TravelingProf: Never send Ian to Buy a Turkey!

Hi Friends, yes, it's been awhile. Busy fall here. But Thanksgiving arrived and we decided to cook at home . . . just the two of us. It was delicious--turkey, smashed potatoes and giblet gravy, roasted brussel sprouts, oyster dressing, cranberry relish, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Step One: Buy a turkey

Ian decided he wanted leftovers. Let's face it, for two people, a roasting chicken would have provided plenty of leftovers. But Ian decided he really wanted leftovers, so he purchased the biggest turkey he could find. A 22 lb fresh turkey. He forgot the part about me washing it in the sink, drying it, seasoning it, and in general having to wrangle it from package to oven. Needless to say, I got a workout Thanksgiving morning.

Step 2: Cook that Turkey

You know, I do think I've discovered the best of all possible turkey cooking worlds with this go round. I always put herbs and aromatics inside my birds, whether roasting turkey or chicken. It sort of seals the inside and then everything steams and it creates a deliciously moist bird every time. This time I used a whole head of garlic, an onion, an orange, thyme, salt and pepper. But the real kicker is slathering the outside with butter, lots and lots of butter. And then basting every so often. Do you know what kind of deliciousness that creates . . . crispy skin like candy! You heard it here first.

Even at a low temp like 325 degrees, this giant bird only took 4 and 1/2 hours (with a thermometer in its thigh) until it reached the crispy juicy delicious stage of Thanksgiving turkey nirvana.

Step Three: Make the Fixins

Smashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts are easy enough, and my riff on my mom's cranberry salad was tart and tasty, but I'm still on a quest for the perfect oyster dressing recipe. This year I got closer by starting with the sauteed onions, bell peppers, and celery with sage and thyme, homemade croutons, homemade stock, and a quart of oysters. But next year, I'm going to saute the vegetables in bacon and then add bacon to the dressing. Or maybe chorizo. And maybe another pint of oysters. You heard it here first. Oh, and giblet gravy is now part of my Thanksgiving repertoire. Make giblet stock and the gravy that you get from it is divine.

Step Four: Eat...