Sharn... if you roasted a chicken... you can do a turkey.. same thing... I like to get myself... a tad bit "friendly" with the bird... and rub er down with butter... NOT margarine... BUTTER!!! so while it cooks it goes crispy brown on top... I do cover the bird as it is cooking and just uncover it about a half hour 45 minutes before it is done... I also bast the bird every half hour or so... so it does not dry out... if you buy frozen I usually take it out the day before or two nights before and let it defrost in a cooler full of ice and water... not to much ice... but you don't want that water to get warm... I also get a tea towel and wet it... to cover the top part of the bird... I do change the water as well... at least once or twice a day..after all that I bleach out the sink or cooler and my counters... when the bird is in the oven... if you buy fresh just keep it in the fridge in a bowl or something till you need to take it out...

I actually put my stuffing in the bird and yes STUFF it... I hear you are not suppose to now.. but I still do and if I have any left over I put in a loaf pan (bread pan) and turn it into a loaf (pack it like a meat loaf) then slice like banana bread.. once it is cooked... it is yummy...

The very first time I 'cooked' at my house it was the best stuffing I made... LOL... first time a charm???

Honey... I to usually added a box or two (depending on how many I feed) of stove top plus the seasonings to my stuffing... and alway keep a box or two on hand just incase the stuffing sucks!!! LOL...

I don't put fruit or nut either in my stuffing... I wouldn't know were to do it... funny how things get passed down from usually mom to daughter... in the kitchen... hey... nobody dared to change up the stuffing from my grandma who probably learned from her mom.... it is just the way it is... I don't dare change it up... my mom would tell me so!!! LOL and I would never hear the end of it... "it's not how...." and well I like it just the way it is... but cranberries do sound good!!!!

Oh and for butternut squash soup... if you put a teaspoon/tablespoon of sour cream once you scoop it into the bowls on top... YUMMY!!! low fat works just as good!!!

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~Is a downtown girl cuz I like waking up with my hair messed up!!!

I've tried making butternut squash soup before thanks to Canadian Living magazine.. my favorite cookbook!  I can't remember everything I put into it, I just remember how HARD it is to peel the squash.  I think you may be able to cook the squash first before making it.  I've seen bags of frozen peeled, cut and cubed squash in the grocery store. 

The first thing to go is always the stuffing.  I just never seem to make enough, and how am I supposed to enjoy the leftovers without stuffing! LOL

Thanksgiving is really about the abundance of harvest and to enjoy a feast of your fruits of labor.  Without a garden, I harvest the local grocery.

 

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We belong to the sea
To the waves you and me
Living in the ocean so blue
Aqua

Sharn - found this on www.foodnetwork.com.  Don't know if you guys have it north of the border, but it's about the best instructions I could find!  I like the teamwork idea at the end - I can't tell you how many Thanksgivings I was too tired to really enjoy the meal, after being up at 5 and cooking all day.  I don't do that anymore - Mom and I split the work with my son and daughter, so it's a real family event.

CHeers,

Kati

Q: What's the best way you've found to roast a turkey?

A: Making turkey is an act of God. We've tried many different ways of roasting the bird but we found the less you do to it, the better it is. We basically oil it up after stuffing it, sprinkle some salt and pepper on top, cover the breast area with foil, and shut the oven. Don't open the oven again until you think it's done and then let the breast brown at the last minute.

To check if it's done, follow timing charts, which recommend 20 minutes for every pound of a frozen turkey or 10-15 minutes for a fresh one. Also move the leg up and down. The looser it is becomes, the closer it is to being done. Look at the oils that were released during the cooking at the bottom of the pan. If there's a lot, the turkey is probably done. We also like the pop-up timers to let us know whether the turkey has reached the correct temperature (an internal temperature of at least 155 degrees Fahrenheit). There are other delicious ways of preparing turkey such as spreading butter and sage leaves under the skin, stuffing it with apples and onions to steam the breast, or brining, but we like the plain old-fashioned way.

Make your turkey with a team of people. It's much more fun and you can have people take over when you're ready to collapse. It's a lot of work if you're not used to the kitchen and it's a big job to prepare a meal to feed the entire family.

- Food Network Kitchens

A: Making turkey is an act of God. We've tried many different ways of roasting the bird but we found the less you do to it, the better it is. We basically oil it up after stuffing it, sprinkle some salt and pepper on top, cover the breast area with foil, and shut the oven. Don't open the oven again until you think it's done and then let the breast brown at the last minute.

To check if it's done, follow timing charts, which recommend 20 minutes for every pound of a frozen turkey or 10-15 minutes for a fresh one. Also move the leg up and down. The looser it is becomes, the closer it is to being done. Look at the oils that were released during the cooking at the bottom of the pan. If there's a lot, the turkey is probably done. We also like the pop-up timers to let us know whether the turkey has reached the correct temperature (an internal temperature of at least 155 degrees Fahrenheit). There are other delicious ways of preparing turkey such as spreading butter and sage leaves under the skin, stuffing it with apples and onions to steam the breast, or brining, but we like the plain old-fashioned way.

Make your turkey with a team of people. It's much more fun and you can have people take over when you're ready to collapse. It's a lot of work if you're not used to the kitchen and it's a big job to prepare a meal to feed the entire family.

- Food Network Kitchens

 

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"Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength." - John Wesley

"If you wanna touch the sky, better learn how to kneel" - U2

I've tried 5 times to edit the above post, because my computer pasted twice, but it won't work!  My apologies, folks.

 

CHeers!

Kati

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"Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength." - John Wesley

"If you wanna touch the sky, better learn how to kneel" - U2

The best turkeys I've eaten have been "brined" before roasting, but I've never done it myself so I can't tell you how!

