SAVORY BREAD PUDDING WITH APPLES, SAUSAGE & PECANS

 

I developed this savory bread pudding as an alternative to the turkey stuffing I have been making for my family for years. This year my Thanksgiving guest list swelled to 40 guests and I had to come up with a way to streamline my Thanksgiving process. This savory bread pudding was one of the answers to my question "How do I serve so many guests out of my tiny kitchen?"

Converted My Traditional Stuffing To Bread Pudding

For the past 35 years I have made the same stuffing for my family. Thank you to Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso for the stuffing recipe they published in The Silver Palate Cookbook back in 1982. This stuffing used three kinds of bread (sourdough, whole wheat and corn bread), apples, sausage and pecans. It was moist and delicious, and my family would not hear of experimenting with anything else. For them, this stuffing was a key part of Thanksgiving.   To feed 40 guests, something had to give. I developed this bread pudding so it could be: 1) assembled in advance, 2) would allow me the ability to skip the step of stuffing the bird, and 3) would reduce the time it takes for the turkey to cook. I also designed this recipe so it could be made in disposable aluminum trays. Not only was I cooking for 40, but I was doing the dishes for 40!   I tested the recipe out on my husband a few weeks before our Thanksgiving and he gave it his unwavering approval as a substitute for our traditional stuffing.