Mistakes you're making when cooking Thanksgiving turkey

With cooler air, decorative gourds around every bend, and a plethora of woolly coats in sight, November marks the beginning of the holiday season in the U.S. Thanksgiving conjures up images of family gatherings, sweet seasonal pies, and picture-perfect turkeys straight from the oven — if only that last item were as easy to make into a reality as movies and television would have you believe!

Being tasked with preparing this big autumn feast also means accepting responsibility for producing a 15-pound, golden-brown-on-the-outside, impossibly-juicy-on-the-inside turkey that everyone can ooh and aah about. That's a lot of pressure. Whether it's your first time or your tenth time roasting a bird this big, the job is rife with challenges. Luckily, when you do it right, you and your guests are rewarded with dreamy turkey meat that prompts the loosening of belt buckles and halfhearted claims about being "too full" for dessert. (This isn't true. There's always room for dessert.)

Between choosing your seasonal turkey and prepping it to roasting and carving, you'd be just as happy if someone else volunteered for the gig. Just kidding! Cooking Thanksgiving turkey is fun and rewarding, and it's a privilege to be cho- … yada yada yada. To help you produce delicious results on the big day without losing your mind, here is a list of common mistakes to avoid when dealing with this finicky bird.

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