Sausage dressing squares

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Lightly grease and line an eight-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment so that it comes up the sides of the pan.
2. Heat a small sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil, followed by the onions and celery. Sauté until the onions are translucent, about five minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the vegetables to cool while preparing the sausage.
3. Cut open the sausage casings (or you can buy sausage meat without the casings) and place the meat into a large mixing bowl. Discard the casings.
4. Add the breadcrumbs, eggs, dried cranberries, pistachios, maple syrup, parsley, and celery salt and mix well to combine—your hands will make fast work of this task, but you can also use a spoon. Add the cooled onions and celery and mix in well. Spoon into the prepared pan, pressing down to level it.
5. Arrange the bacon slices over the sausage, covering it completely.
6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the bacon, has browned and the meat registers 165 °F (74 °C) on a thermometer. Let the squares cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature.
7. Chill for two hours (or up to two days) before slicing into squares (they slice nicely once chilled). Enjoy! 

Make-Ahead Tip: This recipe reheats brilliantly. You can store the pan of baked sausage dressing, covered, in the fridge for up to three days (or freeze for up to three months and thaw overnight in the fridge). Cut into squares while cold, then arrange them on a parchment-lined baking tray with the bacon side down and warm in a 325 °F (160 °C) oven for about 10 minutes—the bacon will crisp up. Serve hot or even at room temperature

TIP: To dress up these nibbles, make a bacon weave to top the sausage squares. Lay out 6 slices of the bacon side by side on a piece of plastic wrap placed on a cutting board. Peel back three alternating slices a little and place a bacon slice across them so that it lies perpendicular. Return the folded bacon slices to their original position (now over the perpendicular slice). Fold back the other 3 slices from the opposite end, and lay another slice of bacon across them so that it lies perpendicular and next to the first perpendicular slice. Replace the folded bacon slices with their original position. Repeat with the remaining bacon slices to complete the pattern. Carefully lift up the plastic wrap and invert the bacon weave onto the top of the sausage square. Peel away and discard the plastic wrap.