Sausage, Cornbread and Tart Cherry Stuffing

Preheat oven to 325°

Add dried cherries to a small saucepan with ¼ sugar and just enough water to cover. Simmer until cherries plump up.

Cut cornbread into ½" cubes, spread out on cookie sheets, and bake until just dry, about 20 minutes.

Transfer cornbread to a large bowl and set aside.

In a sauté pan, toast pecans over medium-low heat until aromatic and slightly golden (2-3 minutes).

Halve leeks lengthwise then cut crosswise into ½" pieces. Wash leeks in a bowl of cold water and strain.

Melt butter in a sauté pan and sweat leeks, celery, and onion over moderately low heat, stirring until leeks are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Add sausage to leek mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until sausage is cooked through. Stir in pecans and add to bowl with toasted cornbread.

Add chicken stock to the same pan that had your sausage-leek mixture in it. Cook down to 1 cup of liquid.

Add pecans, sausage-leek mixture, sour cherries, chopped herbs, and reduced chicken stock to a bowl of cornbread. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper if needed.

Cool stuffing completely. Stuffing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring stuffing to room temperature before stuffing in turkey or adding to a casserole dish.