for years i worked as a banquet waitress, and many holidays i did private waitressing at homes on Thanksgiving. my last 4 years i worked for the same family and every year they made the same thing, a presentation turkey, a turkey they cut up for warming to serve at the table, the whole turkey for extras, and all the fixings. every year, everything was tossed into the trash. the first year i asked the domestic why she didn't take home at least the whole turkey for her family. she said she was told she would be charged with stealing. the last year i worked for that family, i had made a 20lb+ turkey and all the fixings, somne dishes were either prepped or cooked 2 days ahead, the turkey was cooked the day before. leftovers were to be frozen for soups, cassaroles, salads, enchiladas, sandwiches, pot pies or just for omelettes for the coming months. during that last party i found out that domestic, with 4 kids and no father in sight since the last born, had 3 kids sick and had exhasted all her holiday funds for the season. i talked her into coming to my apartment after the party ended and cut my turkey in half, and packed up some of my fixings for her to take home so she could have her Thanksgiving dinner with her kids the next day. i even gave her some Xmas gifts i got for my own kids so at least she had a start on the Santa season. that year my Saint Bernard went with less dog food and had to do with more prime rib left overs from banquets for a while, i don't think he minded much tho. it's great to see that many don't toss the turkey and try to make the most of it. for my turkey stock, i pull off what meat i possibly can and roast the bones, then slow cook them and pick the bones again then freeze. i never gave the bones to BoBo, was just too afraid of another Dr bill of my own.

This year I saw some contributions to the groaning table from my kids for the first time. Younger son visiting from the other coast pitched in with setting the table, reaching for the too high storage, and washing the wine glasses that had not been used since last year and other odd jobs. Local son and girlfriend brought lovely homemade yeast rolls and a homemade apple pie. Sister and her husband brought wine, vegetable, and salad. Son-in-law brought wine, DD and busy, darling grandsons. I roasted the stuffed bird, made the gravy, pumpkin bread, corn pudding, candied sweet potatoes, twice baked potatoes, minced meat peaches, coffee, and cranberry relish. I don't know how I would do it without our old and trusty double ovens. Everyone kept commenting that this was the best Thanksgiving dinner ever, but I don't know why. We have a basic holiday meal we like to make and only vary the dessert, salad and vegetables. However, it was too much but yummy.

Lunchlady, like chi83 said, the Quorn brand is vegetarian but NOT vegan. A strict vegan would absolutely not eat it. But Tofurkey products are vegan, and while I don't think it's quite as good, it could be spiced up with a good vegan gravy. These, and other brands would be found in any health food store or like chi said, Whole Foods. A lot of mainstream grocery stores now have a section of fake meat, usually one in the freezer aisle (where they would have breakfast "sausages", gardenburgers, etc), and one section that has the fake hot dogs and sandwich "meats". The tofurkey products would be in the freezer section. Here is a link that might be useful: tofurkey info

I love Butterball brand turkey. I always get frozen and about 15 to 18 pounds. It needs to go from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw today. I cook at 325* and it takes about 3 1/2 hours. I do the covered roaster pan, because no one in my family likes the skin and I carve the turkey before anyone gets here. If you want the pretty whole brown turkey cook like Annie's. The Chef Alarm needs to be deep in the thigh, not touching the bone. When it goes off, still check for doneness in several places. They say 165* for turkey breast and 180* for the thighs. It needs about 3O minutes to rest after it comes out of the oven. Yes, the thighs will wiggle. ETA: The newest advise is showing 165* for thighs and breasts, But I haven't ever had the thighs done at 165*. I cook the breasts to 165* and the thighs to at least 170*. Do you stuff your bird? If you stuff the cavity with the dressing, it takes a lot longer to cook. Is it COMPLETELY thawed? Once, I had ice inside and that took longer to cook. Check your oven temperature. It could be incorrect. Here is a link to a cooking blog I like. Elise has a lot of good hints to read about timing and the size turkey to buy. https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moms_roast_turkey/ ETA: Butterball is a prebrined turkey, so you don't want to add any additional salt or brining of any kind. You do want to rub the skin with oil if doing the open roaster method. You can add the the celery and onion also, if you wish. If getting a plain turkey, you need to either wet brine or dry brine after thawing. That is why I like the Butterball, it skips a step.