I had never even heard of stuffing until I was twenty years old. I mean my daddy would have thought that he was in the wrong house if when he walked in the kitchen on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning and found stuffing.  My grandmother would have fainted. Such was the ritual of the southern kitchen where I was raised.

    And a ritual it was – only cornbread dressing made from the rich broth of a fat chicken hen. When I was a little girl, we traveled to my grandparents in Newton County for the Thanksgiving meal. They had chickens (not turkeys), and by-the-way the birds hated me. Always chased me, but that’s another story for another time.

    Weeks prior to Thanksgiving, my grandmother selected a nice hen from the group and placed her in a special pen. She was fed only corn until the fateful day. Thankfully before we arrived my grandfather had wrung the neck (good grief), picked the feathers, and all of that gross stuff. By the time I walked through grandmother’s kitchen, the bird was in the pot, boiling away, all of which made the wonderful broth.

   I’ve often thought that the hen should have known something was up. I mean she had lovely accommodations all to herself and a banquet of sweet corn for each meal. Maybe she knew, but it was best if she didn’t, don’t you think?

    Moving along – years later my mother made the cornbread dressing using a fat hen purchased at the A&P located on 24th Avenue. I was always included in the grocery shopping trips. I vaguely remember the plastic-wrapped bird prostrating in momma’s buggy, not cart, but buggy. Remember, we are in the South, God’s country.

    But I do remember the dressing and before I could blink an eye, it was my turn to make the traditional delicacy. It never occurred to me to call it cornbread dressing. Like when we said chicken-and-dressing, everyone knew. What else could it be? I have always used a combination of momma’s and my mother-in-law’s recipes, each passed through the families. My husband, who is a cook, probably better than me, hangs around the kitchen during the preparation of holiday meals and it is obvious that our two sons were within ear-shot because both boys are excellent cooks, especially cornbread dressing.

    But at around age twenty I was introduced to oyster stuffing. Do what? I had not expected it, but amazingly it was delicious. My eyes were opened beyond cornbread. I discovered sausage stuffing, and one that used apple-pecan-cranberry, plus another recipe stuffed with tamales. Then there was a Creole dressing which included hot peppers and seasoned with thyme, oregano, and basil. I was introduced to the whole United States through various stuffing/dressing recipes, it seemed.

    However there is no place like home and I returned to my family’s traditional cornbread dressing, which is truly Mississippi. Why try to be something that I’m not? I might travel again someday into a foreign land of dressing, but not this year.

    My questions for you – stuffing or cornbread dressing, giblet gravy or not, sage or not, chicken hen or turkey, homemade cranberry sauce or canned? If you think about it, there is a lot going on in the world of dressing. Recently I read of crock pot dressing. I can’t even imagine.

    Here is my recipe (serves 8):

    I cook the hen overnight in the crock pot (season with salt/pepper), add water for extra broth.

    Next morning: Mix cornmeal with chopped onions, celery, boiled eggs, 1/2 cup chic broth, 1 raw egg, and enough regular milk (to mix).

    Pour into oven-hot black iron skillet (one that belonged to your granny is best – wink).

    Bake 400 degrees until firm and brown — let cool.

    Transfer to large baking/serving pan. Crumble cornbread, add lots of chic broth, a few hamburger buns crumbled, salt to taste and lots of black pepper, (add sage if you like it). The mixture should be a little bit sloppy. Place in 375 degrees oven and bake until firm and brown around the edges – about one hour.

    Dressing or stuffing – in Mississippi we know the best, but we don’t brag, too much.

    Anne McKee is a writer and storyteller. Visit her website: www.annemckee.net.