When segregation is a good thing: Turkey (the bird, not the country)

Tonight I had some friends over for a Christmas Eve dinner.  For the first time ever I made a turkey.  I have heard that separating the dark and white meat portions is wise because the dark meat needs more time to cook and that if you cook the whole bird at the same time the white meat gets over cooked by the time the dark is done.  

So I sawed the dark meat off put it in a pan with apples, onions, celery and garlic.  I put a layer of maple flavored bacon on top:

I covered it with tin foil and popped it in the oven.  Almost two hours later I did the same with the breasts, sans bacon. Because I was scared my first turkey would be a disaster I also made a batch of beef stew.

Well, the turkey was a success.  The white meat was moist and had good flavor... as opposed to dry and tasteless like it often is...  Ann exclaimed, "This is the best turkey ever!  I can't believe I actually like it!"  Ann's not one to throw a compliment for the sake of making me feel good.

The dark meat was a bit over-powered by the maple bacon.  It wasn't bad but this was the rare turkey where the white meat had a better flavor.

While the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc., were a success, the stew was terribly bland.  I told the guests, "Only eat try the stew if you don't like the turkey."  Nobody bothered with the stew.

I have had so little sleep for the past week that I am walking zombie.  I really wanted to say, "You folks can stay as long as you'd like, I'm going to bed."

And with that I am off.  I so hope I can get some quality sleep.  That would be a great Christmas present.

Merry Christmas to all from the land of sand!