Mushroom Stuffing en casserole

Mushroom Stuffing en casserole

Fragrant with the deep earthiness of mushrooms, this melt-in-your-mouth dish is a cross between a stuffing and a savory bread pudding.

5-6 slices hearty white bread (Pepperidge Farm)
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley or ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt, divided
4 large eggs
1 cup chicken stock
Pepper to taste

Equipment:  Blender or food processor
Natural gas stovetop and oven
Small casserole dish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter the casserole dish and set aside.

Process the bread to make 4 cups of fresh bread crumbs. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the chopped onion and saute over medium low heat until translucent. Add the mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring regularly, until all the liquid in the mushrooms has been cooked off; this will take about 15 minutes. If you are using dried parsley, add to the skillet along with the mushrooms. If you use fresh parsley, add to the mixture just before the mushrooms are done. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and then whisk in the chicken stock and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt; add pepper to taste if you wish. Stir in the mushroom mixture. Add the fresh bread crumbs and stir lightly until well mixed. Pour mixture into the buttered casserole dish and bake uncovered until a knife inserted in the center of the stuffing comes out almost clean (45 minutes to one hour).

Serve with roast chicken and homemade cranberry sauce.