You know that whole Christmas in July thing? Well...

Ahhhh … the wonderful smell of turkey roasting in the oven. Not exactly the smell you think you will be experiencing in June, but my goal list knows no timing.

I had decided long ago that I wanted to learn how to cook a Thanksgiving turkey from beginning to end, stuffing and all. I must take a moment here to thank one of my dear friends and mentors, Raeanne, for being willing to help me with this one. She is a sweetheart and taught me all the tricks of the trade.

She came over early on a Thursday morning with a big pot, some herbs and spices, and we set to work. I had toasted some bread in the oven the night before, so we made stuffing the authentic way, and it turned out great! It had celery, onions, and the spices were parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme … which Raeanne informed me were the exact same spices discussed in a Simon and Garfunkel song. You know, that one about going to Scarborough Fair? You know the one that sounds Gaelic...? Anyway…

We took the nasty giblets out. Ugh. The scariest part was the washing of the turkey … but I got through it okay. *smile*

After the ceremonial stuffing of the turkey, we placed the bird in the oven for cooking. He stayed in there for about three hours or so. Fred the friendly turkey (as we named him) came out the oven looking very handsome. And he was as tasty as he looks here:

There were fringe benefits from this cooking adventure. I learned how to “brown” butter to put on top of the turkey. So, next on the list I will be trying spaghetti with browned butter and mizithra cheese in the style of the similar, popular dish at Spaghetti Factory.

I am thinking about making this another one of my traditions. Thanksgiving in June, sort of like Christmas in July. What do you think?