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Stressing!

or druffing.

I call it stuffing if it's stuffing and dressing if it's dressing.

We used the terms opposite of their proper meanings. Dressing was used to describe what mom stuffed into the turkey each year. Stuffing is what you got out of the 'Stove-Top' box the rest of the year.

We've always called it dressing but no one in my family actually "stuffs" the bird. Our dressing is baked in a separate pan.

I guess it is dressing if cooked on the side & stuffing if its cooked in the bird?

And yes, I'm from the South.

I'm from the South, too, and I always call it stuffing, even though we never cooked it inside the turkey. Not sure why!

I still think there is a bit of regional influence. My mom's family, from southwest Missouri (Ozark country) calls it dressing, and serves it as a casserole. My dad's family, originally from Pennsylvania, called it stuffing and cooked it inside the bird. My husband's family is from Michigan and Indiana and they also call it stuffing and cook it accordingly.

I live in California and people look at me funny when I call it dressing.

Stuffing = the stuff inside the bird
Dressing = the extra stuff cooked in a separate dish

I'm from the south (NC/SC) and my family and everyone I know where my parents are from say dressing. It's never cooked in the bird. Always in a separate dish.

Great post. I've been wondering about this question lately - especially since I brought dressing (labeled as such) to my office Thanksgiving potluck and I heard someone say "Dressing? Oh, stuffing."

Another Southerner here. We have always made it in a pyrex lasagna (9x11?) pan. Ours is cornbread based, crispy on the outside and moist inside.

Oh yeah, and we call it dressing.

I'm from NC, and we always had "dressing" - cooked in a 9" x 13" pyrex dish. Cornbread and sausage. OK, I'm drooling now....

I've always called it stuffing, no matter where it's cooked. (I grew up mostly in the western states.)

I've always stuffed the bird, so I've always called it stuffing.

I'm from the South (Georgia), and we *only* serve dressing around here. It's cooked in a separate pan, but it's a very moist dish, and my FAVORITE part of the Thanksgiving meal.

My boyfriend's aunt cooks the best I've ever tried, and it's full of cooked chicken along with all the usual ingredients.

Stuffing here from Ohio.

I was born in the northeast (as was my entire family) and we always called in "stuffing" whether in was made in the bird or not. When I moved to TX as a youngster everyone seemed to call this other mushy thing that people eat with turkey "dressing". I realized that this "dressing" stuff seemed to be always made with cornmeal...eww. "Stuffing" made with white bread is the way for me.

dressing... and I'm a Northerner.

Both ie i'm stuffing my face full 'o dressing.

Stuffing. Any extra stuffing that doesn't fit into the bird gets baked in the dish on the side. But that's stuffing too. Just not as good cuz it didn't get the juice from the bird.
I grew up in Minnesota.

Some historical perspective on the terms, posted a day or two ago in response to Serious Eats' own comments: http://marthaandtom.com/2009/11/stuffing-or-dressing/