 Poster: A snowHead
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Never done it, will be my first for 13 years, whoo hoooooooo.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, You've not had Christmas dinner in 13 years? Wow. Do you remember you need a Turkey and sprouts?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Good luck although I can't believe it's that long since you've stuffed an old bird 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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oooo good luck! What are you planning on cooking and for how many people?
Me and my flat mate at uni cooked christmas dinner for 10 people last week, only one thing got us through...testing all the booze 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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DB, HaHa, she's at home in the UK, gonna be the only stuffing I do this Festive season!!!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, wot you cooking? I'm sharing the cooking with my sister. Just made a vat of red cabbage, which is cooking very gently in the oven and am about to make a peperonata. She's doing rib of beef, gratin dauphinois and my bro-in-law is in charge of sprouts. The combination of colours should look festive on the plates. Smoked salmon, sour cream and blini to start, champagne Charlie (sorbet) with langues de chat to finish. And a vacherin, natch. Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve chez nous - comme il faut. [Note to self: remember the effect of vodka followed by red wine.]
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Hurtle, Pretty much the same, but forgot the red cabbage and apples, cheers!!!
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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jwhiteley1, I remember my son ringing from uni and asking how to cook sprouts - they had about 10 to eat in his house and all doing bits of the meal - so I said you don't like sprouts, no mum, no-one does.... but it won't be the same without them. In the event because they had all cooked the meal themselves, it all got eaten.
Good luckSMALLZOOKEEPER,
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SMALLZOOKEEPER,
Don't do what I did and expect the turkey to defrost in a couple of hours. It took three of us to get the frozen giblets out with a set of pilers.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Pamski, hope you told him to let the poison out, very important that 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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did not know Charlie Nicholas was a desert  I know that he thinks he's yummy but not my taste
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DB, It died yesterday, no need to freeze.
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You know it makes sense.
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Sprouts - chop them up and fry them with chopped roasted chestnuts and sliced streaky bacon. Luverly!
Turkey's take up loads of room in the oven so do your roast spuds, stuffing, pigs in blankets all the night before and just heat them up the next day whilst the turkey is resting.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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bucking bronco, Wicked, cheers.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I have been authorised to make the roast potatoes
Have done my research - don't look that difficult, what can go wrong ?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Turkey - I am cooking a turkey this year, first one ever. Never even eaten one before (except on a sandwich from pret a manger!).
I've been told that basting is the key - cover it with foil and baste constantly, then give it 25 mins at the end with no foil to crisp up the skin. And then plenty of resting time.
Sound right?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Gotta feel sorry for the diner.... fava bean accompaniment?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Reckon you'd soon get sick of that. Once or twice ought to do 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Wayne, nothing, that recipe's perfect. Doing them in goose fat makes them taste best of all.
magic_hat, I've never cooked a turkey in my life and don't intend to do so. Good luck!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We are having chicken....a big 12lb free ranger 
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these are my favourite roast potatoes
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/perfect-roast-potatoes.html
but after "roughing them up in the saucepan" I add them to a bowl, sprinkle over a tablespoon or so of flour (sometimes add fresh herbs like rosmary or thyme) and then with rubber gloves on (theyre hot) just toss them around in the bowl to coat in the flour, then carry on following the recipe from the "adding them to the hot fat stage". Hhhhhm. Delicious.
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magic_hat, Basting is not hugely important - every time you open the oven you let the heat out and cooking will take longer - the longer you cook it the drier it will get - with good preparation you can reduce basting to once or twice during cooking. I will here and now state that I believe our family to have good turkey cooking credentials having grown up helping our Kelly Turkeys in their formative years and probably eaten more turkey in various guises than many folk have have had Christmas Dinners!! So here are my tips:
Don't whatever you do overcook it - overcooked turkey is like overcooked fish - a sin to the great cooking god.
There is no need to cook the turkey for hours and hours even on 'slow' or to do what my gran used to and that was to cook it overnight on Christmas eve!!! 
A turkey should be treated like a large chicken - there is no mystique just 'cos its a turkey
Make sure its properly defrosted and take the giblets out - these can be boiled in some water with an onion and used as the stock to make the gravy
You will probably need to cover with foil, but don't seal it in or it will steam and not roast.
They way we usually treat ours is: DON'T prick the skin turkey will cook up dry if given half a chance - pricking will only increase the loss of moisture. I put a good quality sausage meat in the neck end and into the sausage meat fold mustard and onions. Sausage meat is better than stuffing for turkeys due to additional moisture/fat content it provides to keep the bird moist. For safety I don't stuff the main cavity, I just chuck in an onion to aid flavour. I cover the top with bacon - streaky being best for its fat content - the bacon from the top can make a delicious accompaniment. Then cover loosely with foil but pay attention to the legs - you can give these a double layer if the bird is big and you don't want them overdone (BTW don't overdo the legs IMV the dark meat on the bird far surpasses the white) You can roast the bird on its breast side if you wish - you get a cooked bird with a flatter breast if you have the sort of household that takes it to the table, but the advantage is that the fat in the back of the bird will precolate down through the breast and keep it moist. I have done this, but providing you have a good layer of bacon on top and are religious about not overcooking its not strictly necessary, and I tend to cook mine the conventional way up these days.
The guide on your turkey wrapper X mins per pound/kilo and X mins extra at the suggested temps will probably provide sufficient cooking time, Mostly, I guess you will be roasting at around 160C unless the bird is huge when slightly slower will be advantageous and take the foil off for the last 20 mins to get the top brown. The juices will run clear from the thickest meat when a skewer is introduced, or for the best guide dislocate a leg, but remember once you stick something in it or cut into the leg joint you will start to lose the juice. if you don't get juices you've over-cooked it  .
It is a good idea to let it rest for 15-20 mins + to let the joices absorb back into the turkey, I cover mine well and sit it near the warm oven so it doesn't cool too much.
I think a turkey = Christmas, but even so I love the sound of Hurtle's, menu - can I come to dinner please?
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