My First Thanksgiving Turkey

If you have never cooked turkey before, or even if you have, I thought you'd enjoy what happened with the first turkey I ever "cooked".

The first year my husband and I were married, I decided it would be a great idea to host Thanksgiving for my family and his.  I had never cooked a turkey before, but how hard could it be?

I bought the frozen turkey, left it in the freezer, and about two days before I was going to cook it, I put it in the fridge to thaw.  The day before, I realized it was still frozen solid and called my mom for advice.  She said to put it in the sink in cold water and leave it.  It would be fine.

So, Thanksgiving morning, I got up while it was still dark, started my oven and followed my cookbook recipe for cooking my bird (which I was still pulling chunks of ice out of-- this should have meant something to me, but at the time, I was ignorant).

I put the bird in and went back to sleep.  Over the next several hours I repeatedly basted the turkey and put together the other dishes we were having (the only other thing I can be sure we had was cranberry sauce).  The house smelled great.  Our families arrived (most of them, anyway).  And it was time for the turkey.  We pulled it out of the oven and tested the temperature.  Not done.  So, we put it back in and chatted with the family.  Eventually we realized the turkey was never going to finish.  It had still been frozen when I put it in the  oven.  So, we cut off pieces that were done (my brother assured us this was fine) and ate.  I put the turkey back in, to finish.  It never did.

After that, I only bought fresh turkeys (for a few years) and never had that problem again.  I've since returned to the frozen turkey (always making sure to take it out in time to thaw) and have never had a problem.

So, what's your turkey story?  Share below.