Cranberry-Pear Wild-Rice Stuffing

By LRay

Cooking the wild rice and storing it in the refrigerator (for up to 2 days) relieves you of this duty on the big day.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup(s) butter
• 1 tablespoon(s) butter
• 6 slice(s) dry white bread, broken into fine pieces
• 4 cup(s) cooked wild rice
• 1 cup(s) coarsely chopped hazelnuts
• 1 cup(s) dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup(s) finely chopped shallots
• 4 firm pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoon(s) dried savory leaves
• 1/2 cup(s) finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 teaspoon(s) cracked black pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup(s) apple cider

Preparation

Step 1

Make the stuffing: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8 1/2- by 11-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Combine the bread, wild rice, hazelnuts, and cranberries in a large bowl and toss to mix. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet and saute shallots and pears over medium heat until golden -- about 10 minutes. Add savory, parsley, salt, and pepper and continue to cook -- about 2 minutes. Pour the butter mixture over bread mixture and toss well. Transfer the stuffing to the prepared pan and press down to compact.

Bake the stuffing: Mix the eggs and apple cider together and pour over the stuffing mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until brown -- about 15 more minutes. Serve hot alongside roasted turkey and gravy.