Roasting the holiday bird

People tend to stress out about being responsible for roasting the turkey for the Thanksgiving feast. Honestly, it's not hard to do, but there are steps to follow, and it helps if you have an electric roaster.

Take the plastic wrapper off the turkey. Reach inside the body cavity and neck cavity and pull out the giblets (heart, liver, neck, etc.). Rinse the bird inside and out with cold water. Put the turkey on the rack in the roaster.

Slice an onion in half, and then slice the halves in strips. Put the strips inside the body cavity, and throw in a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic while you're at it. If you have an apple handy, slice it in half and put that with the onion and garlic (as the turkey cooks, the flavors will be absorbed by the meat).

Now, melt a stick of butter and drizzle it over the top of the turkey. Sprinkle some rubbed or ground Sage (a tablespoon) over the butter. Pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of the roasting pan.

Line the roaster lid with aluminum foil, put the lid on the roaster, and turn it on.

A good rule of thumb is 20 minutes cooking time at 325 degrees Fahrenheit per pound of bird.

Of course, you don't have to make a turkey. My folks are doing Lasagna, some people do ham - heck, some order in pizza or make reservations. Don't stress. Holidays aren't about food, they're about family!