Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite holiday meal. I love the aroma of a
 turkey roasting.

  Thaw frozen turkey breast up in the refrigerator; allow a day of
 thawing for every four pounds. Leave turkey in its original wrapper and
 set on a paper towel on a plate, in case there's a leak. Thawed turkey
 may be kept two days before roasting.

  Fresh turkey may be bought two or three days before roasting.

  In a hurry? Thaw frozen turkey, in the plastic wrapper, in a sink filled
 with cool water. Allow 30 minutes for each pound of turkey, and
 change the water every half hour. Don't use warm water; it allows
 bacterial growth.

    Stuffing can be made the night before, but don't stuff the turkey until
 just before you roast it.

 Foolproof Cooking

     The  problem with roasting turkey is to keep the breast meat moist without
     overcooking the legs. Preheat your oven to 325degrees. Release the legs from the
     hock lock. The neck and giblets should be removed from the body and neck cavities.
     Rinse the turkey both inside and out with cool water and pat it dry with paper towels.
     Now you are ready to season or stuff your bird. When you're through, put the legs
     back into the hock lock and tuck the tips of the wings under the back of the turkey.

     Place the turkey, breast side up, in a shallow (2" deep) roasting pan. Brush the turkey
     with vegetable oil, melted butter or margarine to prevent drying of skin.  I like to place
     bacon slices across the turkey so you do not have to baste If your turkey is
     not self-basting, you should try to baste it at least once an hour with pan juices and
     vegetable oil, melted butter or margarine.

     A whole turkey is properly cooked if the leg joint moves freely when the drumstick is
     rotated and the juices run clear (without any tinge of pink) when inserting a long-tined
     fork into the deepest part of the leg joint. Remove the foil when approximately 1 1/2
     hours of cooking time remains to allow the turkey to brown.

     Move the turkey to a warmed platter; cover it loosely and let it stand for 15-20 minutes
     before carving. This allows the juices to settle and makes slicing easier.

     Use the following timetable to approximate the roasting time for your fresh or thawed
     whole turkey.

  THANKSGIVING TURKEY STUFFING

  2 pounds unseasoned bulk sausage meat
  1/2 cup unsalted butter
  1 large onion, chopped
  1 large shallot, minced
  3 inner ribs celery, leaves included, diced
  4 cups of corn (optional)
  4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
  2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
  12 or so cups broken-up day-old  bread
  1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
  1 cup (or less) chicken broth
  Salt, freshly ground pepper

 In a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, breaking
 it up, until it loses its pink color, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove sausage with a
 slotted spoon and set it aside on paper towels to drain. Pour off fat
 from skillet but do not clean the pan. Return skillet to heat.

 Turn heat to medium and add butter; melt. Add onion, shallot and
 celery and cook, stirring, 8 to 10 minutes, until soft but not browned.
 Scrape up any of the sausage bits clinging to bottom of the skillet.

 Add corn, sage and thyme; cook 1 minute. Set aside to cool for about
 10 minutes.

 Place bread in large bowl. Add ingredients of the skillet along with
 the parsley. Combine into a rough mixture; do not over-mix. If mixture
 seems very dry, add enough broth to hold it together loosely. Season
 with salt (if needed) and pepper.

 Put into body and neck cavities of a large turkey; do not overstuff. Put
 extra stuffing into a lightly buttered baking dish, cover loosely with foil
 and bake along with turkey the last half hour of roasting.

 Makes 12 to 16 servings.
Enjoy