<p>OK…freezing is the way to go.
NE Mom…thanks for the turkey tips. What temp do you use? I actually made fine turkeys for years…then two dry ones in a row…due to a convection oven. I thought it would make it more moist and crispy on the outside! Oh well…the convection does work well for certain items like pork roasts or baked potatoes.
I did try brining once. Didn’t think it was worth the trouble and hated how salty the drippings were (even though I make gravy in advance, I like to use the drippings on later days for leftovers).
Wow…that soup sounds wonderful. Thanks WIP. But I don’t have a hand held blender. Can I just use a regular blender?
BTW, I’m impressed that you are a vegetarian and serve turkey slices…most of the vegetarians I know would NOT do that. I have one buddy whose not speaking to me right now cause we argued about the morality of eating meet. I have now learned to stay away from those discussions…kind of like political topics.</p>
<p>TR - sure you can use a regular blender. Do it in batches and make sure you don’t fill the blender too much or the lid will pop off and you will have soup on the walls. I know this from personal experience.</p>
<p>I am NOT an evangelistic vegetarian. First of all, I do still eat fish on occasion, but more importantly, I think it is incredibly rude to push my eating habits on someone else. We try to be as unobtrusive as possible with our choice. The only time we are uncomfortable is when we are invited to an event like a wedding, where we have one of two meat choices on the rsvp card. We are happy to just not eat the meat, but we hate to waste someone’s money or to have someone notice we are not eating the meat. </p>
<p>Actually, with family and friends, we just joke about not being “normal.” To us it is really no big deal. On the other hand, we DO avoid the political topics!!!</p>
<p>This is somewhat off-topic, but since we are talking about Thanksgiving, let me post this. I’ve already pre-tested some of the recipes that our local paper published last week. The roasted roots with apples dish got rave reviews from my guests. Mushroom and walnut polenta was a hit as well (I used chanterelles).</p>
<p>[Food</a> & wine | Chefs offer holiday recipes and preparation tips | Seattle Times Newspaper](<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2010244593_holidayintro11.html?cmpid=2628]Food”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2010244593_holidayintro11.html?cmpid=2628)</p>
<p>(Look for the links to the recipes on the right side of the screen).</p>
<p>toneranger, I just set the temp to the suggested temp on the turkey’s wrapper. I think they say 325 degrees, but I have cooked it at 350 degrees with success too. The key is to make sure that you take the internal temp of bird to make sure that it is fully cooked! I have thermometer for that. I do not rely on those pop up plastic gizmos that it often comes with.</p>
<p>Bunsen - I have just discovered celeriac! I love it. I am also a big fan of roasted veggies and that recipe looks wonderful. I can’t wait to try it. thanks.</p>
<p>We followed this recipe for a braised turkey last year, and I’m never going back. You can skip the sausage and pancetta if you want.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/dining/12mini.html?_r=1&ref=dining[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/dining/12mini.html?_r=1&ref=dining</a></p>
<p>Yeah, yeah, it’s festive to bring out the big bird in one piece, but I’ll take taste over looks every time.</p>
<p>thanks Bunsen…my brother is a vegetarian so the polenta dish will be appreciated. And it’s easy…plus I love exotic mushrooms.
NEMOM…OK…my turkey is coming from a local farm this year so no wrapper! I cooked turkeys for years and got to very good until I got that darn convection oven. I just need to go back to my old ways…unfortunately I have a recipie for pretty much everything but turkey since I thought I had it burned in my head…LOL…watch out for that as you get older.
