Sausage Stuffing

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray. Get the bread cubes into the pan and toss the cubes with the three tablespoons of olive oil. Put the baking pan in the oven to crisp up the bread for about 10 minutes. When it’s done, take the pan out and set it aside. Turn off the oven.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the sausage mixture to go with it. Heat a big dash of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Brown the sausage while you lightly break it up with a spoon. Once it is brown add the celery, onion and sage and let them get fragrant for just a minute. Season with a big pinch of the hickory smoked sea salt and then add the apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pan. Mix everything together for a minute, then take it off of the heat to cool for about 5 minutes.
3. Once it has cooled, pour the sausage mixture into the baking pan with the toasted bread, then also add the roasted garlic cloves and chicken stock. Gently and thoroughly mix to combine then gently press it so that it becomes even on top. Then cover it with a sheet of foil and refrigerate it overnight (see note below). It will just need to bake on Thanksgiving Day!
4. On Thanksgiving Day your oven will probably already be hard at work on the turkey at about 350 F, but if it’s not preheat it! The tray of stuffing just needs to go in to the oven (still covered with the sheet of foil) for an hour and a half or so. If you want it more crisp on the edges it can go longer.
5. Once it’s done, take it out of the oven and give it a stir in the pan to make sure it is mixed well. Then serve it to your guests with the rest of your wonderful meal! Enjoy the holiday!

To roast the garlic: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove the outer paper layers of a head of garlic and cut the top tip off to reveal the cloves inside. Drizzle the top with a little olive oil, then wrap it in foil and roast it in the oven for an hour. Perfection. It has so many uses! It can be stored in the refrigerator for weeks. I made it a couple of days prior to Thanksgiving and used it in all of my recipes.

Note: Making the stuffing ahead is absolutely not required. I have tested it both ways though, and it is much more flavorful if it sits and melds overnight, so the results are better if you do.