Let’s be honest: Turkey is a rather plain dish. It’s no coincidence that you almost never see it on restaurant menus outside of November, and the reason everyone makes such a fuss about the gravy is that the turkey meat would be dreadfully dull without it.

The key to a successful Thanksgiving, then, lies in the side dishes. I’ll leave it to others to deconstruct the nuances of cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. They’re all important, but the dish I’ve been thinking about lately is stuffing.

Although stuffing is now closely associated with Thanksgiving, its origins far predate the holiday. The first printed English use of the term appears to have been in 1538. The concept of forcemeat (from the French farcir, “to stuff”) had already existed for some time before that, and The Oxford Companion to Food reports that classical Roman feasts often included a roast pig stuffed with sausages and black puddings. The basic practice of inserting one type of food into the cavity of another is probably as old as cooking itself. Indeed, stuffing’s intuitive ubiquity is even evident in the word “foodstuff.”

Stuffing became known as “dressing” around the 1880s, as a nod to Victorian propriety. That term is probably more appropriate and literal these days, since the food-safety authorities now discourage us from cooking the stuffing in the main course’s body cavity (if you insist, cook the stuffing beforehand then spoon it into the turkey toward the end of the bird’s cooking time). But “stuffing” still sounds like more fun, so let’s keep using it.

One of the most attractive aspects of stuffings is that you can put almost anything in them. The wide-open possibilities start with the bread crumbs, which present several options in terms of texture (fresh or dry) and variety (white, wheat, sourdough, rye, corn). In any case, homemade bread crumbs are easy to make: For fresh or soft crumbs, use day-old bread and crumb it by gently pulling it apart with a fork. For dry crumbs, use stale bread or put fresh bread in a 200-degree oven for a few minutes to dry it out, and then use a few pulses of a food processor to make the crumbs.

After that, you’ve got a near-limitless array of ingredient possibilities, encompassing vegetables, dried fruits, cured meats and sausages, nuts, grains, seafood, and just about anything in your spice rack.

I’m particularly fond of oyster stuffing (see recipe), which became popular in the 1800s, when oysters were plentiful and cheap. It remains a traditional choice in New England and makes a good change of pace for the rest of us – after all, Thanksgiving is a harvest holiday, so why not celebrate the bounty of the sea as well as the land? I like to toss in a bit of chopped sausage, which results in a stuffing similar to the stuffed quahog clams found in Rhode Island.

The biggest question involves which type of oysters to use. You can get fresh, live oysters from your local fishmonger, but this route is advisable only if you’re comfortable shucking the oysters yourself (if you’ve never done this before, the pressure of Thanksgiving preparation is probably not the best environment in which to learn).You can have the fishmonger shuck the oysters for you, but then you’ve got to use them quickly while they’re still fresh, which cuts down on your scheduling flexibility.

So instead, consider getting packaged oysters – I’ve made recipes using both fresh and packaged, and there’s little, if any, difference. You can find jarred oysters at some gourmet shops, and even your supermarket probably carries canned oysters under the familiar Bumble Bee brand. It sounds down-market, I know, but it works fine – trust me.

My favorite stuffing, which I first created for making stuffed pork chops and have since adapted for all-purpose use, centers on dried fruit. You can use almost anything – dried apples, figs, dates, apricots, currants, prunes – but I prefer golden raisins and dried cherries (see recipe), which combine to create a beautiful jewel-tone effect. If you can’t find dried cherries, use those cherry-flavored Craisins, which are actually dried cranberries. They’re just as good, and cheaper to boot.

The only problem with a really good stuffing is that it can easily upstage the main course, especially when the latter is something as nondescript as turkey. So if you’re going to someone’s house for Thanksgiving and have been assigned to bring the stuffing, be sure to heap effusive praise on the host’s handiwork, even if the white meat is dry (it always is) and the skin isn’t particularly crisp. Everyone at the table will know who the meal’s real hero is.

RAISIN AND CHERRY STUFFING

2 cups chicken stock 1 /2 cup golden raisins 1 /2 cup dried cherries or cherry-flavored dried cranberries 1 tablespoon butter 1 /4 cup finely chopped onion 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 /2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 /2 teaspoon dried sage 1 /2 teaspoon salt 1 /4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 /2 cup fresh bread crumbs 1 /2 cup chopped walnuts 1 Bring the stock to a boil in a small saucepan and add the dried fruit. Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain fruit and set aside. Reserve stock and set aside. 2 In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. 3 Stir in the bread crumbs, walnuts, and fruit. Moisten, if necessary, by adding a bit more butter and/or by adding a tablespoon or two of the reserved stock. The stuffing should be moist enough to mound in a spoon, but not sopping wet. Remove from heat and refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up.

OYSTER STUFFING

6 tablespoons butter 1 /2 cup chopped onion 1 /4 cup chopped celery 1 /2 cup chopped and ouille or chorizo sausage 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 2 cups dry bread crumbs 1 cup drained chopped oysters, juices reserved 3 /4 teaspoon salt 1 /4 teaspoon paprika 2 tablespoons capers 1 Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet. When butter has melted, add the onions and saute until browned, about five minutes, adding the celery about halfway through and the sausage during the last minute or so. 2 When onions have browned, add all remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly blended. Moisten, if necessary, by adding a bit more butter and/or by adding a tablespoon or two of the reserved oyster juices. The stuffing should be moist enough to mound in a spoon, but not sopping wet. Remove from heat and refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up.