wip…OK…the blender it is. Thanks again for the recipe!</p>
<p>I forgot about this easy Martha Stewart receipe until DD asked when I was going to make the first batch–she loves these cranberry bars. I have been known to be willing to consider them breakfast–they have oatmeal in them! If you don’t have an 11x17 pan, cut the reciepe in half and use a 9x13 or so. I’ll type up the “in advance” directions at the end…</p>
<p>Cranberry Bar Cookies
2 1/4 C flour
1 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1 1/4 t ground cinnamon
4 C quick cooking oats (Quaker Oatmeal)
1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 1/2 C melted butter (3 sticks, calls for unsalted–if you use salted don’t add more salt)
Cranberry filling
6 C cranberries
1 C sugar
1 C golden raisins (I leave them out, no one likes them)
1/4 water</p>
<p>Rinse cranberries, pick out any bad ones, then put everything in a saucepan sprayed with Pam or olive oil. Heat over medium heat, bring to simmer and cook until cranberries burst and released liquid becomes thickened…about 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in raisins if using. Transfer to large bowl and cool.<br>
Preheat oven to 375. Line an 11x 17 pan with parchment. Mix all the dry ingredients, then cut butter in with your fingers. Mixture will be crumbly, but should hold together.
Press about 5 cups into bottom of the pan, spread filling on top (use the back of a spoon). Sprinkle remaining oat misture on top, bake until golden brown (about 40 to 45 minutes). Transfer to wire rack, cook, cut into squares. </p>
<p>To do in advance: make the cranberry filling up to 3 days or so ahead. Mix all the dry ingredients up to a week or so in advance, store in ziplock bag. The day before serving, make the bars.</p>
<p>Ooh that sounds yummy. I love cranberries. I will definitely give this one a try.</p>
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<p>And fruit as well! I have been known to consider any baked good containing eggs as a suitable breakfast. Have you ever heard the old Bill Cosby routine “Dad’s great! Chocolate cake!” in which he declares that cake is a suitable breakfast when Mom’s away.</p>
<p>Brine the turkey - it is amazing! So good.</p>
<p>Turkey roasters - terrific, cheap and well worth it.</p>
<p>Christmas idea - I started this years ago and it’s perfect. We have a small family dinner - I put two cornish hens in a bag (wash, add seasoning and garlic)… .make stuffing, you can use stovetop (stuff and add to bag) add vegetables like carrots and celery. Bake. I use canned gravy and add some juice, etc. The clean up is almost non existent … as you can get everything cleaned up before dinner. You can also do these on the grill.</p>
<p>I’ve got two loaves of pumpkin-banana bread in the oven for Thanksgiving morning and will make my gravy this Saturday and set the table on Sunday. I saw a Food Network show today in which the host removed the turkey legs and wings before roasting in order to cut the cooking time in half. Does anyone here do that?</p>
<p>I haven’t tried that - but I always cook my turkey breast side down, my mom did it that way and we think it makes the white meat moister.</p>
<p>worrywart-You must not have pets, otherwise you wouldn’t be setting the table four days in advance! Why we are use to a bit of dog and cat hair on our plates, I don’t think the guest would be too happy! One of the cats makes a habit of jumping of the Thanksgiving table the day of while I am setting it, so he has to be locked in a bedroom the day of.</p>
<p>Nope, no pets, just dust.</p>
<p>So what is a good canned turkey gravy? I fail at gravy.</p>
<p>And what is a good turkey roaster that is also cheap? like the idea of freeing up my oven space. Do you do anything special or just cook it like tou would in the oven?</p>
<p>Buy some at Whole Foods deli or the like. Trader Joe’s has can gravy if you must.</p>
<p>Turkeys don’t make great gravy - not enough fat. If you want good gravy, cook a hen along with the turkey - or the day before. Cook the giblets to make broth and use the hen drippings. My mom then makes chicken salad with the meat.</p>
<p>We don’t have a Trader Joes 
.There is a Whole foods in the nearest big city (@ 100 miles away). I’ve been thinking I need a road trip to buy some English goodies at the Brit food store so maybe…</p>
<p>My mother is an excellent cook and did a bit of research on premade gravy. It seems the Knorr’s Roasted Turkey gravy packet (dry) is the best. She has not made it yet, and I don’t know how it will turn out, but we are trying it this year. I know she will add her turkey dripping to it. We have use store bought gravy in the past as we only have few people that even eat the gravy. It is a pain to make for a small amount, so we have tried one store’s gravy after another each year. None have been great, but they do; maybe the Knorr’s will be a hit this year.</p>