Laird's Fruit Stuffing

Stuffing is a personal thing.  I like this recipe from my friend Laird Saunderson because I love fruit stuffing with turkey.  If you are more traditional, replace the apples with a pound of crumbled sausage meat, and use chopped fresh sage instead of tarragon.

For the best results, use slightly stale bread.  Challah or egg bread makes an excellent stuffing.  

Place any extra stuffing in a greased baking dish and bake, covered, for an hour at 375°F.

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery root
2 green apples, peeled and chopped
8 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1 cup dried prunes, cut in half
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chicken or turkey stock
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon, or 2 tsp dried
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp dried marjoram
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and celery root and saute for 5 to 8 minutes, or until softened.

Add apples and sauté for 2 minutes.

Combine onion mixture and breadcrumbs.  Stir in prunes, cranberries, stock, orange juice, tarragon, ginger and marjoram.  Season well with salt and pepper.  Cook a little bit stuffing in a skillet and taste for seasoning.)

Stuff mixture into turkey cavity and sew or skewer shut.

Lechasseur
Christmas
Thanksgiving
Source
A Matter of Taste, Lucy Waverman, p236