Stuffing With Sausage and Pears
By: Madison Shelton
Published: Friday, December 4, 2009 - 12:36am

Ingredients




8 cups (½-inch) cubed sourdough bread (about 12 ounces)
1 pound turkey Italian sausage
Cooking spray 
5 cups chopped onion (about 2 pounds)
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
8 ounces package pre-sliced mushrooms
2 cups (½-inch) cubed peeled Bartlett pears (about 2 medium)
5 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 2 Arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 9 minutes or until golden. Place in a large bowl. 3 Remove casings from sausage. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage, and cook for 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add sausage to bread cubes, tossing to combine. Set aside. 4 Return pan to medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot; sauté 10 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Stir in mushrooms; cook 4 minutes. 5 Stir in pear, basil, tarragon and salt; cook 4 minutes or until pear begins to soften, stirring occasionally. Add pear mixture to bread mixture, tossing gently to combine. Stir in broth and pepper. 6 Place bread mixture in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; cover with foil. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake stuffing an additional 15 minutes or until top of stuffing is crisp.

About


This is one of my family's favorite recipes for Thanksgiving and one which has became legend among my Freshman-year college roommates. Its a perfect balance of sweet and savory and super moist. 
Note: This stuffing could be prepared up to 2 days ahead up to the baking stage. Store the stuffing, covered with foil, in your refrigerator. Bake as directed.