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It largely seems to be a regional difference. However, in an informal survey I took (read: I asked the copy desk), people were all over the place. Editors from Syracuse, N.Y., and Maryland both called it stuffing and cook it inside the bird. Many of our Southern staff members agreed that dressing in a separate dish was the way to go, although we had one adamant, "NO CELERY!!!"

Our copy desk chief went against type, however. His mom hailed from Atlanta, but it was stuffing in their household. Another editor from Louisiana calls it both stuffing and dressing. And while our Tennessee editor always eats dressing, she mentions a second dish on the table.

"(Grandma) Bootsie has another, lesser-known specialty: oyster dressing. We have regular dressing, and then we have oyster dressing. Tasty!" she says.

Regional differences aside, there's a couple of good reasons to keep the bread out of the bird, and both have to do with temperature. (It doesn't matter that cornbread dressing just tastes better.)

The USDA recommends that you use a food thermometer to make sure the center of the stuffing reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be completely safe. Just because your turkey is 180 degrees, that doesn't mean your stuffing is completely cooked. And in many cases, a pop-up thermometer will activate before the stuffing is done. If the stuffing isn't completely done, it can make your guests pretty sick.

The other and, in my opinion, better reason not to stuff? Stuffing can make your turkey cook unevenly, not to mention the amount of time it takes for the stuffing to cook to a safe temperature can dry out your turkey, leaving it tough and unappetizing. And who wants that when the in-laws are over?

Personally, I'll be enjoying a tasty (and safe) dressing this Thanksgiving. And because my mama way down in Florida doesn't read this paper, I'm going to pass the recipe along to you.

Cornbread Dressing

Cornbread
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup self-rising flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Mix corn meal, flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the egg, milk and oil, and mix until just moist. Oil an 8x8 pan, and add mixture. Bake at 375 degrees until brown. (Oven times vary.)

Dressing
Cornbread (You can make it a couple days out)
Package of turkey necks
Turkey giblets
1 large onion
1-2 cups chopped celery, depending on taste
1 stick of butter
salt
sage
poultry seasoning
chicken base

1. Boil turkey necks and giblets, along with poultry seasoning, salt and sage, until done. Set aside to cool.
2. Dice the onion. Melt a stick of butter in a skillet. Add onions and celery and cook until the onion is translucent.
3. Crumble cornbread into a large bowl. Add onion and celery.
4. When cool, cut up giblets and pull the meat off the turkey necks. Add to the cornbread.
5. Add salt, poultry seasoning and sage to the mixture to taste.
6. Mix two heaping tablespoons of chicken base with about three cups of hot water. Add by the half cup to the mix, stirring the mixture by hand. Keep adding until it's pretty moist and clumps together easily. You may not need all of it. You can also use turkey juice if it's available.
7. Place mixture in a 13X9 pan, packing it well.
8. Bake for 45 minutes or until browned at 350-400 degrees.

You can make it the day before through step 7, and refrigerate it until it's time to bake it. The directions aren't entirely precise, but dressing is one of those things that's hard to get wrong. Feel free to individualize it with cranberries or whatever you've got hanging around the kitchen.