Turkey Tips and Yummy Turkey Pasta

Joe and I have baked a turkey for several years now. My sister Amy called and asked us what we do. I love the way our turkey tastes: tender, flavorful, moist. We do four things: 1) Brine it overnight 2) Put herb butter under the skin 3) Stuff with fresh vegetables 4) Pour marinade over the top and let it bake*! We refrigerate our turkey for three to four days to thaw it fully. The night before we plan on baking it, we open up the packaging, remove it (outside and inside packaging including the neck, giblets sack, etc.), and rinse the turkey in cool water. Then, we put the turkey in a large stock pot (so the lid can fit on) and pour salt on the outside and in the inside of the turkey and BRINE it overnight. In the morning, we rinse the turkey well in cool water and put it into a roaster. Once in the roaster, we soften 1 stick of butter and mix with that rosemary, basil, ground pepper and herbs of choice (crush in your hands before adding dry herbs to release their flavor. Garlic is optional). You will not need salt if you have brinded it, otherwise add sea salt. With your fingers, loosen up the skin to the left of the beast bone. With a spatula, add half of the herb butter and smooth it along the left side of the bird with your fingers. Repeat the same on the right side. (Skin is fused along the top ridge). Wash hands well in between steps. Rinse and cut a couple of stalks of celery, carrots, and an onion, peeled and quartered: insert vegetables into the cavity of the bird. Finally, pour a full fat Italian or Citrus Italian Dressing over the bird, cover with tin foil or roaster lid and stick it in the oven. Cook according to weight plus a little extra time, savor the smells, and enjoy fresh out of the oven. Meat should be tender juicy "fall off the bone" yummy and full of flavor. You can make great gravy out of the drippings but it will be salty and so it could be diluted with low sodium chicken broth and flour. *A note on basting: In years past we have basted our turkey--we read and decided not to this year because there is broth injected into the bird and so it self bastes and in basting it, you lose oven temperature and so it takes longer to cook.