I have a Thanksgiving question that some of our readers may be able to answer for me.

The question is, do you dress a turkey with stuffing, or stuff a turkey with dressing? If it’s cooked outside the bird, is it called dressing, but if it’s cooked inside the bird, is it stuffing?

Does it matter, as long as it’s on the Thanksgiving table somewhere?

Neither of my grandmothers, nor my great-grandmother, nor my mother would have even considered cooking our Thanksgiving turkey without cramming it with stuffing first. Although there may have been one or two small variations or additions to the stuffing itself, cooking it in the bird was mandatory.

At some point, and my recollection is that it was sometime in the mid-’60s, we began hearing and reading about the dangers of undercooked stuffing, or stuffing that sat too long in the bird before cooking, and suggestions were made that it was better to cook it separately, leaving it out of the bird entirely. My grandmothers would have been aghast, and I think most of the men in my large and quarrelsome family would have rebelled at the idea of a Thanksgiving turkey sans stuffing, even if there was oven-baked dressing served on the side.

During the past few years, deep frying the festive bird became popular and many of us now have turkey-frying apparatuses sitting somewhere in the garage or shed gathering cobwebs. This method automatically precluded stuffing the bird first, thus the dressing (or is it stuffing?) necessarily had to be baked and served separately. While I do like deep-fried turkey, it somehow just doesn’t seem like Thanksgiving to me without a turkey in the oven, so we save the deep fryer for other occasions now.

For decades, stuffing was most often made of dried bread cubes, chopped celery and onion, chicken or turkey broth and a variety of herbs. Some folks added eggs; others not.

I don’t know whether to credit James Beard or Julia Child, but fancying up stuffing suddenly became fashionable, leading to such exotic delights as Oyster Stuffing, Wild Rice and Wild Mushroom Stuffing, Cornbread With Green Chilies Stuffing, Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing, Italian Stuffing With Pine Nuts, Rosemary and Basil, to name only a few in my “Stuffing” recipe file.

In other words, stuffing became as varied as the people who were concocting it, leading to a new problem; which stuffing to use this year.

There is an easy answer to that question, however; this year I’ll make two; one to stuff in the bird, the other to serve on the side. But, whether it’s stuffing or dressing, just be sure it’s there, because if it’s Thanksgiving, everyone is looking forward to it.

RECIPES

I love cornbread and have since childhood, so it’s no surprise that cornbread stuffing is at the top of my list now. Make the buttermilk corn bread a day or two ahead and it’ll be just right to use for stuffing on turkey day. Here’s the recipe for the cornbread, followed by a kicked up stuffing recipe.

BUTTERMILK CORN BREAD

½ cup unsalted butter

1½ cups buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup flour (use unbleached all-purpose)

½ cup sugar

4 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

¼ t. ground black pepper

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; whisk in buttermilk, then eggs.

In a large bowl, mix all remaining ingredients. Stir in the buttermilk mixture just until well blended. Transfer mixture to a buttered 13×9 metal baking pan. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven until edges are lightly browned and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean (about 20 min.) Cool completely in pan.

Note: If you’re using this for stuffing, cover it tightly and store at room temp. at least 1 day and up to 2 days (better).

SOUTHWEST CORN BREAD STUFFING

10 T. unsalted butter

1¼ cups chopped seeded fresh Anaheim chilies

1¼ cups chopped seeded fresh poblano chilies

3 jalapeno chilies, seeded and chopped

2 pkgs. (1 lb.) frozen petite yellow corn kernels, thawed

1¼ cups chopped green onions

2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Buttermilk Corn Bread, at least 1 day old (see recipe above)

4 large eggs

¼ cup sugar

2¼ t. salt

½ t. ground black pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet over med.-high heat.

Add all the chilies and sauté until beginning to soften (about 8 min.). Stir in one pkg. of the corn and the green onions. Transfer to a large bowl; mix in cilantro. Coarsely crumble the corn bread into the vegetable mixture, tossing lightly to blend.

In a food processor, blend the second pkg. of corn with the eggs, sugar, salt and pepper, processing to a coarse puree. Stir this into the stuffing mixture.

If you’re going to bake this stuffing, or part of it, inside the bird, fill neck and main cavities of the bird with the stuffing (don’t forget to lightly season the cavities with salt and freshly ground pepper first) and roast the bird as you normally would. For remaining stuffing, generously butter a baking dish and spoon mixture into the dish and cover with buttered foil (butter side down). Bake this stuffing alongside the turkey until heated through (about 25 min.), then uncover and bake until the top of the stuffing is slightly crisp and golden (probably about 15 min. more).

CORNBREAD, HAM, DRIED CRANBERRY STUFFING

Cornbread (use the recipe above)

4 cups chopped onion

2 cups chopped celery

3 cloves garlic, minced

¹/3 cup vegetable oil

2 cups Craisins (dried cranberries; or if preferred, substitute chopped dried apples or apricots)

½ lb. sliced smoked ham (such as Black Forest), chopped fine

½ cup minced fresh parsley

3 T. minced fresh sage leaves (or 1 T. crumbled dried)

2 T. minced fresh marjoram leaves (or 2 t. dried)

1 T. minced fresh rosemary leaves (or 1 t. crumbled dried)

½ t. freshly grated nutmeg

½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Crumble the cornbread onto 2 jelly-roll pans and bake in a preheated 325-degree oven, stirring frequently, for 30-40 min., or until dry and deep golden. Let cool; transfer to a large bowl.

In a large skillet over med. heat, cook the onions, celery and garlic in the oil, with salt and pepper to taste, stirring, until vegetables are softened. Transfer to the bowl of cornbread. Add the dried fruit, ham, herbs, nutmeg, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the mixture gently to combine well and allow stuffing to cool completely.

Season cavities of the bird lightly with salt and pepper; pack loosely with stuffing mixture and roast bird as you normally do. Put “extra” stuffing in a buttered baking dish, cover and keep chilled until turkey is about 1 hr. away from done. During the last hour of roasting the turkey, put the reserved stuffing in the baking dish, covered with buttered foil, in the oven and bake for 50 min. to 1 hr., removing foil about 15 min. from finish to allow stuffing to crisp a bit.