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Alan's Basic Bread Stuffing

Side Dish, tested

2 sticks butter -- (1 cup or 1/2 pound); melted
4 cups chicken broth used to moisten stuffing, 1 box
1 cup finely chopped shallots, onions, or; spring onions
1 cup finely chopped celery (with leaves; and inner heart preferred
8 cups fresh bread crumbs (cubes) -- with; crusts
1 tbsp dried tarragon
1 package fresh ripped basil; optional
1 package fresh thyme several stalks; optional
1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley; (optional)
1 tablespoon salt -- or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 lb pork sausage meat, cooked,; well crumbled
1 1/2 cups raw wild rice, cooked
1 cup whole pecan halves
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

Note: take care not to excessivly break the bread cubes.
Note: you might not use all 4 cups of chicken broth or you might need
more.

Put bread cubes, onion, celery, mushrooms, all seasonings and pecans in
large bowl, pour butter over top and mix well. Add cooked and crumbles
sausage meat and wild rice and mix more. Add and mix in; enough chicken
stock to well moisten all dried bread cubes. You might not need all 4
cups.
Transfer to a casserole dish and cover well with aluminum foil and cook
for 1 and 1/2 hours at 325F ... You can uncover for the last 20-30
minutes
or so if you like a crisper dressing.

This is my modification of James Beard's stuffing mix the pecans,
mushrooms, wild rice, and sausage meat were my addition.

All Measurements are relative....Best (after the fact) Guess



Herb Variations:

Note: I don't use parsley but I do use fresh basil and fresh thyme and a
bit of the summer savory.

Instead of tarragon you can use any of the following herbs to taste. (It
is
better not to mix herbs, except for the addition of parsley, but mix if
you
must.)
1. About 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, soaked in a little white wine for
an
hour.
2. Sage. Use with discretion, or it smothers all other flavors.
3. Summer savory. This has a delicious flavor for turkey and is less
known
than most herbs.
4. Basil. The fresh is delicious and superb in the stuffing of a spitted
bird. If fresh is not available, use about 2 teaspoons of dried basil,
soaked in white wine beforehand.

Another way to give the flavor of fresh basil to your dressing is by
adding
pesto, the Italian sauce normally used with pasta. Fortunately, it
freezes
rather well, so pesto can be made when fresh basil is in the market or in
your herb garden and it is possible to have it with your Thanksgiving or
Christmas bird. Add about 3 tablespoons of pesto or more to the basic
bread
stuffing.



NOTES : The rule for figuring out the proper amount of stuffing is easy
to
remember -- approximately 1 cup per pound of bird. This works very well
unless you want stuffing for only one meal, in which case this quantity
is
excessive. So, starting from the maximum, reduce the amount of stuffing
to
suit your needs.



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