All over America people who will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner are watching the grocery ads for frozen turkeys and all those other grocery items we lump together in a category unceremoniously labeled “all the fixin’s.” This would include the 10-pound bag of potatoes, canned pumpkin filling and stuffing mix, by the bag or box.

The last item here is the one that always throws me. I can understand why one would avoid butchering a turkey, digging potatoes or cleaning a pumpkin, but stuffing is so uncomplicated that it really shouldn’t require a middleman.

Broken down into its parts, stuffing is nothing more than dried bread chunks mixed with seasoning and other ingredients. That’s it. Yet for some reason, a lot of people think there’s something tricky about making good stuffing.

My guess is that the stuffing-phobic among us have had their stuffing made from scratch turn out either too wet or too dry and then decided not to risk the traditional side dish ever again. Unfortunately, for people who are seriously concerned about stuffing, there aren’t opportunities to practice, since stuffing is pretty much a once-a-year thing.

If I had come to this culinary impasse, I would probably think Pepperidge Farm was the way to go. I have never knowingly eaten its prepared stuffing mix, but I am very familiar with the Milano cookie, in all its flavors, and can vouch that Pepperidge Farm can do at least one thing right. I would be sure to buy the Milano cookies with the stuffing mix, though. That way, if the stuffing didn’t turn out, you could appease your dinner guests with Milano cookies.

As it happens, I don’t find stuffing terribly mysterious. It’s often boring, however, and that’s because the bread is too often its most prominent feature. When other ingredients, such as chopped celery and onions, are mixed in, the stuffing is still dominated by the bread. If the stuffing is too moist, the bread will make it gooey, and if it’s not moist enough, the bread will dry it out.

To my way of thinking, a ratio of 3:1 :quot; other raw ingredients to bread :quot; is optimal. What you wind up with is something that tastes more like a side casserole than stuffing, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

Oysters and celery found their way into stuffing recipes for the moisture they contribute. Apples serve the same purpose. Nuts give stuffing character. Bacon and sausage take it in yet another direction.

The following stuffing recipe appears in the current issue of Gourmet, although the magazine first published it in 1978. It’s just different enough to be interesting and not so outlandish that it will offend fans of traditional stuffing. If this is truly a concern, you always can fill the turkey with regular stuffing and fix this one on the side.

This recipe, which should be baked in a casserole dish, can be assembled a day ahead and then covered and refrigerated. It should be brought to room temperature before baking.

Apple Shallot Stuffing
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1 loaf whole-wheat or country-style bread (1 1/2 pound), crust discarded and bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes (12 cups)
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 pound shallots, chopped (3 cups)
2 pounds tart apples such as McIntosh, Gala or Cortland
1 cup dried currants
1 cup apple cider
1 1/4 teaspoons dried marjoram, crumbled
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
1 cup walnuts (1/2 pound), toasted and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
2 cups turkey giblet stock or low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Spread bread cubes in two shallow baking pans and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden, 20 to 25 minutes total. Cool bread in pans on racks, then transfer to a large bowl.

Melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are well-browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

While shallots are cooking, peel, core, and coarsely chop apples. Boil currants and cider in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally, until cider is absorbed, 6 to 8 minutes. Add apples to browned shallots along with marjoram, salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice, and cook, stirring occasionally, until apples begin to soften, about 8 minutes.

Transfer apple and currant mixture to bowl with bread crumbs, then add walnuts, zest and stock and toss well.

Transfer stuffing to a buttered 3- to 3 1/2-quart shallow baking dish. Bake, covered, in middle of oven 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until browned, about 30 minutes more.