Ingredients:

1 cup dried apricot halves

1 cup boiling water

6 ounces italian sausage casings removed

1 whole onion finely chopped

1/2 cup diced cooked onion

2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/4 teaspoon salt

7 cups cornbread crumbled

10 ounces chestnuts - waterpacked can drained and chopped

2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted

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1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. In a small heatproof bowl, combine the apricots and boiling water. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, crumble the sausage into a large nonstick skillet and cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes or until it has browned and rendered its fat.
4. Add the onion, garlic, sage and salt and sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is soft. Transfer to a large bowl.
5. Drain apricots and coarsely chop.
6. Add the apricots, corbread and chestnuts to the bowl.
7. Drizzle with the broth and butter, tossing to coat.
8. Spoon into a 9x13 inch pan. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes.

Makes 12 servings.

Note: You can make this tasty stuffing ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Just cook everything up and get it ready and then pop it into the fridge until you want to heat it. Preparation time is 55 minutes. (And yes, we make the cornbread from scratch too!)