Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I made a feast for the roomies. The menu consisted of roasted chicken, gravy, stuffing, baked yams, green beans in lemon sauce, ginger cranberries, rolls and eggnog for dessert. Needless to say it was a very delicious evening. This was the first time I've ever made stuffing. It was pretty easy and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I used a really nice loaf of sour dough from trader joes which I think is crucial. The better the bread the better the stuffing. I really like this recipe because the apples and raisins give the stuffing a natural sweetness without over doing it.

Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins (from bon appétit)
1 ½ lb loaf sourdough bread, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 lbs pork breakfast sausage
2 large onions, chopped
2 c chopped celery
4 tbsp butter
6 c ½ inch cubes Granny Smith apples (about 4 large apples)
¾ c golden raisins
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 ½ c low sodium chicken broth (I used 4 c)
3 eggs
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread cubes in single layer on baking sheet. Bake until golden, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes. Transfer into large bowl. Sauté sausage in skillet, break up into small pieces, 8-10 minutes. Use slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with bread. Add onions and celery to skillet with drippings. Sauté until golden brown, 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread and sausage. Melt 2 tbsp butter, add apples. Sauté until tender, 10 minutes, add raisins. Add to bowl with bread mixture. Melt 2 tbsp butter over low heat. Add sage, stir 30 seconds. Add to mixture, toss well. Whisk together broth and eggs. Poor over bread mixture. Transfer mixture into buttered 15X10X2 glass baking dish. Bake uncovered until top is crisp, 45 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes. 16 servings

Tips: You need a HUGE bowl to make this. I was not well equip and ended up dividing all the stuffing between three large tupperware bowls. I also used a bit more chicken broth that the recipe called for. I poured extra broth over the bread after I took it out of the oven to make sure it was moist enough.