November 2003

Dynamic Duo

Stuffing takes a supporting role with the Thanksgiving turkey

by Patrick Evans-Hylton

Bogey and Bacall. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Classic couples, classic pairings. Like turkey and stuffing. Could it really be Thanksgiving without them?

The turkey may take top billing, but it’s a show that wouldn’t go on without the supporting cast. Whether made traditionally with soft, white bread or variations including cornbread dressing, or stuffing with fruit, nuts, sausage or oysters, it’s just not the same holiday without it.

And it’s so easy to make from scratch. Guilty of using that boxed mix with petrified bread crumbs and packets of ancient spice dust? Shame on you. Grab a few simple ingredients at the market and dine on dressing the way it was meant to be prepared.

For more than 500 years, well before the first Thanksgiving, stuffing has been a part of our culinary background, served with everything from beef, fowl and seafood. Prior to the mid-16th century, stuffing was referred to as farce, from the Latin farcire, meaning “to stuff.” It is also the root of the term forcemeat, used to describe seasoned meat forced into casings, like sausage.

It wasn’t until the 1880s, when stuffy Victorians thought the word “stuffing” was a bit vulgar, that the term “dressing” came along. Essentially, the words are used interchangeably. The ingredients in stuffing and dressing are the same; only the method of preparation is different. Stuffing is, as implied, stuffed into the cavity of the bird and cooked; while dressing is cooked separately, and the casserole dish in which it was cooked is presented along with the turkey (or chicken or hen) to dress it up.

For the rest of this story, you can order the November 2003 issue of Hampton Roads Monthly magazine.