Time to put the turkey on

 It never fails. Something always happens during that nebulous period between summer and autumn to make me realize that the cool breezes will soon be blowing cold, and that summer has officially ended. This time around, it was an odd juxtaposition of olfactory input that drove the point home. I had been invited to the home of friends for dinner and a bit of bon mot, two things I find irresistibly pleasant.

As I walked up to the front door, I noticed that smell of the freshly mown lawn, clearly summer input. Once I had been welcomed inside, the input changed to something decidedly autumnal. My hostess for the evening was roasting a turkey.

There are few aromatic assaults more powerful to the carnivore than that of a turkey slowly roasting in a hot oven. I was not the only person affected, or even the only species. As we engaged in pleasant conversation while waiting for the bird to hit the table, even the canine member of our party was acutely aware of the scraps that would surely be headed her way.

The dinner was everything we had anticipated, loaded with fresh goodies that do not normally find themselves on my weekly menu. On the way home, with my waistline coming precariously close to the steering wheel, I was inspired to write this column to help the turkey aficionados out there plan their upcoming cold-weather menus.

www.cookingforengineers.com

While I do know my way around the kitchen, I am a geek first and a cook second. Maybe even third. That natural order drew me quickly to the Cooking for Engineers website and its recipe for a classic roast turkey.

There are many ways to cook Meleagris gallopavo, the turkey species most commonly found in North American ovens over the past few centuries. The no-nonsense recipe presented here, refreshingly devoid of odd, trendy seasonings and curious stuffings, seemed most similar to the version served at the holiday repasts of my youth.

Information on the proper thawing of a frozen turkey is presented in terms simple enough for any of us to understand. Anyone who has tried to cook a partially frozen bird at the last minute knows that it is an express ticket to the nearest sub shop. It also describes a simple brining procedure and stresses the importance of keeping the guest of honor refrigerated until it is time to hit the 400-degree sauna.

The more challenging steps are presented with excellent text descriptions and clear photographic illustrations, all the way to the carving. Cooking for Engineers makes the entire process far easier than just jumping into a cookbook, and like any site that attracts the occasional geek, even has a message section hosting dozens of comments and suggestions on the recipe. For covering just about every possible eventuality in the turkey roasting process, www.cookingforengineers.com serves up dinner for five famished spiders.

www.foodnetwork.com

I don’t spend as much time watching the Food Network on TV these days. I’ve had more than my fill of Rachael Ray and Giada De Laurentiis. The pomposity of the judges on American Iron Chef usually makes me want to throw my flute of properly chilled Louis Roederer at the TV. Still, with all this chaff, I have never tired of watching Alton Brown and his “Good Eats” program. (I can live without the motorcycle show.)

Brown’s turkey recipe struck me as being better suited to the more experienced cook. Still, the time spent reviewing his techniques can be educational, even if you ultimately choose another method. Brown, too, favors the brining method of ensuring juiciness, and adds a few aromatics to the mix that should guarantee a flavorful result.

Many turkey experts favor the concept of covering the breast with foil for a portion of the cooking time. Brown, too, employs this technique. As we all know, there are few things worse than a plate full of dry, brittle white meat after an appetizing day of TV football. In addition, he favors a two-stage cooking process to produce a bird that is crispy on the outside without drying out.

Like most Food Network recipes, links to complementary dishes are included at the bottom of the page, including one for Sweet Corn Bread Pudding that hit me right in the taste buds. Stuffing recipes and hints for innovative use of leftovers are also available. Always handy when it comes to good eats, Alton Brown’s turkey recipe at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html is well deserving of five fragrant spiders.

www.epicurious.com

Those of us planning to prepare and enjoy our usual holiday season dinners are a fortunate lot. There are many who are unable to share in seasonal dining festivities, to the point of wondering whether sustenance will be available on any given day. To help the hungry, the popular Epicurious.com website has instituted the Wine.Dine.Donate program to benefit America’s Second Harvest, a far-reaching web of food banks.

Celebrity affiliates include the clogging king of cuisine Mario Batali and restaurateurs Joe and Lidia Bastianich. In addition to soliciting donations for the cause, the site offers users a chance to do more than just write a check.

Nine million children are waiting for you to help them find enough to eat. Holding a Wine.Dine.Donate party entails inviting a crew of friends over for a truly special dinner, then asking them to make donations. A handy online link makes the entire process quick and painless.

Every step of the process is planned out for you, from a wide selection of gourmet menus to a forum to post stories about your dinner. You can even post photos of the big event and boast about how much you raised to help feed the hungry. Going above and beyond its already impressive collection of recipes, hints and general cooking information, www.epicurious.com is thoroughly deserving of a five-spider accolade.

When choosing a turkey, keep in mind that leftovers are nearly as important as the first serving. Make sure to get a bird big enough to supply sandwiches, salads and soup for a few days, too. Check out the sites above for specific information on turkey size and cooking times. If you have any favorite holiday menu sites, send them along to granese{at}juno.com. I promise not to attack the keyboard with greasy fingers.