Couple of things. Because of various family committments we had to
schedule dinner for noon (we usually eat at 5PM). So not a whole lot
of time to roast a 23 pound turkey. Vons (local branch of Safeway) had
a recipe for a 2-hour turkey. Very simple - just roast the bird at
475 for 2 hours. Period. Done.

I recoiled in horror when I saw that. No way you can roast a bird that
big in 2 hours. It takes that long to roast a 5 pound chicken! I was
positive you'd have a charred outside and a raw inside. But we were
really pressed for time, so we did it that way.

And I'm here to tell you, it was wonderful. The bird (brined) was
cooked through and through without being dried out anywhere. The skin
got pretty dark, but it did NOT burn, and was actually quite tasty.
I'm still shaking my head in amazement, remembering all the years when
the bird sat in the oven at 325 for 4-5 hours, or more if it was
bigger.

Because of diabetic concerns, I made the pumpkin pies with Splenda and
low-fat evap milk instead of sugar and the regular stuff. Nobody could
taste any difference and the pies even baked up just as well as they
did the old way (the texture was exactly the same). In fact, there was
less cracking of the top than there usually is. I'll be doing it that
way from now on.

Cathy