Awesome Cornbread Dressing With Roasted Chestnut and Sausage

Well, here goes my first post!.. This is basically a mash-up of all the things I love about dressing but based on a chestnut dressing I found on food network. I've never been a fan of celery or carrots but in this recipe the carrots aren't overwhelming so I leave them in. I absolutely LOVE chestnuts and I think they complete this dressing beautifully. I've made this with breakfast, sweet Italian, and spicy sausage so use whatever you prefer but I love mine spicy!

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1  medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1  medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1⁄2 bunch fresh sage
• 1 1⁄2 lbs  loose hot sausage
• 1  lb  roasted chestnuts (peeled and chopped)
• 1  cup  low-sodium chicken stock
• 5  cups  of cubed corn  bread
• 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
• 1  large egg
•  extra virgin olive oil
•  freshly ground sea  salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and butter a 9x11 baking dish.
2. Puree the carrot, onion, and sage in a food processor until you have a fine pulp.
3. Brown the sausage in a large skillet with a little extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.
4. Once the meat has browned nicely and the fat has rendered, remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the vegetable pulp to the skillet and saute until most of the moisture has evaporated.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Add the cooked vegetables to the mixing bowl along with the sausage, cornbread, and roasted chestnuts.
8. In a separate bowl mix the chicken stock, cream, and egg.
9. Add this mixture to the large mixing bowl, season with more salt and pepper and fold everything together.
10. Pour into the baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the dressing is golden brown. (Tent with foil if it browns too early).