What if you don't have enough drippings for the gravy?

I have a great gravy trick I learned from my mother, and I use it every single year:

a. Take all of the giblets and the neck (you'll find them packed inside the turkey), toss them with olive oil and salt, chop up some onions, celery, and carrots and roast them at high heat (400° Fahrenheit), to caramelize and intensify their flavors.

b. Put everything into a sauce pan with a couple cups of chicken broth and then, while you're working through the rest of the menu, simmer it for several hours until it reduces.

c. Add white wine for depth of flavor, and whisk in to create a light turkey gravy. If you prefer your gravy on the chunky side, strip the meat off the neck, chop up the giblets and add this to the gravy.

What do you do if your turkey is still frozen?

Rule of thumb: If you are buying a frozen turkey, you should buy your turkey the weekend before Thanksgiving. Place it on a tray in the fridge in its original wrapping and let it slowly thaw during the days leading up to Thanksgiving. If it is still frozen on Thanksgiving morning, place it in a large clean sink under cold running water for 2-4 hours depending how frozen it is; if it's solid frozen it could take longer. Do not use hot water, as that creates the perfect temperature for bacteria to grow and you may end up with a food safety issue on your hands.

How do you ensure a juicy turkey?

Brining is an absolutely no-fail guarantee for a perfectly seasoned, juicy turkey, and it ensures that your turkey is thawed. However, you only want to brine a turkey that has not been pre-seasoned by the processor. Brine your turkey at home with a Simple Basic Brine or a flavored mixture such as my Orange Brine.

It's optimal to brine the turkey in refrigerator in cold water or in a cooler outside (depending on the outside temperature) for up to 24 hours. It will be completely seasoned inside and out and will require very little preparation to get it ready for the oven or the grill.

To finish the turkey, brush a light coat of olive oil on the skin to seal in the juices and roast it in a 325° Fahrenheit oven in an open pan. The result will be a beautiful golden-brown colored skin. Achieve a crispy crust with virtually no fuss with a brining bag.

If you didn't brine the turkey and you've over-cooked it or otherwise dried it out, you can slice the meat, put the gravy directly on top of it, and gently heat it in a 300° Fahrenheit oven.

Brush up on your brining skills with our How to Brine guide.

How do you extract the giblets?

The giblets and the neck bone are tucked away inside the cavity of the bird. You will have to stick your hand in the cavity of the turkey (I generally put a glove on) to remove them. And, you will have to work both sides of the turkey -- one side has the neck bone and one side has the giblets.

This is also a good indicator to see how thawed the turkey is. If it is still frozen, it will be hard to remove the package of giblets and the neck bone. If it is still frozen, place the turkey in cold running water until you can remove the neck and giblets.

What are the different ways to carve a turkey?

There are two ways to carve a turkey. The traditional method is to make a lower cut underneath the breast and carve it into thin slices off of the breast.

The less popular way is something I call the "butcher cut" because it is the way butchers carve a turkey. This method keeps the turkey juicier, helps you avoids shredding the meat, and makes a better turkey presentation.

Instead of carving large slices from the breast lengthwise, remove the whole breast from the bone and slice it into individual pieces. Put it back on the platter and arrange it like a whole breast; repeat with the other side of the breast and the thigh meat. Carve the rest of the bird in pieces, adding the drumsticks and wings.

What if the turkey's not completely cooked through?

a. Serve everyone another drink and eat later!

b. Depending on how undercooked it is, you can cut the turkey into chunks or large pieces (breast, drumstick, thigh) and put the whole thing back in the oven. Once the turkey is in smaller segments, it will cook faster.

c. Or, carve the turkey into thick slices and sauté in butter, olive oil, or a mixture of the two in a hot heavy-bottomed pan. The meat will be cooked and the outside becomes crispy. This is something my sisters and I called "fried turkey" when we were growing up and we love doing this with leftover turkey as well.

What should I do with an pre-cooked turkey from the grocery store?

There are three good ways to serve a turkey that you have purchased pre-cooked:

a. Serve it at room temperature, which is a great thing to do if you've purchased a smoked turkey. By the time everyone sits down to eat, it's usually not steaming hot anyway.

b. Slice the turkey, pour gravy directly over it, cover it with aluminum foil, and gently reheat it in a 300° Fahrenheit oven.

c. Heat up the whole turkey so you can preserve the ritual of carving it at the table. Do this in an oven preheated to 325° Fahrenheit in an open pan. Be careful, as this method is prone to lead to overcooking if you don't keep a watchful eye.

