Turkey 101

A year or two into my marriage, I casually mentioned to my friends that my in-laws were coming from Texas for Thanksgiving. I was 25 and had never cooked a turkey before and the more we discussed what went into a full Thanksgiving meal, the more they started to panic. They insisted that this was a make or break meal to show that I was succeeding as a new wife. Hmmm... Did I have the right serving pieces? What about a tablecloth that fit the dining room table? All good questions. So what did they propose? We hold a Mock-Thanksgiving in October. They would make & bring the key side dishes (and the recipes) and I would try out my first turkey on them. It was brilliant idea. I was able to do a dry run for everything from arranging the centerpiece to polishing the gravy boat (I managed to find it among the wedding gifts in the basement). The meal was a success, which made the real Thanksgiving dinner relaxed and perfect. I learned so much. #1 The perfect turkey can be achieved with Turkey 101 from Martha Stewart, #2 Polishing silver takes longer than I thought and #3 I have the best friends ever.