How old were you when you cooked your first turkey? I find that most women don’t cook one until after they have been married. If they are away from other family, they might do this early in their marriage. However, if family lives close by, it can often be many years before a wife tackles this milestone in her life.
This year, my husband was asked by his brother to come to Tallahassee and sit with their mother who has dementia while he took his family to New York for Thanksgiving. Since we wanted to stay together as a family unit, the last two children and I packed up our mini-motorhome and headed south.
It dawned on me a couple of days before Thanksgiving that things were going to be quite different from the big family gatherings we were used to. This caused me to think about trying some new things. During my thinking time, I came up with the idea of our 13-year-old daughter attempting to cook her first turkey. I mean, why not? It was a pretty safe environment to attempt such a feat. There was only going to be the four of us, along with a lady who didn’t have a clue about what was going on.
We shopped for a small fresh turkey and ended up with one about 10 pounds. During our shopping trip, I explained to Grace that I wanted her to be in charge of cooking the turkey. After the initial shock, she seemed rather pleased with the idea.
The night before, I instructed her to read the cooking instructions included with the turkey. I also told her to read her sister’s secrets for a moist turkey. After processing the information, she announced that she could handle the task.
The next day, around noon, she took the turkey out of the refrigerator, rinsed it, took the innards out, and patted it dry. Carefully, she inserted a thermometer into the thigh, placed small slabs of butter under the skin, rubbed the skin with olive oil, and had fun sprinkling several different spices on the skin. Then into a 325 degree oven he went.
Although the instructions that came with the turkey suggested it cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, Grace found that 165 degrees on the meat thermometer appeared quicker than that. It only took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach perfection. Even though she was cooking in an unfamiliar oven, it was good to have used a thermometer.
Then came time to bring Mr. Turkey out of the oven. It was definitely a proud moment for our young cook.
And, if I do say so myself, it was a scrumptuous turkey–moist, tasty, and not undercooked.
By cracky–I do believe I’ve worked myself out of another job! 
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