist stuffing, 1 cup if you prefer it drier.) Cover with foil and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until bread is golden and stuffing is heated through, 20 to 25 minutes more.