Easy-Bake Herbed Stuffing

Let’s face it, stuffing is basically a flavorful sponge to soak up gravy and any stray melting butter that escapes a vegetable. But mincing and sautéing the aromatics that help turn bland bread tasty is a chore. We speed things up – and maximize flavor – by giving butter, fresh herbs and raw shallots a whiz in the food processor, then using the resulting paste to season bread cubes while they toast in the oven. We found that any sturdy, high-quality sliced sandwich bread from the grocer worked well here. As the bread bakes, the raw bite of the shallots cooks off leaving behind a mellow tang. Chopped celery is tossed with melted butter and mixed into the bread, softening as the cubes toast. The mixture then is moistened with chicken broth and a touch of cream before being baked to create a relatively carefree stuffing that will satisfy the even strictest traditionalists.