The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1945-12-20
The Hornenaker's
Corner
BY MARY DOUGLAS

All around us our men and Wo-
men in the Service are returning
to their homes for this, our first
Peacetime Christmas since 1910. At
every turn we hear the expression,
''Going Home for Christmas" for
many have been deprived of this
JOY during the wartime transporta
ton difficulties. But this year homes
will be brighter and our hearts will
be gayer and more thankful, as we
raise our voices once more in sing
ing, peace on Earth and Goodwill
to all Men"
These are busy days for all home
makers so with out any further ado
lets get down to business, with a
few plans in advance for our Christ
mas dinner.
In selecting your turkey, size does
not necessarily indicate tenderness,
so it is well to know what to look
for in making your selection. The
marks of quality are: Clean waxy
skin with few pin feathers and no
bruises or discoloration; well-feshed
breast and legs, generally plump APP
pearance; streaks of fat under the
skin on breast, legs, thighs, and
back, the quantity increasing with
the birds age A short body and
broad breast indicates a meat bird.
If you want an to Is pound turkey,
buy a hen turkey for they mature
quickly and are usually better
finished than toms of the same
weight. Buy a tom if you want a
bird of 16 to rs pounds. They are
at their best at this weight and the
best choice for a large bird. You
should allow three quarters, to one
pound of turkey per person.
Preparing The Turkey
Assuming that your merchant has
drawn the bird for you, we now
take up the preparation. Cut off the
neck close to the body, but leave
the neck skin. Sitting the skin down
the back of the neck is the best way
to do this. Remove all pin feathers.
Scrub the turkey inside and out
with tepid water, to which you may
add a tablespoon of soda. Dry the
turkey with cloth and rub it we'll
on the inside with salt Then fill
the cavity loosely with your selected
stufflng Do not make the mistake
that l did on Thanksgiving, when
I had about cup of left over stuff
ing and crammed it in to save it,
which produced a soggy stuffing.
The stufflng increases in bulk as it
cooks and therefore needs room for
expansion.
After the cavity is filled, sew up
the incision or secure it with
skewers. Fill the neck cavity and
tie or truss back the neck skin on
to the back Truss the wings under
the back and tie the legs close to
the body. Brush the wings, legs and
breast with unsalted fat. Dip cloth
in melted fat and cover the bird
The turkey is now ready for bak-
ing or storing away in your refriger-
ator until the following day. If you
are storing the bird overnight, be
sure that your stuf1ng is chilled be-
fore putting it in and also that the
turkey is cold.
Roasting The Turkey
Roast the turkey uncovered lex
cept for the cloth) in a slow oven
about 800 degrees, until tender. AL
lowing about IS minutes per pound
for a bird under twelve pounds, OIL
twenty minutes for a larger bird
Basic every half hour. The crop car
be filed with one kind of stuff1ng
and the inside cavity with another
thus producing different flavors. As
for me I like giblet gravy best Of
all. Boiling the giblets separately,
then put them through the fooc
chopper and after removing the
cooked turkey from the pan, use {
part of the brown drippings to make
the gravy, adding the chopped glib
let's
The Stufflng
The stufing, or dressing, as you
may call it, can be either a simple
4 bread stufing, well seasoned with
celery, onion and poultry seasoning
or it can be chestnut, mushroom
sausage, or oyster stufing. In max
ing your bread stufing you shoulc
have cup of bread crumbs fo,
each pound of turkey. And I pre-
fer the bread to be toasted lightly
as it makes a lighter stufing. Thi
may make too much, but it is hes
to have little too much, rathe
than not enough. Any left over cal
be baked in a separate pan, Down
Tennessee way where I hail from
many people use one half corn breat
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