Ok, so every thanks giving we are destined to have to watch the morning show bring on some local chef celeb who will explain how to roast a turkey and make gravy. People will swear up and down claiming the secret is some sort of crazy thing like putting it in a paper bag, roasting it upside down, deep frying it first.....well in reality they all work but the biggest trick of all is simply a hot oven, covered in the beginning then cover off to finish and brown. Button pops and ready to go. Some insist stuffing must be cooked separately then put inside the turkey at the very end. This is certainly a great idea in order to maintain even cooking of the bird and to avoid salmonella in the stuffing but every turkey I've ever had was stuffed at the start, cooked through, and it tasted good and no one got sick. I won't get too much into the gravy but lets just say you need to keep the pan dry at all times without burning. This means if and when you notice it burning add water otherwise let it get nice and brown and suck out any liquid.

My tip this year is for garlic lovers. Shove butter and garlic (fresh only please and by fresh I mean heads of garlic not jarred chopped garlic)....take several whole peeled cloves and shove it under the skin with the butter, fresh rosemary, thyme, Italian parsley (by this I mean flat leaf not the stuff you see as garnish at cheap diners-nothin against the diner). When done this way the garlic will infiltrate every aspect of the breast so this is definitely not for the garlic hater. De-glaze the pan with some good tomato sauce and red wine then finish with flour and stock or roux and stock. Enjoy-I would post a pic but I'm lucky enough to not be cooking a bird this year. Score one for me.