ok...this has to be one of the best turkey recipes I have Ever found....and the story behind it is pretty good too :) I had a friend (i say had because I haven't seen her in YEARS)...who was single. cooking and the kitchen were not really her specialty. one year, she came home from visiting family boasting about this magnificent turkey recipe....she cooked it for us on New Year's day...I asked for the recipe...she said no, it was a family secret and I could not have it....ok...I don't know about you, but when someone tells me that, I am determined to find it or figure it out :D. She would not tell me ANYthing...I remember it tasting almost cajun, and it was soooo yummy. I tried to let it go. Fast forward a year or two down the road. She was moving. Needed help with packing. She put me in charge of packing up the kitchen, 'since I was a natural in the kitchen and all'. well, I was packing away, just minding my own business, and went to the top of the refrigerator. ALLLLL these papers came pouring down...and wouldn't ya know it? that recipe for the turkey was RIGHT on the top of the stack....ah, my luck.....well, I knew she did not want me to have this recipe, so copying it was out of the question...so I wrote the main parts on my hand...yep...I was determined to get it....but what i didn't count on was the sweat washing some of it off.....when I realized that had happened, I read it and re-read it and repeated it to myself so much I memorized it. I went home and quickly wrote it out. I didn't make it until the next Holiday season, so I was going off a pregnant and nursing mama's memory...not much there--so it became my own rendition...

I did change the original recipe a tad bit...it called for 2 bottles of squeeze margarine....YUK!!!!! (in my humble opinion)....so I used butter instead....and when we had it, it was not as cajun tasting as I remember, but it was a HIT...and we have it EVERY Thanksgiving and EVERY Christmas....almost without fail....we are not even turkey eaters and my kids BEG for this turkey. the leftovers are not your typical make-a-soup kind. BUT, we hardly have any left overs after one meal after Thanksgiving.

Holiday Turkey

1 turkey, thawed (we use a HUGE one)
4 heads of garlic
Lawry's seasoned salt--must be Lawry's
1 lb. butter
2 bottles of white cooking wine (you could use just 1, but it makes more gravy and we never have enough--or you could use regular wine--I don't know how to buy that, so I get this)

Peel all the cloves of garlic. Take a knife and pierce the meat of turkey and put cloves, one at a time into the meat. Cover the turkey with the inserts of cloves of garlic. It will look like it has mumps or something. Rub the inside of the turkey with some of the seasoned salt and put into roaster. Pour the wine in the bottom of the roaster and place all the butter in bottom of pan. Cook at 325, basting every 15 minutes with wine, butter, and drippings, and then sprinkle with seasoned salt, until tested done.

Gravy

Pour all juices from pan into sauce pan. Blend 1/4 c. cornstarch and water together and blend with juices. Cook over medium heat until thickened. I slice turkey and put some of the gravy over meat and leave extra on table for potatoes and biscuits. YUM!!!!!!!

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