Country Sausage, Apple and Cherry Stuffing

This is chef Victoria Comfort's recipe for Country Sausage, Apple and Cherry Stuffing. She is the executive chef of Black Kite Cellars in California's Wine Country.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 yellow onions, diced
5 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Sunsweet cherries
3/4 cup Sunsweet prune juice
5 cups French bread, cubed and dried
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 cup parsley, washed and chopped fine
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chicken broth
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Cooking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. In a skillet, brown the sausage; remove excess fat and add the vegetables and garlic. Cook briefly, about two minutes, and set aside.
3. Put the cherries in a saucepan with the prune juice, bring to a boil and set aside.
4. Put the bread cubes, sausage, vegetables, apples and parsley in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Whisk eggs and chicken broth together, and pour over the bread mixture, mixing until everything is well distributed.
5. Drain cherries and add to the stuffing mixture, tossing again. If the mixture is too dry, add more broth 1/4 cup at a time.
6. Place in a lightly greased 13 by 9 inch pan and cover with foil.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake 10 minutes to crisp. Serve warm.

Makes 8 to 12 servings.

Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of www.sunsweet.com; through ARA Content.