Josh Quittner’S Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing

1. 1

   Heat oven to 350u00b0F.

2. 2

   Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the largest skillet you can find, and brown the sausages thoroughly on all sides, breaking them up into bite-sized pieces with your cooking utensil. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon, set aside and reserve the fat.

3. 3

   In the fat, saute the onion until it's translucent. Throw in the celery, and saute until it begins to soften. Add the mushrooms, and with them, toss in a tablespoon of butter to help them brown, rather than gray. Once the mushrooms are browned, add the salt, pepper, parsley, sage, and thyme, and stir to combine. Turn off the heat.

4. 4

   In a very large mixing bowl, or a large pot that you have dragooned into service as a large mixing bowl, empty the bag of cornbread stuffing. Add the sauteed, seasoned vegetables, browned sausage, cherries, and nuts. Moisten the mixture with about a cup of chicken broth. Mix up the stuffing bare-handed, or if that doesn't appeal, use a large spoon. The mixture should be wet enough such that you could form a snowball out of the stuffing and throw it across the work table at a child you've convinced to help hand-mix the stuffing-but not wet enough to leave a mark. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed; it probably needs more salt.

5. 5

   Pack the stuffing into a medium or large casserole dish, and bake covered (e.g., by foil) for about 40 minutes, until warmed through. Then, remove cover, and place the casserole dish under the broiler. Watching closely so it doesn't burn, let the top of the stuffing brown before removing from the broiler to serve.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.