Hi Jen! Thanks for the turkey tips, I'll definitely try epicurious next year. Last year I brined the turkey using Alton Brown's recipe and I'm sure it would've been okay if I had cooked it long enough. But, I didn't put the thermometer in deep enough so the center didn't cook properly. I thought I cut it all away, but I must've eaten a touch of the undercooked section because I was shaky and flu-ish for a few hours afterwards. Scary! Hence, the non-turkey holiday this year. I'll pick up where I left off after I have some time to forget about Thx 2009! ![]()
As for canning, I started this summer because we joined a fruit & veggie community share program with a local farm. I got a Ball Canning Kit from Amazon and mine also came with the Ball Blue Book. The book has recipes and goes in-depth about how canning works, how to make sure things get processed safely, etc.
It's really fun and I love doing it! I haven't done anything fancy yet, just some jams, jellies, fruit syrups and applesauce. My dad ended up buying one too and made some great pickles and salsas. For me, the only downside is that it's a huge production because my canner is so big. It's great if I want to can a bunch of stuff at once, but if I only want to do a few jars it's a PITA. Sometimes I just use my regular stockpot instead.
If you're gonna start out with large batches (more than 3 jars at a time) I'd recommend getting the kit I have. Otherwise a kit like this one might be a better starting point, along with a book - either the one above, or this one that looks like an updated version, and probably a set of utensils like the jar-grabber, funnel and magnetic lid stick.

Re: *jujubee* re: canning
Thanks so much for the advice! I will PIP my result. I probably won't have time to do it until December.
Ha - I thought canning was different than what I wanted to do at first, because I thought the end product ended up in a can.
Sorry to hear that your turkey made you sick last year! Hope the lasagna is awesome!
Jen