Stuffing vs Dressing

It's that time of year again when the scent of sage and poultry seasoning fills the air with a hint of pumpkin pie spice in the background. I love this particular week of the year because I spend so much time researching recipes and thinking of ways to spice up traditional favorites. This year we are spending Thanksgiving Day with my family and I am making the stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, and pumpkin pie (and if I get crazy a pecan pie too). I have decided to steer away from my family tradition of dressing this year and make a stuffing to go along side our turkey. I have always been confused on stuffing vs dressing, but I think my definition now is pretty good. I know technically stuffing should be cooked inside the bird, but really that is just setting you up for disaster. Either your turkey is going to be overdone with great stuffing or you are going to have a great turkey with underdone stuffing meaning salmonella may be lurking in there...not good. So, I have moved towards defining the two not by the way they are cooked, but by the ingredients involved and how they are used. To me, stuffing is a little dryer and the bread stays cubed and defined with a little bit of broth for moisture and any other ingredients you desire. Dressing on the other hand is a lot more moist and dense. The bread, whether it be cornbread or biscuits or a combination of both, absorbs a lot of broth and is packed tight with other ingredients. Anyway, Brian grew up on stuffing and I grew up on dressing, so it is a discussion each year as to which is better. Naturally, I vote for dressing and Brian votes for stuffing, but maybe if I make a moist stuffing this year it will be a new tradition in our family, a combination of each of our traditions if you will. More to come once I start cooking next week...I have taken off Wednesday to begin a full day of baking and getting things ready for cooking on Thursday.