Thanks everyone. Yes, I used an oven thermometer. It's an old one (the standard metal frame) and I have no reason to think it's off, since setting the oven 25 degrees lower seems to work almost all the time.... and NOT setting it lower tends to burn/brown the food too much (though I haven't tried that for a long while....). In addition, I always put the rack in the middle of the oven (unless the recipe says to do otherwise), then put the thermometer in the middle of the rack on which I'll put the pan, and wait until it registers at (or very close to) the temp I want. And, yes, the breast was cold when it went into the oven -- I made the herb paste in the morning, spread it on, covered with foil, and put it in the fridge. I wanted to go for a bike ride and didn't want to cut that short to come back and prepare the turkey; all I'd need to do is stick it in the oven. No doubt, letting it sit at room temp for about an hour would have made a difference in cooking time. I bought it fresh, not frozen, and kept it in the fridge until cooking time. (I removed the foil except for the last 30 minutes.) So, next time I'll let it sit for about an hour at room temp before cooking, then let it reach 165 degrees before removing it from the oven. This was Ina's recipe and tried and true so I'm going on the assumption I did something differently. It wasn't overly dry.... a little on the dry side. The flavor is great and I would definitely make it again, but not for company until I get this right! I also made the dill potatoes (posted here before), and brussel sprouts blanched then tossed w/ EVOO and drizzled with finely chopped walnuts then roasted in the oven. Hubby (who does most of the cooking since he's retired and I am still working) said "This is really good, Hon." .... then, after dinner, "Good job!" All's well that ends well! :-) Thank you all so much!! What a great forum.

Reporting back as promised. I cooked the turkey on the 24 th, removed the stuffing and took both breasts , legs and thighs off the carcass, chilled and then sliced Christmas morning. I placed the slices and legs in a large casserole dish and transported. About a half hour before dinner I sprinkled with a bit of chicken broth...just to lightly moisten.....and reheated. It was remarkably good. I truly couldn't tell the difference bewteen it and fresh cooked and because I sliced it when it was cold the slices were perfect, no shredding. Would definitely do it again as it made for a very easy Christmas Day. Thanks again everyone and Happy New Year !!!

No. It's a Cajun family tradition around my area. We are having sweet-potato casserole with praline topping, and Cajun dirty rice (rice dressing), gravy which is put on the rice and turkey. Green been casserole and Broccoli salad which a guest is bringing. And desserts, and rolls. Another guest is bringing her special Cranberry sauce.

Colleen, it's not hard. It's messy. With the bulk sausage, you just open the package and dump in the pan. It saves time and effort, and is less wasteful because someone had to encase all those sausages just for me to undo them. With modern packaging it isn't necessary, and the packaging materials are the same whether it's stuffed in casings or a brick of bulk, so no savings there. If I'd been able to cook them in the oven, I might have had the oomph to finish making the lasagna. ;)