Though "stuffing" may be seen as the oldest way to create a side dish, dressing prevailed in the South, and dressing was never shoved into a bird. Why? Because Southern tradition dictated that holiday fowl be hunted and cooked the day of the feast itself—and attended by as many wild foraged things as possible. With pressure like this, kitchen speed became the prime directive—and a hollow bird cooked faster than a bird whose belly was full.

Thus, the dressing, too, cooked alone.

Today most cooks don't let the turkey and stuffing get anywhere near each other until they meet, at last, on the plate. And Southerners still call it dressing.

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CORNBREAD AND OYSTER DRESSING NONPAREIL

Time: one hour to dry the bread, 45 minutes to prep the ingredients, and 30 to bake the stuffing (time does not include baking the cornbread)

If you imagine a basket of wild greens and mushrooms, a few dozen tidal creek oysters, a handful of hickory nuts and a bag of new crop cornmeal, you can almost imagine this stuffing, lush and complex—where wild greens meet the ocean at the edge of the marsh.

Those who have not experienced oysters in a forcemeat setting may be surprised. There is nothing fishy about them. Oysters impart frank sensuality to the dressing's texture and a haunting suggestion of wine to its taste. Oysters need shallots, so we gave them shallots. Oysters and shallots love celery, so celery it was. Oysters and mushrooms like nutmeg, so we threw in a pinch of that. Bits of torn kale speak volumes over parsley. Hickory nuts mean texture—and might, in translation, murmur pecans.

And they all love cornbread.

Equipment Mise en Place
For this recipe you will need 2 large sheet pans, a large skillet or baking dish, a very large mixing bowl or clean plastic tub, a medium mixing bowl, a set of tongs, a couple of glass measuring cups, and a 10 x 15-inch Pryrex baking dish or comparable 4-quart casserole.

Working Ahead
The multiple tiers of holiday cooking are daunting enough to require a day planner, a social secretary or a prescription. So bake and dry the cornbread a couple of days out. Roast the mushrooms, toast the nuts, clean and pick the kale the day before—if it suits you. The whole stuffing can be made and assembled a day ahead, refrigerated and baked "day of." Or frozen a few weeks ahead and thawed overnight in the refrigerator before baking. Possibilities for advance work here are bountiful. Push comes to shove, it can all happen in one day. But you might think you've been through the hunt.

Ingredients
1 Recipe Anson Mills Black Skillet Cornbread, made with 2 cups cornmeal and 1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 1-pound country style boule (round loaf) or other rustic white bread
1 pound small cremini mushrooms, brushed clean, stems trimmed slightly and mushrooms quartered or halved, depending on size
1 tablespoons olive oil
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1/2 cup chopped hickory nuts or pecans (optional)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus additional for buttering the dish
5 large shallots, minced (1/2 cup)
1 rib celery, minced (1/4 cup)
3 ounces clean, stemmed kale torn into small pieces (4 packed cups)
3 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
2 1/3 cups chicken, turkey or vegetable broth (yes, homemade, if you can manage)
16 ounces fresh select oysters, drained and chopped (optional, see Cooking Notes)

Cooking Notes
The perfect stuffing has a craggy varnished crispness on top—bread cube contours visible—and a moist, luscious interior. These elements demand even hydration and a light hand combining the ingredients. Hand, literally, for when it comes to mixing the "very wet" with the "very dry," nothing works like a clean pair of hands.

Many recipes for oyster stuffing recommend using the oyster liquor as a liquid ingredient. This is fine if you are hand shucking fresh, briny oysters. But packaged shucked oysters float in flavorless albumen. No point in adding that. So we didn't.

If you can't bear the thought of using oysters in a stuffing recipe, omit them, and add a couple of tablespoons of stock in their stead.

We roast the mushrooms in this recipe to extract their moisture and give new bounce to their step. It is a little extra effort, but worth it—the mushrooms have a fabulous presence in this dressing.

Directions
1. Adjust the racks to the middle positions and heat the oven to 250º. Cut the cornbread into 1-inch cubes and spread it on a sheet pan (there will be 8 plus cups). Trim off the bottom crust from the bread, cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread it on a second sheet pan (there will be about 4 cups). Dry for an hour. Remove from the oven and set aside.

2. Increase the oven temperature to 450º and heat an empty heavy skillet or baking dish in the oven for 10 minutes (the aforementioned Pyrex will do nicely). Toss the mushrooms, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon thyme together in a small bowl. Turn the mushrooms into the hot skillet or pan. Roast, shaking the skillet occasionally, until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and are bronzed and fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn them into a very large mixing bowl or a clean plastic tub. Chop the crushed garlic and toss it back with the mushrooms.

3. Turn off the oven and roast the nuts with residual oven heat for 10 minutes. Turn them into the bowl with the mushrooms.

4. Melt the butter in a large skillet over low heat until it foams. Add the shallots and sauté, stirring frequently, until translucent, 5 minutes. Stir in the celery and sauté until tender, 1 minute. Add the kale and stir with tongs until the leaves wilt, 40 seconds. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Turn the vegetables into the bowl with the mushrooms and stir to combine. Cool completely. Stir in the reserved cornbread and bread and toss everything together lightly with your hands.

5. Crack the eggs into a medium mixing bowl and beat lightly with a whisk. Whisk in the cream and stock. Stir in the oysters. Pour the liquid ingredients into the large bowl with the other stuffing components and toss lightly with your hands to moisten the bread evenly.

6. Butter a 10 x 15-inch Pryrex baking dish or comparable 4-quart casserole. Transfer the stuffing mixture to the dish gently with your hands and pat it evenly into place. Should there be any liquid remaining in the bowl, pour it over the stuffing. Cover the dish flush with plastic wrap and refrigerate the stuffing at least one hour—up to 8 hours—before baking.

7. Preheat the oven to 400º. Bake the stuffing until it is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 40 minutes.

Serves 12 to 15—or 6 to 8 with abundant leftovers.