Diane Sawyer's 'Crowd Pleasin' Stuffin'

Nov. 20, 2006 — -- From Diane Sawyer: "Our family has vegetarians, fish-itarians, and no-pork-itarians. So we do it this way -- a basic stuffing recipe to which everyone can add their own pleasures."

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter

3 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped

1 head celery, trimmed and finely chopped including some leaves

½ bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

½ cup fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

12 cups toasted bread cubes

½ cup white wine

2 eggs, well beaten

1½ cups vegetable (or chicken) stock

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions, and cook until soft and translucent. Add celery, parsley and sage. Generously season with salt and pepper, and cook until the celery starts to soften. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.

3. Add toasted bread cubes to celery-onion mixture and toss to combine. Add eggs and wine, and toss again. Gradually add the stock until the stuffing starts to feel moist and holds a shape when gently squeezed. You will want your stuffing on the more-moist side if you are cooking it in separate dish, and a little dryer if cooking inside the turkey. You may have to adjust the stock measurement to achieve your desired moistness, adding more or less as desired.

4. Bake until golden and crusty on top, about 35 minutes.

Serve stuffing with the following add-ins:

Southern sausage in big crumbled chunks

Softened diced apples

Chopped dates

Dried apricots, chopped

Dried cranberries

Chorizo, cubed

Sautéed mushrooms

With this stuffing, the possibilities are endless!

Recipe courtesy of Diane Sawyer