Cornbread Stuffing With Cranberries, Sausage, and Sage

Ask anyone and they'll likely tell you that stuffing is one of their top favorite Thanksgiving side dishes.

Some families like to serve the same recipe year after year. But I prefer to surprise my guests by adding unexpected ingredients to my traditional cornbread stuffing like dried cranberries, sage, and spicy sausage. This recipe keeps things interesting around the Thanksgiving table -- all you have to worry about now is whether to cook it inside or outside the turkey.



Cornbread Stuffing With Cranberries, Sausage, and Sage

    * 2 cups pecans
    * 1 link spicy sausage
    * 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
    * 3 large onions, diced
    * 6 stalks celery, diced
    * 1/4 cup dried oregano
    * 1 pan cornbread
    * 1 loaf day-old white bread, crust on, cut into 1-inch cubes (10 heaping cups)
    * 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
    * 2 cups dried cranberries
    * 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh sage
    * 1 tablespoon coarse salt
    * 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
    * 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    * 1 quart chicken stock

Toast pecans in oven until golden and fragrant, 8 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees, tossing occasionally. Let cool, then roughly chop; set aside.

Brown sausage in skillet; set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and celery; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add oregano; stir to combine.

Transfer onion mixture to a large bowl. Add pecans, cornbread, bread cubes, eggs, cranberries, sage, salt, black pepper, cayenne, sausage, and stock. Mix to combine. Cook stuffing in buttered baking dish -- 35 minutes covered at 375; remove foil and bake additional 10-20 minutes. Or cook inside turkey.