Question: How can I keep roast turkey warm during a meal?
Answer: After you've worked hard to roast your turkey perfectly, there's nothing more disappointing than finding that the platter of sliced meat has gotten cold before anyone has taken a bite. Unfortunately, although chafing dishes and electric warming trays will keep the turkey warm, they will also quickly dry it out. To avoid this, you'll need to time your carving so that it coincides precisely with your guests sitting down at the table. Not only will the meat be the right temperature, it will also be moist and succulent.
Before you begin carving, gather your guests, pour wine and say grace or make any toasts. Then carve the turkey in the kitchen or at the end of a buffet table as guests help themselves to other dishes. You might slice "to order," serving directly onto individual plates. Or slice the meat onto a hot platter (place an empty dish in the oven — after it has been turned off but while it is still warm from cooking the turkey — for just a minute or until it is hot to the touch) and set it on the table.
Avoid slicing more turkey than you need at that moment. Cut only enough for first helpings, then cover and place the bird back into the warm oven. When guests are ready for second helpings, you can return to the kitchen to carve more.
However you serve your turkey, be careful not to overcook it. Remember that large pieces of meat continue to cook with residual heat (for up to 20 minutes) after they are removed from the oven. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that a turkey must reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit to be fully cooked. (Check this with an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh.) But do not let the turkey reach this temperature before you remove it from the oven, or the white meat is likely to get too dry.
Instead, remove the bird when it has reached 175 degrees, and allow it to "rest" in a warm place for 20 minutes. Then, before carving, take another temperature reading to make sure it has reached the necessary 180 degrees. If, for some reason, your turkey falls short of this temperature, pop it back into the oven for a few more minutes.
Question: I put my sterling-silver flatware through the dishwasher, and now it looks "too clean." All the darkness in the grooves and details is gone. What can I do?
Answer: Although you do want your flatware to sparkle, the complete removal of tarnish — a form of corrosion caused when silver is exposed to the air and oxidizes — can result in a disappointing lack of pattern definition. A bit of oxidation in the ornamental detail on your silverware helps to give it character and beauty. Unfortunately, the cleansing power of a dishwasher and detergent can remove these distinguishing marks.
Luckily, the character of your silver can be restored. The easiest — and best — way is to leave the flatware out on a counter, exposing it to the air for two weeks to 30 days. This should cause the metal to tarnish naturally. When it has acquired the desired shade, polish the silver as you ordinarily would, with a silver polish and a soft, lint-free cloth, leaving the recessed decoration unpolished.
If you don't have a month to wait, the process can be expedited. Some people have developed creative tricks for doing this at home. Their methods include rubbing the silverware with scrambled eggs (the sulfur in the eggs speeds the process) or with an old, dirty polishing cloth filled with previously removed tarnish.
While these may work, the process is messy and the results are not always reliable. It's wiser to leave the job to a professional silversmith, who can use specially formulated oxidizers to safely restore the tarnish to your flatware in less than 24 hours. Check your phone book for a professional in your area.
You can also wash your flatware by hand using a mild dishwashing soap, and then hand-dry it. This will help you to avoid the complete removal of tarnish, as well as the unsightly (and difficult to remove) water spots that are caused when silverware is not dried immediately. It will also help you to avoid overfrequent polishing, which, over time, can result in the loss of definition and engraving on sterling-silver items.
Questions should be addressed to Ask Martha, care of Letters Department, Martha Stewart Living, 11 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036. Questions may also be sent by electronic mail to: mslletters@marthastewart.com. Questions of general interest will be answered in this column; Martha Stewart regrets that unpublished letters cannot be answered individually. For more information on the topics covered in the Ask Martha column, visit www.marthastewart.com. © Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Distributed by New York Times Special Features