Drunken Cranberry Quinoa Dressing

OK, maybe I'm back from the dead. Life has just been way to crazy to keep up with this blogging business. I have continues to create and experiment but I just haven't had time to blog about what I'm cooking. Also, we lost our camera this summer so all I have is the cell phone camera. I apologize for the lower quality of my photographs.

After perfecting the Beer Cornbread Dressing last year I decided to change this year and I am using quinoa as the starch base for the dressing.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups of water or stock for cooking quinoa
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup rum/brandy
1 onion, diced
4or 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3" piece of double garlic/double smoked polish sausage, quartered & sliced
3" piece of spicy Hungarian sausage, quartered & sliced
1 apple pealed & diced.
4 slices bacon, sliced into pieces
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp powdered chipolte pepper

The day before:
1. combine the dried cranberries and the rum. cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature.
2. bring water/stock to a boil and add the quinoa. reduce to simmer and cook fro 30-45 minutes

The Day of:
1. Fry the bacon to crisp and remove from the pan. If there is too much oil discard some of it.
2. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant, then add the onion and fry until soft. Add the poultry seasoning and chipolte powder and fry for a few more minutes.
3. add the remaining ingredients and combine well.
4. place in a casserole dish and bake in the oven until warmed through. 

My own review is that there was a slight bitter taste to the dressing. I think the proportion of quinoa was a little too high. I would reduce the amount of quinoa and probably use a blend of rosemary, thyme, sage and bay leaf to season the dressing next time. Also the addition of some nuts might improve things.