Spinach, Artichoke + Brie Stuffing

It's been 3 years since I've been home for Thanksgiving and sadly, it looks like it will be another 2-3 years before I can do it again. Luckily, I've got great family here in Chicago to celebrate with and they do a great spread too. What's on your absolute "must make" list for Thanksgiving?

Ingredients:

8 c. cubed (1-inch) day old bread - I used an italian loaf 

1 TBSP butter

1 lb fresh spinach, washed (1 c. cooked, drained and roughly chopped)

2 cup olive oil

1 large onion chopped

1 TBSP chopped garlic

1 TBSP Italian seasoning

2  tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 - 9 oz bags frozen artichoke hearts (defrosted and drained)

1 egg

1 c. heavy cream

1 c. chicken stock

2 c. white wine

1 TBSP lemon juice

2 c. freshly grated Parmesan

2 c. fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 pound Brie, rind removed and cut into  - inch cubes

(it all starts here... the size loaf I used)

The day/night before making, cut bread into cubes and let sit out so that it becomes stale. If your bread is already a few days old, you can skip this step and just cut bread into 1" cubes. If your bread is fresh and you need to make it today, cut the cubes and put it in a 200 F oven for 10 - 15 minutes to dry out the bread a little bit.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x9 baking dish with butter (olive oil or non-stick spray works too). Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and cook spinach until wilts. About 30 sec - 1 min. Drane and rinse with cold water. Once cool, squeeze all of the water out of the spinach and give it a rough chop. Heat 1 TBSP of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent and golden brown. Add in the garlic, italian seasoning, salt + pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Then add in your spinach and artichoke hearts and continue cooking a few more minutes until ingredients are combined. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit and cool.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream, chicken stock, wine, lemon juice. of the parmesan cheese and parsley. This can be done the day/night before you want to make the stuffing (another small, but good time saver. plus it free's up the dishes). Add in your cooled veggie mixture and stir until it's combined. Add the bread cubes to your bowl and gently mix until all of the cubes are coated in the liquid. Toss in your brie chunks, pour into your baking dish and let the mixture sit for 20 - 30 minutes, and up to a few hours before you bake it. This way all of the liquid will be absorbed into the bread before you bake it. Pop it into the oven for about 60 minutes until it's golden brown on top and the egg mixture has fully cooked. 

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