Love, Columbine 

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Funny turkey story:  The back story is this-my brother's fought their whole lives, and ended up living 4 houses down from each other-#1Brother met his second wife when he was building #2Brother's deck-she lived 4 houses down and her son played with my niece alot. 

So #2 Brother is hosting Thankgiving, and the deal in our family is everybody looks after one part of the meal, and s/he who hosts doesn't roast.  So #1Brother was in charge of the turkey.  He had dropped a wad that summer on one of those huge fancy schmancy Weber barbeques that cost almost as much as my CAR, and he was reluctant to let it GO for the season, so he decided to barbeque the turkey.  On the fancy schmancy rotiserie dealio.  SO he put the turkey on, and left if for most of the day.  We're up at #2 Brother's house, on his deck (which #1 built) because it was mild that day, when #1 sister in law II says, "Um, honey?  There seems to be alot of smoke coming from the barbeque!"  He says "Ya, ya, it's fine, it's just the fat catching fire when it drops onto the heating element.  It'll give the bird flavour."  So after about 25 minutes, the smoke is REALLY billowing up, and then we could SEE a flame over the top of the fence.  He FLEW up the street, and the bird was FULLY engulfed in flames.  TOTALLY on fire.  Thankfully it never spread to the house, and didn't even ruin the barbeque, but it sure ruined THE BIRD!!  We had ham that year, and laughed our a**es off about it!!  To this day we still rib the poor guy about liking his turkey WELL DONE!!

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In the social order, I accept the bottom rung, until the wine is pouring and the Lord commands a song!

CanadianLisa:

I actually put my stuffing in the bird and yes STUFF it... I hear you are not suppose to now.. but I still do and if I have any left over I put in a loaf pan (bread pan) and turn it into a loaf (pack it like a meat loaf) then slice like banana bread.. once it is cooked... it is yummy...

Amen sister!  Thanksgiving is my holiday to host and I do stuff the bird as well...  both the main and the neck cavities.  One of my favorite holiday smells is from sauteing the celery and onion for the stuffing.  Mine is pretty basic...  cubed stuffing croutons, the onion and celery, stock from boiling the neck and other "gizzards" and then sage...  LOTS of sage.

Another idea for the stuffing that won't fit in the bird is to put it in greased muffin tins.  That was a BIG hit with the kids!

K.

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live simply - love generously - care deeply - speak kindly - leave the rest to God

Me too.. I LOVE the smell of stuffing... the onions, celery.. frying up in the pan... mmmm the best smell ever... well food cooking is always the best smell ever!!! LOL... muffin tins... I think I may try that... mmm my kids would love it...

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~Is a downtown girl cuz I like waking up with my hair messed up!!!

Because my father-in-law has celiac disease, the turkey can't be actually stuffed-even a trace of wheat gluten can set him off.  My mother-in-law makes the stuffing, therefore, in a smallish crock pot.  (not the tiny ones for hot dips, one that's big enough for a small chicken, but not much more) It works really well!  She makes up a stuffing using rice bread that she bakes in the oven in a loaf pan. 

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In the social order, I accept the bottom rung, until the wine is pouring and the Lord commands a song!

Gosh you all are making me hungary!!  Sharn, I laughed out loud at your story of your two brothers and the burnt bird!

Thanksgiving was always at my house because it's one of my favorite "official" holidays (I still say Halloween should be a national holiday!).  Anyway, I love love love all the traditional thanksgiving food, along with the meaning of the holiday itself.  This year, it won't be at my home, cause well, right now I don't really have a home, BUT it will include my favorite and absolutely best, most fabulous pumpkin pie!!!  Jeez, just writing this I can taste it!  I'm making about 4 or 5 pies this year and will give some out to friends.  I normally really suck at baking (this is not false modesty - it's the pure truth), but the one and only thing I can bake really well is pumpking pie.

Oh, and I adore stuffing!  And gravy on the mashed taters, and roasted squash, and.........I'm really getting hungary now and it's 10pm!  Thanks alot!

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"The human heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed" -C. Bronte

This year Thanksgiving in my house will be a quiet affair.  It's just my son and I out here, and I haven't gotten an affirmative from the one person I did invite.  I'm still undecided about getting a turkey or not because a turkey is just too big for two people, and I don't have enough room left in my freezer to hold the leftovers. :(

Anybody have any ideas about how to do a Thanksgiving idea for two people?  I'm used to cooking for an army on a holiday like this so I've got little or no clue about how to pare it down...*thinks about just getting two turkey TV dinners*

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Don't feed the idiots or they'll continue being idiots...

How about a chicken?  Or a ham?  Lots of people have ham.

Love, Columbine 

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I was just going to mention a chicken too... you can still stuff it and it would be perfect for two... and you can still have all the fixins... just in smaller portions... =D

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~Is a downtown girl cuz I like waking up with my hair messed up!!!

You can usually get PARTS of a Turkey at the supermarket-like a breast and a drumstick if you like both light and dark meat, or if you have an MnM's meat shop near you, they have a stuffed turkey breast that you roast just like a turkey but is much smaller.  Or you could just do a Chicken with all the trimmin's. 

ETA: HA, we all posted at the same time!

ETA: Or how bout going out for Dinner Bonnie?  Betcha most restaurants will have a turkey dinner special that day.

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In the social order, I accept the bottom rung, until the wine is pouring and the Lord commands a song!

Hmmm...turkey dinner without having to clean up after?  I think I'll be checking out which restaurants nearby will have that as a dinner special :)  Unless, of course, my son begs me to cook...lol

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Don't feed the idiots or they'll continue being idiots...