Glenda, I don't think moderate light hurts. I think direct sunlight on the pumpkins would be the problem, but not indirect light. It does sound like your cellar might be too damp for pumpkins. Bring them in before temperatures dip below 50 degrees for best quality, and definitely before freezing temperatures arrive. Exposure to freezing temperatures causes fresh pumpkins to break down more quickly after they're picked and put into long-term storage. In fact, all exposure to temperatures below 50 degrees causes cumulative damage...so the more exposure in terms of number of hours the more damage. If you want to do something "different", I have 2 recipes for pumpkin pickles, but haven't made them myself so can't vouch for their flavor. Don't forget you can make pumpkin butter and other yummy goodies and freeze them....if freezer space becomes available. I consulted my "Putting Food By" book by Janet Greene, et al, and it says this about 'root cellaring' pumpkins: Harvest before frost, leaving several inches of stem. Condition at 80 degrees for a couple of weeks to harden the rind and heal surface injuries. Then store them in fairly dry air around 55 degrees. Watch the temperatures very carefully. If pumpkins in storage get much above 55 degrees, the flesh turns stringy. If exposed to temperatures much below 50 degrees, they suffer cold injuries. Place in rows on shelves (sometimes I put them on top of boards or cardboard or layers of newspaper on the floor) and not in a pile. Glenda, I usually wipe off my pumpkins before I put them into long-term storage with a soapy water solution which is about 10% bleach. This can kill any mold or fungal spores on the surface of the pumpkins and help retard spoilage in storage. Some people also coat the entire pumpkin rind in oil by rubbing vegetable oil all over it with a paper towel. This too is said to retard spoilage, but I've never tried it. HOW TO FREEZE PUMPKIN: I know your three freezers are full, but here's how to freeze it, should space become available. Cook the pumpkin to soften it. You can steam it, bake it, microwave it, cook it in a pressure cooker or boil it. Then, scrape the pumpkin meat from the rind and press it through a sieve. Pack into freezer boxes or zip-lock bags and leave 1/2" of headspace. Freeze. You can dehydrate them too, but I don't know if you have a dehydrator, so I won't describe the process. If you do have a dehydrator and want to know how to dry the pumpkins, let me know and I'll add it in another post. Hope this helps. Dawn

Cool idea about countertopping the table! Especially if you do it in one of the metals you'll get a nice old/new contrast. (Can't help thinking artistically about your period kitchen--I mentioned the repros because they look cool, not for any thought they'd substitute for a couple dogs turning the spit :) ) While you're doing up your table, you could also make a simple box riser clad in the same stuff to hold your burners. That would give you "shelf" space underneath to stash a couple of tools, plates or the pepper pot :) Your idea of having two separate portables sounds great to me. If you're cooking a lot of stuff you might want the elbow room. I've been experimenting with the Mr. Induction, with is the SR-1881. It's easy to use, but I was looking for something to try out induction cooking, and use later for entertaining, or maybe (if I find some cheap pots) for my art studio, so I was interested in cheap and white (it was on discount). For $100 more you get 7 power settings but a range from 110°F ~ 440°F, rather than the 9 power settings and 120°F - 420°F range of the Mr. I. Since the lowest setting on Mr. I is lower than I've wanted, that end of the range isn't much help, though the extra approx. 20 degrees might speed up the boil by a few seconds :) My pots are mostly LeCruset. It's fun watching the whole pot of water boil, rather than the bubbles coming from right over the flame. It wasn't the superfast people talk about with induction, which is probably a power issue. The lowest settings don't have much flexibility. I made a great marsala sauce, but it made up faster than I'd like. The bottom setting isn't warm enough and one up is too bubbly. I had the same problem with some soup I just made. Medium is pretty darned hot :) The timer is great :) I think they all have that. For an experiment, I used my big oval 5 qt. dutch oven for the soup, which is way too big for the burner. (I wanted to see what happens when you don't follow directions.) I didn't notice any problem with the soup in the edges cooking, but when I turned my back on the too high simmer, I did get a burn patch right over the center circle, just as if it were any other cooking element. What was really great was being able to put a plastic jug of water for the soup right next to it and not worry about it melting :) So far my favorite pot, my 2.5 qt. Le Cruset soup pot, is my favorite pot to use on Mr. Induction, even though it has curved sides. One thing to remember about induction cooking is that it only heats where there's iron. Therefore, if your pots are clad all the way up the sides, it'll heat up the sides. If it's only clad on the bottom it'll only heat from the bottom. I'd think there would be uses for both!

