WHEW! JUST IN TIME FOR TURKEY DAY

The following comes from Lizzy who is demonstrably NOT Martha!

* BEST POTATOES FOR MASHING

Russet

Mashed potatoes made from russets have an earthy
potato flavor coupled with a mild sweetness, and
are creamy and fluffy texture

Yukon Gold

Yukon Gold potatoes have a buttery yellow color and a
mildly sweet and buttery flavor to match, but they are
very light on potato flavor. They mashed into thick and
creamy–but neither dense nor heavy–mashed potatoes.

But wait! There’s more! Click below to see it all……………

CRANBERRY TIPS

Before cooking cranberries, it is important to sort through them carefully.
Leave in any whole white berries–they need not be red to be ripe.
Manufacturers determine the ripeness of cranberries by the
height they achieve when they bounce. Discard any cranberries
that are bruised, bloated, or soft.

DEFROSTING A FROZEN TURKEY

It’s best to defrost a whole turkey in the refrigerator,
figuring 1 day of defrosting for every 4 pounds of turkey.
If you find yourself with a still-frozen turkey on Wednesday
morning, here is a shortcut: Place the turkey, still in its
original wrapper, in a bucket of cold water for 30 minutes
per pound. Make sure to change the water every half hour to
guard against bacterial growth.

STUFFING SAFETY

The Right Temperature

To kill any harmful bacteria, stuffing must be cooked to an
internal temperature of 165 degrees. The problem, we’ve found,
is that by the time the stuffing reaches a safe temperature,
the bird is overcooked. The solution is to preheat the stuffing
in the microwave before putting it in the bird.

Just before stuffing the turkey, heat about 6 cups of stuffing
in a microwave-safe bowl at full power for 6 to 8 minutes, until
it reaches 120 to 130 degrees. Although you can spoon the hot
stuffing directly into the bird, we like to preheat it inside
a homemade cheesecloth bag (see below) that can be easily (and
safely) slipped into the turkey. When the bird is done, just
remove the bag and transfer the stuffing to a serving bowl.

Homemade Stuffing Bag

Follow these instructions to make a bag for stuffing:

1. Cut a double thickness of cheesecloth approximately 15 by
24 inches. Mound about 6 cups of stuffing into a rough 8 by
11-inch log on top of the cheesecloth. Fold the long sides of
the cheesecloth in, overlapping them by about 1 1/2 inches in
the center of the stuffing mound. Knot one end of the cheese-
cloth and trim with scissors.

2. Holding the bag by the untied end of the cheesecloth, lift
and shake gently to compact the stuffing. Knot the end and
trim excess cheesecloth with scissors. The bag should measure
about 6 by 9 inches.