Recipe(tried): Hi Lisa.....

Hi Lisa,

My Mom has been preparing turkey this way since I was born (50 years ago) and it is to die for!!

First, let me answer your 2 questions...

How do I keep it warm til 2PM?

The turkey stays in the oven, after it has cooked through. It should be done by 10 or so. Then I keep it in the oven at a low temperature, say, 200 degrees F, while I prepare the potatoes for Mashed Potatoes, and I set the table... It stays in there until 1:15 PM or so (by now the legs are falling off and it is soooooo tender). At about 1:15 I take it out and put it on top of the stove..and then I put in my casseroles to cook for 45 minutes. I keep my turkey covered with foil. About 20 minutes before the casseroles are done, I begin the process of making the gravy and cutting the meat to platter it. I must admit, it is a flurry of activities in my kitchen, but that's the fun of it all!

How does the turkey stay moist?

The secret is to tent it from the very beginning my Mama says. That keeps the juices inside the turkey and keeps it from drying out. In the morning, when I awake, that is when I take the foil off and start glazing it it. It only takes a few bastings and lo and behold, it turns a beautiful mahogany color! After it has browned and glazed to my liking, I keep the foil on. I start to ladle off all the delicious pan drippings (there's a lot of that) into a large saucepot for gravy making later on.

Even after it is all said and done, after dinner when I go and de-bone the turkey carcass and divide the white and dark into tupperware containers...what is left under the turkey is incredible. All those pan juices you didn't get out are in there, and all the little bits of meat are left behind and of course, the yummy bed of slivers of carrots and celery that the turkey laid in...all that is left behind. So, I scoop all of that into a separate plastic container to make soup out of. All you need later on is to add some water, perhaps some gravy master, taste for adjusting the seasonings, add noodles and viola! Turkey Soup or even better, the stuff without the water can be used as the base for Turkey Pot Pie.

Please let me know if I can be of any other help to you!

Happy Holidays, Lisa! Gina