cook: adventures in stuffing part two

finally!

“dear stuffing bread, thank you for being born. i loved you since before i knew you and i know we will have a wonderful future together.”

that’s pretty much what when through my head when this bread came out of the oven. almost a year after i had started craving this and after a about of month of trying to make it happen, i finally had made stuffing bread.

the eureka moment happened rather quickly after i realized that the lack of flavor had a lot to do with my choice of fats and i decided it was time to pull out the big guns. big guns = jimmy dean breakfast sausage. it had amazing flavor, formed a perfect loaf and it sliced beautifully. honestly, this is the best stuffing i’ve ever had.

Stuffing Bread

(adapted from pepperidge farm)

4 c. pepperidge farm herb seasoned stuffing

1 c. low sodium chicken stock

1 egg

1/2 c. milk

3 T unsalted butter

1 c. chopped celery

1 c. chopped sweet onion

1 c. chopped mushrooms (button or crimini)

8 oz. jimmy dean breakfast sausage

preheat oven to 400

In a hot skillet, cook breakfast sausage be sure to break up the meat as it cooks. Once cooked through, remove sausage and place in a medium to large bowl. add butter to hot skillet. once melted, add celery, onion and mushroom to the pan and cook in the sausage fat and butter until onions are translucent. remove and add to the bowl with the sausage. add stuffing mix to the bowl with sausage and veggies. add the chicken stock to the hot skillet and bring to a boil. using a wooden spoon deglaze the pan (scrape all the bits off the edges and bottom of the pan). combine chicken stock with other ingredients and stir until liquid is distributed. in a bowl, stir together 1/2 c. milk and 1 whole egg until just mixed. combine with stuffing. line a loaf pan with parchment and press the stuffing into the pan.

bake loaf at 400 for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 375 for another 30 minutes. remove from oven, allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes and then move and place on rack to cool through. once cool, slice using a serrated knife. when you are ready to make your sandwich, take the slice bread and toast in a toaster oven until crusty. add turkey, cranberry, etc. build your dream sandwich.

when i told my brother in law about this, he suggested that i use this to make french toast. doesn’t that sound wonderful!