The turkey hotline appeared in the first (I think) series of the West Wing!

I'm not sure, but I do believe the Turkey Hot Line has been around for  at least 20 years!  I have actually called it :) and the folks answering the phone could not have been nicer!

Oh Will, I am so sorry you disagree with the USFDA!  (I do particularly like that crispy crust the stuffing develops peeking out of the turkey but....)  For a first timer, I'm still recommending the stuffing be made and cooked outside of the bird!  :)

Red cabbage, roast potatoes (of course), roast parsnips. glazed carrots ....

Oh and bread sauce

I did wonder whether bread sauce was a British thing:

As Deliah says "Traditional bread sauce is one of the great, classic British sauces... The real thing is beautifully creamy and the perfect accompaniment to chicken or turkey."

Ingredients

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ tsp ground cloves

2 fresh bay leaves

568ml fresh whole milk

50g butter, plus knob of butter to finish (optional) 

200g day old white bread, crusts removed

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

4 tbsp double cream

Method

1. Place the onion and ground cloves in a small pan. Tear the bay leaves in half and add to the pan with the milk and butter. Season generously with pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer gently for 20 minutes, until the onion has softened. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for 1 hour or chill overnight.
2. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Roughly tear the bread into even-sized pieces, then stir into the milk with a wooden spoon. Add the nutmeg and season. Return to the heat and simmer for a further 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cream and serve warm. A knob of butter on the top will stop a skin from forming.

ENJOY

Horror story? Just this: finding the blade from the grinder in the bowl of stuffing.  Giving thanks that I was the one who got it.

Question about bread stuffing.  How far in advance can you make it to be safe?

News Flash!  Temperature Change!

"The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a change in the "Single Minimum Internal Temperature Established for Cooked Poultry". The new cooking recommendation is as follows:

"A whole turkey (and turkey parts) is safe when cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F as measured with a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook turkey to higher temperatures."

This new cooking temperature is a change from previous 180°F for a whole turkey and 170°F for turkey breast. The single minimum internal temperature change to 165°F was recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) in a press release in 2006."

I bought a frozen turkey breast ~ 7 lb. I'm planing to brine it before roasting. On the brine bag it says brine for 20-24 hours. I checked on a website where they're advising brining for ~ 12 hrs. What should I do?

Hi Gaurav! I'm so thrilled you mentioned brining! I'm bringing my 14 pound turkey, too. I've done this for the last three years and it comes out way juicier than not brining in my opinion.

Definitely leave it in there for 24 full hours. That's what everyone recommends, especially the king of brining--Alton Brown on the Food Network.  I don't recommend less than that! It is not going to hurt your turkey despite what that website you read says. Just make sure that you've got plenty of ice in there, and check the temp often.

Can't wait to hear how your first brining experience goes! You'll definitely have a juicier bird!

I am a first-time thanksgiving chef this year and I AM VERY NERVOUS ABOUT THE TURKEY.  I am cooking 2 Turkey breast in my electric roaster.  I have heard several different things but i want to run it by some other people.  My plan is to just carve the turkey in the kitchen and serve it on a platter.  Everyone always says " cook it breast up,"  but my mom says that she cooks hers breast down in a slow cooker because the breast meat will be more juicy.

Also, does any one have a simple Baked dressing recipe? 

Yes! Seasoning your bird is a different issue than brining. Some people mistakenly believe that because the bird is sitting in salt-water that it takes on a heavily salty taste, and this is completely untrue. The ratio to salt in the water is not terribly high, so it does not impact your bird with a salty taste.

You should season your bird as indicated in Kathy's video after you're done with the brining. I've already popped mine in the brine in a 5 gallon bucket I bought at Home Depot for a few dollars. Of course, you want to make sure your container is new and clean and used only for a foodie purpose such as this. Don't try to use a bucket that was used to store something else or you'll risk contaminating your bird. Gaurav, you mentioned you turkey was 7 pounds, so that might be small enough to fit in a large pot you already have in your kitchen.

They key is to give the bird plenty of room and not try to cram it into whatever container you are using to brine it in.

Good luck with your bird!

Mahalo for these coking tips. I have cooked my turkey imu-style for the last 10 years but we have some company this year that wants a "traditional bird".

Aloha nui from Going2Oahu!!

Hi Melissa! I hope I'm not too late to help you out! I make the following apple and sausage baked stuffing (or dressing, as you refer to it). I buy the pork sausage in the supermarket in a big brick. I personally skip the walnuts, but you don't have to if you like them. You could also check out this apple and raisin stuffing that's right on the Pepperidge Farm website. If you're in a pinch at this stage, just purchase your favorite brand of stuffing mix and buy the ingredients they suggest right on the bag and just follow them exactly.

I always cook my turkiey breast up. For one, I think it squishes the turkey breast and deforms it if it goes face down, plus the breast is the largest part and needs lots of exposure to the heat. But there are plenty of opinion of up or down as you mom has already suggested.

If you're just cooking breasts (and you're not telling us how large or small they are), your biggest concern is going to be dryness, as you don't have the rest of the bird to pull moistness from--the breast always tend to be the dryest part of the bird.

What I do with a full bird, is that I cook it at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes to get the breast browned, and then I lower the temp to 350 and take aluminum foil and make a cover just for the breast (we call it the "breast plate of armor" at my house). Then we wait for the breast to hit 165 degrees on our thermometer.

You could do a variation of the same thing, except you would cover your whole pan with foil to seal in the moisture and prevent dried breasts.

But, you could also listen to your mom if her recipe is full-proof. I've never put a bird in a slow cooker, so I can't attest if that actually works. But, it does sound like it works for her.

Let us know how your bird breasts turn out.

Cool Gaurav! Glad to hear your bird came out great with the brining! Ours was fab too, and the leftovers the next day were still terrifically moist even after reheating.

Well, I'm sure we'll all be chatting about our December holiday meal ideas shortly! I'm already planning a seafood feast.

Looking forward to hearing what others will be doing.

My 1st Thanksgiving went GREAT!!  I ended up cooking the (2) Turkey breast in the electric roaster with the breast down.  It was perfect.  Very Moist!!!   I decided to go with a traditional bread dressing.  I was worried for a minute but it turned out great. 

It was quite a task because I have to be careful when I cook due to the fact that my husband is a severe diabetic so I always plan my meals around his diet, including Thanksgiving.  the only thing he couldn't eat waas the dressing but he really enjoyed everything else.