Yield: 8 to 12 servings.

Butter for the dish
4 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread, day-old and slightly stale
4 cups cubed country-style white bread, day-old and slightly stale
1½ pounds hot pork breakfast sausage
1½ pounds small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into ¾-inch pieces
2 medium onions, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
3 celery stalks, chopped
¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 large eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 orange (about 2 lightly packed tablespoons)
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup pecan pieces
1½ to 2 cups richly flavored turkey or chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350°. Generously butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or mist it with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix cornbread and bread.

Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink, about 8 minutes, crumbling the meat with a spoon. Transfer with a slotted spoon into the bowl with the bread and toss, leaving the drippings in the pan.

Stir sweet potatoes into the drippings and cook until almost tender, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in onions, bell pepper, and celery. Cook until vegetables are tender, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often.

Remove from the heat and stir in parsley, sage, and thyme. Stir into cornbread mixture.

In a medium bowl, whisk together theeggs, orange zest, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir into cornbread mixture.

Stir in pecans.

Stir in enough broth to make the dressing very moist, but not so much that there is standing liquid in the bottom of the bowl. Pour into prepared baking dish.

Bake until set and lightly browned on top, about 45 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving warm.