Thanksgiving Sourdough Stuffing

I haven't always been a fan of Thanksgiving stuffing. It was a texture and flavor thing growing up, but now I've learned to enjoy it. It's likely from moving away from the Stove Top boxed stuff to scratch made stuffing with interesting ingredients. My take this year is to try to use my own sourdough bread as the base in a traditional stuffing. 

AFTER THANKSGIVING FOLLOW-UP: This turned out EPIC! Hands down the best stuffing I've ever had. Sourdough bread was the ideal bread because it held up well to the turkey stock (unlike cornbread or white bread) and gave it a nice sour undertone. I will definitely be making it with sourdough bread every year from here on out.

Ingredients

• sourdough bread - 12 slices or about 4 cups cubed
• 2 tbsp butter or oil
• 1.5 cups diced yellow onion (about one large onion)
• 1 cup diced celery (about 3 celery ribs)
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1-1.5 cups of other stuff (try cremini mushrooms, or sweet Italian sausage, or diced apples and dried cranberries, even slivered almonds) - this Thanksgiving I'm trying 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup slivered almonds, and 1.2 cup diced Gala apples.
• 2-3 cups turkey stock depending on how dry or wet you like your stuffing. I like it right in the middle so 2.5 cups worked great for me.
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage (or 1 tsp dried)
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice and toast the bread ideally 4-6 hours in advance. Once toasted leave on a rack or baking sheet to dry out. Be sure to flip them at 3 hours so the underside can dry out too. If you forget to do this ahead, no worries, just toast the bread and proceed.
• Cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Put in a mixing bowl.
• In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onions and celery until soft and translucent (about 6-8 minutes). You can season them with some of the salt and pepper while they cook. 
• Add the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Don't let the garlic burn.
• Scrape the vegetable mixture into the mixing bowl.
• Cook any other additions like mushrooms or sausage in a bit more oil and when done, add to the mixing bowl.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir until combined. Reserve 1 tbsp of fresh parsley for garnishing at the end.
• Pour the stuffing into a 9x13 casserole dish and cook for 50-60 minutes.
• Garnish with the reserve parsley and serve.