After culinary school, I had an evening job as a line cook and a day job in a test kitchen. I never knew if I would be prepping live lobsters, decorating sugar cookies or testing Thanksgiving dinner ...

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the turkey breast-side down on a secure cutting board. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Find the backbone and, using kitchen shears, cut along one side of it.

Every year, around mid-November, food writers across the country become roast-turkey-crazed. Magazines feature elaborately styled photographs of “the perfect bird,” right alongside the creamiest ...