BACON, HAZELNUT, AND WILD RICE STUFFING

BACON, HAZELNUT, AND WILD RICE STUFFING (for an 18 to 20 pound turkey plus fill a 3 to 4 quart baking dish)

6 cups (½ pound) country-style bread cut into 1 inch cubes

3 teaspoons coarse salt

2-1/2 cups (1 pound) Lundberg wild rice blend (a mixture of wild rice, sweet brown rice, long-grain brown rice, Wehani and Black Japonica, available at natural food stores and some specialty food shops)

1-1/2 cups wild rice

1 pound thick-sliced bacon and/or loose pork sausage

3 cups chopped onion

3 cups thinly sliced celery

1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup roasted, unsalted hazelnuts

¼ cup minced fresh sage

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled

1 cup thinly sliced scallion greens

½ cup fresh minced parsley leaves

____________

1. Preheat oven to 325*. Toast bread cubes in a large, shallow baking pan in the middle of the oven until dry, about 30 minutes.

2. In a kettle bring 5 quarts of water to a boil with the salt. Sprinkle in the rice, stirring, until the water returns to a boil, and boil it 10 minutes. Drain the rice in a large colander and rinse it under running water. Set the colander over a kettle of boiling water and steam the rice, covered with kitchen towels and the lid, for 40 to 45 minutes, or until it is tender, and transfer it to a bowl.

3. In a large skillet cook the baconover medium heat until it is crisp, 10 to 12 minutes and transfer it to paper towels to drain, or brown the sausage and transfer it to the bowl of rice. Pour out all but 3 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet and add ¾ stick of butter. Saute the onion and the celery with salt and pepper to taste over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and transfer the mixture to the bowl of rice. 4. Add the bacon (crumbled) and/or sausage, bread cubes, remaining ½ stick of butter (melted), cranberries, hazelnuts, parsley, sage, scallion, and the thyme.(Refrigerate stuffing in a container or ziplock overnight. Bring to room temperature Thursday morning and either stuff into turkey, or, if you are going to roast stuffing separately, place it in a buttered 3 to 4 quart baking dish and drizzle it with 1 cup chicken broth. Bake dressing, covered, 20 minutes, then uncover and bake 20 minutes more, or until bread is golden brown and dressing is heated through. Dressing can be baked while the turkey stands after roasting.)