The Shadow Lady and I, if all goes according to plan, are hosting Thanksgiving for our extended family in our home.  My mom is going to be there, as will The Shadow Lady's Mom and Sister... all cooks.  Since I'm the one cooking, I wanted to go through a dry run in order to make sure I understood the dynamics of a gas oven.  No need to invite a disaster when I don't have to!

So, we invited a couple of good friends over, hearty souls who didn't mind the "Test Turkey" subject line in the email invite, and had a good time!

I got some interesting comments shopping for all the ingredients, that's for sure!  The teller didn't know if I was kidding or not when I told her I like to be early... :)

So, in the afternoon, I took a break, and got the bird ready in the way I normally do (except I added apples to go with the onion, and cut down on the garlic, hoping for more moisture), then popped him in the oven.

After work, I prepared the other dishes... Mashed Potatoes, Candied Yams, mixed veggies, cranberry sauce, and corn bread.

I messed the corn bread all up... it was awful (and one of the couples was from the South, the whole reason I decided to try it) but one of the folks we invited brought bread from a new store that opened where they live, so I warmed it up in the pot I was going to serve the cornbread in, and it worked out great... it was awesome bread.

Unfortunately, I didn't really take pictures.  I don't know why.  I took one of the bird before I put him in the oven... but I guess I was too busy when I was taking him out, because except for the three pictures the Shadow Lady took, I don't have any others from the evening.

The turkey came out pretty good!  Very moist and tender, so I guess I have it down, still.  I'll likely pass on the corn bread, and see if I can't come up with a similar bread option, because it was SO good.  We have a bakery here in North Bend, so I'll check there.

The other stuff came out very well, also... so I guess, for the most part, I'm ready for the big day.  I feel better, that's for sure!

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