Sausage, bread and chestnut stuffing

It's always been very apparent that the media and society have created lots of rules by which to live our lives. Adverts are full of game night, date night, family night, chicken Tuesday, don't wear white after labour day, don't match your bag and shoes, you must move to a big house in the suburbs when you have kids, buy a mini-van when you have kids, stick to traditions at Christmas time, you must get a credit card, buy the new, latest electronic communication device, men should like sports etc. etc. etc. If we don't follow these rules or even question them, we are made to feel insignificant, uneducated or simply odd.

Why am I mentioning all this? It's assumptions, they kill me. Like attitudes towards food in January. It seems that the media assumes you must be on a diet, striving to eat healthily because it's a new year, detoxing, cleansing, whatever. It's not even a question, "are you finding yourself on another diet this year?", it's a complete assumption, "January's here and we're all on another diet"! Um, who says? No, we're not! Comfort food is what I crave in January, thank you very much. 

It's like the cold callers who ring me up and say "Would you like to be free of your credit card debt"? Number 1, I don't have a credit card, (shock, horror - I'm not living my life as I should) and number 2, I don't have any debt. 'Don't make assumptions' is one of the four agreements in some zen teachings - ask many questions instead. Of course stereotyping people and telling us how to live is what advertising relies upon, but I don't buy it. Why am I spouting on? I recently read a magazine article with such assumptions as to annoy me and if I can't rant here, where can I?

This post started life as a recipe for a very nice stuffing I made for Christmas, somehow I got sidetracked - back to the matter in hand. My mum makes a stuffing to accompany pork and chicken, which is basically breadcrumbs, chopped fresh sage, chopped onion and a little oil to moisten. For many years I would follow this recipe, never imagining that the oil could be replaced by liquid or egg. Besides, it was delicious, although my own attempts sometimes seemed a little oily.

As time passed and I started my cooking magazine collections, I began to notice the infinite possibilities of stuffing, including binding it all together with a mixture of stock and beaten egg. Chopped chestnuts, dried cranberries, crisp fried bacon, posh mushrooms, greens - they all had their place as well as large chunks of bread rather than fine crumbs. Now my stuffing had texture, crunch, contrast and a myriad of flavours and colours. Even so, I still fondly remember my mums.

This recipe uses spicy Italian sausage which are freed from their skins and crumbled into the pan like ground meat or mince. The overall flavour of the stuffing owes much to this sausage. 

Recipe : Stuffing (Remember, a bowl of stuffing is not just for Christmas..)
4 hot Italian sausages, skins removed

4 slices of back bacon, chopped

2 tbsp oil and 1 tsp butter

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 Granny Smith or other tart apple, seeded, cored and finely chopped

2 tbsp dried cranberries, chopped

2 tbsp chestnuts, chopped

a small handful mushrooms, chopped

a handful of mixed greens such as kale, Swiss chard or cabbage, finely shredded

salt and pepper

1/2 a crusty loaf of bread, cut into cubes

2 eggs

1/2 cup chicken stock 

Heat the oven to 350oF and place the cubes of bread on a baking dish. Bake them in the oven for about 25 minutes, turning halfway through until they are brown and toasted. Remove and place into a lightly buttered baking dish. 

Heat the first tbsp of oil in a pan over medium heat and crumble the skinned sausages into the pan, breaking them up with your fingers. Fry until they are cooked through, crisp and browned and add them to the bread.

Heat the remaining oil and butter in a pan over medium to high heat and crisp the bacon. Remove. To the remaining oil, butter and any bacon fat in the pan, add the celery, onion and apple and fry until softened, adding a little more oil or butter if necessary. Add the mushrooms, greens, cranberries and walnuts and continue to fry over medium heat until the mushrooms are softened and the greens wilted. Season well with salt and pepper. 

Mix the bacon and cooked vegetables well with the toasted bread and sausage in the baking dish. 

Break the eggs into a bowl or jug and whisk well. Add the chicken stock, (cooled - or it will start cooking the eggs) and pour all over the bread, sausage and vegetable mixture. Dot a little butter on top and bake for about 30 - 40 minutes until piping hot and set.