Stuffing vs Dressing

This is the time of year when all the woman's interest magazines are full of recipes for Thanksgiving dinner. This year there seems to be more stuffing recipes than usual, and most of them aren't stuffing at all but dressing. That makes me wonder if what we call dressing -that savory bread pudding that's baked in a casserole inside the oven and not the turkey,  is something common only to southern Ohio.  We always call a bread mixture stuffed inside a bird stuffing and the casserole version, dressing.  I'm pretty sure the menu at the Golden Lamb Inn calls it turkey and dressing.

In our house we don't bother with stuffing - never enough room in the bird for enough to feed all of us. We always make dressing on the side; lots of it. We love it Thanksgiving Day and left over for days after. Nothing better.  My mother's recipe is pretty simple. Diced onion, diced celery, dried unseasoned bread cubes, chicken broth made from simmering the neck and gizzard, maybe a little extra chicken broth form "stock in a box" , a little poultry seasoning and lots of salt and pepper. It's baked in a big casserole dish and has a crusty bottom and top and soft, moist center. We like to pour lots of turkey gravy over the dressing.

When I make it I sometimes add a little fresh chopped parsley and some pecans. Cran raisens are also a nice addition. Regardless, dressing is always a favorite on Thanksgiving.