"fried turkey" news and stories

This is the first post in what will be a short series of great Thanksgiving dinner ideas from around the food blogs. Here's we're looking at what is possibly the most important part, or is at least the central part, of Thanksgiving dinner: the turkey and the stuffing/dressing. All of these recipes are from previous holiday celebrations because, as we all know, Thanksgiving comes but once a year and as much as we love the food and our families, the extra calories and the time-consuming preparation are something we can't do with all that often.

• Mom's Roast Turkey, complete with turkey stuffing from Simply Recipes. How could you go wrong with something that Mom made?
• Here's a plan for Thanksgiving for One, which involves a tiny guinea hen instead of an actual turkey, from the Amateur Gourmet.
• Beer Can Smoked Turkey, from Cooking for Engineers, sounds like a good option if you're looking for something a touch less traditional.
• 101 Cookbook's Sage, Walnut and Dried Fig Stuffing is inventive and is baked alongside the bird, not in it.
• If you're a cornbread fan, try the Mushroom, Bacon and Cornbread Stuffing from Something in Season.
• Gluten Free Girl has a recipe for gluten free stuffing, which is perfect for wheat-sensitive dinner guests.
• Four Directions Dressing from Tigers & Strawberries has a bit of just about every stuffing recipe you can think of.
• If you want to learn how to make deep fried turkey, check out the guide from the National Turkey Federation. They offer suggestions for adding additional flavorings, too.

As a bonus, here are some vegetarian "turkey" or turkey-substitute ideas to try out, all of which are nice options to keep non-turkey eaters from feeling limited to side dishes when dinner is being served. Speaking of side dishes, that's what's coming up next in this series.