Mushroom-Leek Dressing
So I originally based this off a recipe for stuffing with mushrooms that included a healthy dose of bacon. I have no issue with that recipe but my audience was a bunch of vegetarians so I decided bacon would be a bad idea. I subbed in a shitload of butter instead when I cooked this up. I also got wild with the mushrooms when I cooked it. You can add the bacon in lieu of the butter (OR DO BOTH) and you can also play it safer with the mushroom selection, nobody will notice if you do it right because they should be three bottles of cote du rhone deep by the time this touches their lips. Also this is dressing not stuffing for those who care.
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp melted butter
- 1 ½ pounds sliced white bread
- ½ pound thick-cut bacon (if you do this, cut the butter in half)
- 2 large leeks, trimmed and sliced
- 1 ½ pounds mixed mushrooms, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp black pepper (if you like flavor, you’ll use more)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 ¼ cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup apple cider
- 3 tbsp chopped parsley
Start by pre-heating the oven to 250 degrees. Butter or use oil spray on a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Trim the crusts from the bread and cut into 1-inch cubes. Toast in the oven, tossing occasionally, until really fucking dry. This should take about 30 minutes but trust your gut. Transfer to a large bowl to cool and Increase the oven to 375 degrees.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the leeks, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Keep an eye on all this, tossing frequently, until the shroomies are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated; this should take 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the sage and cook 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates, about 2 minutes.
Spoon the mushroom mixture over the dried bread. Stir in the stock and cider as well as the parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. The mixture should be moist and very soft. If you used bacon as the cooking grease, crumble that shit into the mixture and then put the whole mess into the greased baking dish, drizzle some olive oil over the top, and throw it in the oven for 30-45 minutes. Keep an eye on it and when you can’t resist it, it’s done.
