dressed for success

After many posts with no chocolate, I did a u-turn and had about four in a row. I'm not playing games here, folks--this gal, she don't mess around. I'm turning around again (picture, if you will, Austin Powers' hilarious attempt at a three-point turn that becomes a 33-point turn...) and doing something savory. If there's anything more infrequent than a chocolate post on this blog, it's a savory post.

Dressing (or stuffing, if you insist upon calling it that*) is a Thanksgiving staple, and I love that every family has their own recipe and method of preparing it. There are myriad ways to personalize it, from adding sausage and nuts to using apples and cider. You can make it on the stove top, in the oven, or, as I prefer, using a combination of the two.

*Fun fact: According to Mrs. Cubbison's Thanksgiving survey, southerners say “dressing” while people in the East, Midwest, and West say “stuffing.” For the record, if it's in the bird, I'll agree that it should be called stuffing. Here's another factoid: When it comes to fretting on the big day, more than 30% of women said their biggest Thanksgiving meal concern is making sure all the menu items are done at the same time and stay warm. Men are most worried that the turkey will be too dry. That sounds about right to me, except I would say that the rest of the men polled were afraid their local channels wouldn't be showing the football game they want to see.

To make this batch of dressing, I used Mrs. Cubbison's recipe for an apple-walnut version and simply replaced the diced apples with chopped figs. The result was a chewy, crunchy, nutty, savory flavor extravaganza. This was my first experience with Mrs. Cubbison's, and it was a good one. The dressing was a breeze to prepare and a pleasure to consume.

This dressing was a trial run. I'm curious about what kinds of things you folks add to yours, or if you even serve it at all. Also, do you call it dressing or stuffing or could you care less? Thanksgiving is upon us!