My mom is a cornbread purist. Every year, she strives to find the perfect cornbread recipe to cube up and shove inside our turkey. She’s never completely satisfied, though, and continues to search for that one recipe where the cornbread won’t crumble. If you have any ideas, please pass them along…

I like to make my stuffing with day-old bread, but we both agree, it’s best with apples and walnuts.

RECIPE
1 day-old baguette or similar bread, cubed (about 2-3 c)
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1-2 carrots, chopped finely
1-2 stalks of celery, chopped finely
1 apple, such as Honeycrisp, chopped finely
1/3 c chopped walnuts
1 stick butter
1 1/2-2 c chicken stock
1 tsp fresh parsley
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Slice the bread into cubes.
3. Toast on a pan for about 7-12 minutes. It should feel hard if you pinch a piece with tongs.
4. Melt the butter, and sauté the onions, celery, and carrot until tender about 6-8 minutes with some salt.
5. Add in the apple and walnuts and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
7. Gently toss the bread with the onion mixture, parsley, pepper and additional salt. You don’t want to smash it too much.
8. Add the chicken stock little by little until stuffing comes together. Depending on the bread, you may need more/less. Just don’t add so much stock it looks like soup.
9. Now it’s ready to be stuffed inside a turkey.

If you are not making a turkey, try this stuffing inside of a squash or bake it in a casserole pan for about 30-40 minutes at 350°. It should be browned a little on top.