My mom always bought the largest turkey she could find -- had to be over 20 lbs and was 24 lbs one year. For Thanksgiving, I have tended to follow suit because I now have the gang, and the saddest thing ever at Thanksgiving is not having leftovers (it happened one year. I was really upset and cooked another turkey that weekend. :D This year, we had a 20-21 lb turkey but only had 10 coming. We had more leftover than usual, but it wasn't too much. The turkey was free in a grocery store promotion, so it is a lot of good eating for very little money (some with the rub and brine), it's easy to cook and everyone loves it. I have cooked 2 smaller turkeys side by side in a very large roasting pan. That works too. If it is just for us, I will cook a 12-14 lb turkey. Rhome, have you used the convection roast cycle on that Wolf oven of yours for roasting turkey or whole chickens? Fabulous! We brine our turkey, but not the chickens. I use a dry rub, may stick some lemon or orange in the cavity (the rub we use most often has citrus in it too) and pop them in on the preset convection roast cycle. The hot air of the convection sears the skin, seals in juices and it cooks fast. I think our 21 lb bird took about 3 hours - and it was moist, juicy and the flavor was fantastic. We may do turkey at Christmas or New Year's and experiment, but I doubt we will every make our Thanksgiving turkey any other way. I love that convection roast cycle.

Lots of good info there! Of course, the genius of the antiquated Gardenweb format is that we keep answering the same questions over and over, and our answers change slightly over time as we learn new things and refine our techniques. I've pretty much given up stuffing the bird. It affected cooking time too much, took too long at the wrong time in my schedule, and, probably from using the wrong kind of bread-things, wasn't coming out the way my mother's did. Before I start, I clean the sink area really well, and unwrap in the sink. It's the best way for me to contain potential contamination. Before touching the turkey, I put on close fitting food service gloves. They also help remind one not to touch anything else, but they also keep my hands warm handling that big, cold bird. The giblets go in a prep bowl to be addressed later. The turkey is inspected well for feathers and pinfeathers, which are removed, and I make sure the cavity is clean. Since I'm going to be scrubbing down the sink anyway, I do rinse the bird. It seems to like it, whereas the chickens I get from the butcher's case don't seem to care about bathing. Then it's open the trash can and blot dry with paper towels, which go right into said trash can without touching anything. The turkey goes on a large food service board I keep for the purpose (meats) and which can go in the dishwasher. I cut a long branch of tarragon into turkey sized lengths and put them in the cavity, sometimes with a lemon or orange which has had its zest removed to the desserts or similar. My birds are usually about 22 lbs. so there's plenty of room. I also season inside and out, usually with a blend of salt and pepper, and whatever else takes my fancy. It's more habit than anything. I don't think it really affects the flavor of such a big bird. Sometimes I put chunked root vegetables in the bottom of the roaster (Le Creuset cast iron--wonderful "goose pot". I also have a silicone covered rack that goes in, then the turkey. A bottle of inexpensive but palatable white wine goes over the top. Usually, my turkey is too big for the lid to go on, so I crimp the edges of a sheet of heavy duty foil and lay it on top like a blanket. Whenever I think of it--about once every hour or two--I baste the turkey, but mostly that lets me keep an eye on it. I figure the time by poundage and pull it out to rest for at least half an hour, then carve. It's always brown and gorgeous. People sneak into the kitchen and take pictures of it while its resting. I don't do anything special to achieve this, so am bemused by the reaction.