While we’re stuffing ourselves, why not make this recipe for bread stuffing?

Bread stuffing (or dressing) is a quick, easy way to use day-old bread for a side dish
Janet Podolak

Like a lot of you, I’m eating way too much bread these days.

It’s comfort food, and, much like other carbohydrate-rich things, it tends to pack on the pounds.

I’ve gained 5 pounds since the novel coronavirus pandemic lockdown in March, just days before my flights home from the Caribbean were canceled. I’d pulled myself from the sea after 10 days of exploring coral landscapes with my snorkel to commune with colorful fish, octopus, sea turtles and other creatures. I was in great shape then after long days of good exercise and light eating.

But all too soon I was isolated and home cooking three meals a day and eating them. Dining out had ended until we could again eat outdoors.

Late in the spring I reunited with Patrick Vautrin, an old friend from Northeast Ohio’s wine country, who had reinvented himself with a cottage industry handcrafting his favorite French bread recipes from his home. I became an early customer of La Crust, making the trek to Harpersfield Township on Saturdays or Sundays to bring home boules, baguettes, madeleines and cheese bread.

He hadn’t been open long and wanted to get a feel for what his “crustomers” wanted before he would agree to me writing a story about him. That story has finally been written and my visits to buy bread have continued. I hope those who become La Crust customers will leave some bread for me.

I always buy too much, so I have added recipes for week-old bread to my kitchen repertoire. But Vautrin tells me his breads freeze beautifully when tightly wrapped in foil. They can be defrosted first or popped into a 350-degree oven still frozen and will emerge as good as the original.

In the meantime, here’s my recipe for bread stuffing, also called dressing, that I made to go with the hot turkey sandwiches I made this week. It turned out to be a delicious addition to our meal with jarred gravy heated and poured over it and a little jellied cranberry sauce on the side..

It would also be great with a roast chicken.

Bread Stuffing

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups day-old bread cut into cubes

2 shallots, diced

½ rib of celery diced

3 mushrooms, diced (optional)

5 Tablespoons melted butter

½ teaspoon each sage and thyme

½ teaspoon poultry seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter in a small pan.

Add diced celery and shallots.

Cook until transparent.

Add diced mushroom if using.

Stir in sage, thyme and poultry seasoning.

Toss in cubed bread.

Mixture should be slightly moist.

If too dry, add more melted butter.

Pour into a small ovenproof bowl.

Bake for 25 minutes