Countdown to Thanksgiving, part 2

Getting down to the wire now. The refrigerator is bursting. There's still room for the turkey but not much else.

Thanksgiving is a time when I really feel the presence of my mom. She's hasn't been around for almost 14 years and she ceded Thanksgiving to me at least 5 years before she died. The transfer was signified by her giving me the special hand painted turkey platter and very specific instructions on how to roast the bird to be placed on it--breast side down, massaged with obscene amounts of butter, draped with butter soaked cheesecloth and obsessively basted every 20-30 minutes with, you guessed it, more butter. Every year, I've considered experimenting with different cooking methods--high temperature, tenting with foil, special glazes, etc.--but every year, that turkey gets cooked exactly how she taught me.

My mom, she really did know best.