Ingredients for about 8 people

• 1 loaf of day old French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10-12 cups)
• 1 cup walnuts
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 green apple, peeled, cored, chopped
• ⅔ cup currants, dried
• ½ cup green olives, pitted, chopped
• 1.5 cups stock from the turkey giblets
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or ground sage (to taste)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Toast the walnuts by heating them in a frying pan on medium high heat for a few minutes, stirring until they are slightly browned (not burned) OR put them in the microwave on high until you can smell the aroma of them toasting, about a minute or two. Let them cool while you are toasting the bread, then roughly chop them.
2. If you aren't working with somewhat dried-out day-old bread, lay the cubes of bread in a baking pan and put them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to dry them out first, before toasting them in butter on the stove top. The bread should be a little dry to begin with, or you'll end up with mushy stuffing.
3. Heat a large sauté pan on medium heat. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in the pan, add the bread cubes, and stir to coat the bread pieces with the melted butter. Then let them toast; only turn them when they have become a little browned on a side.
4. In a large Dutch oven, sauté chopped onions and celery on medium high heat with the remaining 3 Tbsp butter until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Add the bread. Add cooked chopped walnuts. Add chopped green apple, currants, olives, parsley. Add one cup of the stock from cooking the turkey giblets or chicken stock (just enough to keep the stuffing moist while you are cooking it — but keep in mind that the celery will release liquid as it cooks, too, so do not add too much). Add sage or poultry seasoning, salt & pepper. With poultry seasoning, a little goes a long way.
5. Cover. Turn heat to low. Cook for an hour or until the apples are cooked through. Check every ten minutes or so and add water or stock as needed while cooking to keep the stuffing a bit moist and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.