@Ticomaya,
Tico, you can also buy a kosher turkey--those have already been soaked in a brine solution. I tried that two years ago and the bird was moist, but I personally find the brine gives the turkey too salty a taste.
I've roasted turkeys both with and without the tin foil tent--I really haven't found that it makes much difference.
The problem with roasting a turkey is that the breast cooks much more quickly than the dark meat--when the breast is cooked to 161 degrees, the dark meat in the deepest part of the thigh may not be fully cooked to a safe-to-eat temperature.
Covering the breast with foil during the last part of the roasting helps somewhat, but the breast still keeps cooking. Basting the outside of the turkey does nada for the inside of the turkey, and continually opening the oven door, to do the basting, just lowers the oven temperature so you don't maintain a consistent temperature.
I've been happiest with fresh turkeys rather than frozen birds. They aren't frozen rock hard and they seem to be the moistest when cooked without much fuss to insure that. This year's bird really came out perfectly cooked.
And the digital probe thermometers, with the wire that runs to the outside of the oven where the thermometer read-out sits, are just wonderful. You insert the probe into the bird and set the external thermometer (which sits on the top of the stove) for the internal temperature you want and, when the bird reaches that temp, an alarm sounds. They are a goof-proof method of roasting almost anything to the right degree of doneness and you never have to open the oven door to check on the internal temperature. They are a great investment for any cook.
This year I was very happy that everything turned out great with a minimum of fuss and bother because I did as much as possible as far in advance as possible. I make my own cranberry sauce (a combination of cooked cranberries, sugar, grated orange peel, diced and crushed fresh orange, crushed pineapple, and chopped walnuts) at least two days in advance because the flavors then have time to blend together. I made my secret recipe stuffing the night before Thanksgiving so it was ready to go in the bird in the morning. I cooked the candied sweet potatoes combined with sliced Granny Smith apples the night before Thanksgiving and just reheated them in the oven the next day while my cooked turkey was resting, and, while the sweet potatoes were re-heating, I steamed the frozen baby Brussels sprouts and frozen baby string beans and toasted slivered almonds in the microwave just before serving them. This is basically the same main meal we have every Thanksgiving, and, for us, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without these traditional items.
The day before Thanksgiving I baked brownies topped with a layer of cheesecake, then additionally topped them off with drained cherry pie filling, and cut them into pop-in-the-mouth large bite sized pieces, I arranged my cookie platter, and purchased a bakery made caramel drizzled apple pie that had raisins and walnuts in the filling. We enjoyed these goodies with coffee and tea about an hour after the main meal. Immediately after the meal, I served a light dessert of sorbet topped with mixed frozen fruit I had thawed and macerated in a little Grand Marnier.
We had cooked shrimp, canned smoked oysters, matjes herring bites in wine sauce, marinated mushrooms, and flavored cheese spreads and cubed cheese pieces, with assorted crackers, before the meal while we chatted, enjoyed some wine, took photos, and more or less watched the 1947 movie, "Miracle on 34th Street' on the telly. After the meal, some men watched football, while some dozed in a food stupor, and the ladies helped re-organize the kitchen and yakked at the dining room table. The guests all happily took home doggie bags so they could enjoy leftovers too. The dog enjoyed the cooked giblets, but she passed on the turkey.
To say that our Thanksgiving focuses mainly on eating, in a way that is nothing short of gluttony, is a mild understatement, but planning, and organizing, and shopping, and enjoying it all with family and friends, is part of what I love about this particular holiday, and I really don't knock myself out with that much cooking. It's designed to celebrate bounty and enjoy it with others, and that's just what we do, and I'm thankful we are able to do that. I'm also thankful that Thanksgiving doesn't come more than once a year.