What should I do if I have limited oven space?

a. The easiest thing to do is to use your outdoor grill as an outdoor oven. Reheat side dishes and casseroles on the grill, or grill your turkey, which will the free up the entire oven. You can easily reheat bread and rolls in aluminum foil by adding a few drops of water to the packet, which will keep the bread soft and grill over indirect heat for 10 minutes. Make sure to heat or re-heat everything using indirect heat as your food will likely burn if you use direct heat.

b. If you don't have a grill, look at your menu. You'll likely find that most of the sides and desserts can be made in advance. Come up with alternatives for classics, as well. For example, instead of serving green bean casserole, serve a marinated green bean side dish that doesn't have to be served hot. The most important thing you can do is map out your dishes and make one dish a day until Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving morning, bake everything off and cook the turkey and the gravy. The gravy can even be made the night before and reheated the next day if you use my make-ahead method.

c. If you're really limited on space and time, ask your guests to bring a dish, and be very specific about what you need them to bring.

How do I achieve a perfectly brown, crispy skin?

Brush a brined turkey all over with extra virgin olive oil. If the turkey has not been brined, brush with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper or your favorite spice blend. Roast the turkey in an open pan at 325° Fahrenheit. I don't recommend roasting the turkey at a higher temperature because you run the risk of having it be overdone on the outside and underdone on the inside. Since it's such a large piece of meat, you need the outside to be golden brown at the same time the turkey meat is done. A higher temperature may very likely create an unevenly cooked turkey.

I use extra virgin olive oil specifically because I love the taste and it has a thicker viscosity, meaning that it sticks to the turkey and doesn't drip off and leave a puddle of oil in the roasting pan or cause flare-ups on a grill. It promotes caramelizing and crispiness with a light, thin coating. Vegetable oils will work as well but may create a pool of oil at the bottom of the pan and I don't think they taste as good.

Is it better to buy a fresh or frozen turkey?

Fresh vs. Frozen: This is a big debate that my family and friends drag me into every year! I prefer a frozen turkey that is not injected or seasoned with anything. Turkeys that are already injected tend to be injected with a very salty broth. If you plan on brining something already injected, your turkey might be too salty.

There are two downsides to a frozen turkey. One, you have to plan in advance because it can take up to five days to thaw in the refrigerator, depending on size. Two, a frozen bird loses some of its natural juices as it thaws -- making brining a necessary step toward achieving a a juicy roasted turkey. But all in all, I still prefer a turkey that is flash frozen just after it is processed.

Generally speaking, a fresh turkey is processed around the same time a frozen turkey is processed. Frozen turkeys are flash frozen the minute they are processed, so it's basically preserved at that point. Fresh turkeys are held just above freezing point from the time they are processed, so they are still considered fresh. Since the turkey can travel in this state for a month or so before it is cooked, I think that a fresh turkey isn't as pristine as the one that is flash frozen. This generalization does not pertain to fresh turkey farms or heritage turkeys that you may order and/or pick up when the turkey is processed.

To learn more tips and tricks and get delicious recipes, pick up one of Elizabeth Karmel's books,visit her Web site, and follow her on Twitter!

What is a marinade? A seasoned liquid that adds an extra dimension of flavor to meat, poultry, fish or vegetables with the help of active ingredient -- acid. With tougher cuts of meat, marinades also act as a tenderizer. Always marinate in glass, plastic, or stainless-steel, never aluminum, which can react with the acid.

Acids can be an array of things: vinegar, citrus, buttermilk, wine, yogurt and the like. Add only one or two acidic ingredients to the mixture -- more than that will ruin the flavor balance of the marinade.

Mix the acid with a base ingredient to keep food moist. Extra-virgin olive oil, vegetable oil, nut oil, or other flavored oils all work well. Not only does the oil lock in the flavor, it promotes caramelization. Without it, the food may stick to the grill and dry out.

After you've chosen the appropriate acid and oil, add in aromatic ingredients such as fresh ginger, herbs, spices, hot sauce, or Worcestershire sauce to heighten the flavors.

According to Elizabeth Karmel, "There is no reason for a super-long soak. Smaller, more delicate cuts of meat need a shorter soak, while larger, heartier cuts need a little longer." In fact, over-marinating meat can result in a mushy or mealy texture. Marinating in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours will suffice for most foods.

Three "Don'ts": o. Don't add too many sugary ingredients to the marinade, as they'll burn quickly. o. Don't reuse the marinade as a sauce without boiling it for 3 minutes. The marinade has touched raw meat and could make guests sick. o. Don't rinse off the marinade; use a paper towel to pat off any excess marinade.

Don't feel like marinating? Try a spice rub -- it can also enhance the flavors of fish, meat and even fruit. Some key ingredients: Pepper -- freshly ground black pepper emits oils that have a much deeper flavor than pre-ground pepper. Salt -- kosher salt with hard crystals is preferable because they don't create a wet surface (fine table salt draws moisture out of the meat more quickly). Brown Sugar -- use fresh, soft light or brown sugar to add more depth of flavor.

Dry vs wet rubs: "Dry" simply means spice mixtures without any wet ingredients, and "wet" is a paste made up of spices and olive oil. No matter which you're using, gently pat it evenly over the meat, don't rub -- rubbing can damage the fibers and texture of the meat. Seasoning the meat 15 to 20 minutes before cooking to it give the rub time to permeate the meat.