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"  Harold McGee, best known for his monthly column in The New York Times, &amp;quot;The Curious Cook&amp;quot;, has a new cookbookout, KEYS TO GOOD COOKING: A Guide to Making the Best of Food and Recipes.Just in time for Thanksgiving, Good Housekeeping had the culinary pro answer some common questions to ensure you enjoy the best bird possible: Is it the tryptophan in turkey that makes you sleepy? If so, is there anything you can cook up for Thanksgiving that will help counteract the effects?Actually all protein has tryptophan and turkey has no more or less than other meats and poultry. We get sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner because we eat so much.  Is stuffing the turkey a good idea?Stuffing the bird is a bad idea because in order to kill any harmful bacteria in the stuffing, you need to heat it through, and that means that the bird around it will get even hotter. This guarantees overcooked and dry breast meat.  Does cooling the breasts prior to cooking get the most evenly cooked turkey?It sounds weird, but take your bird out of the fridge, let the legs come to room temp, but ice the breasts. The breasts cook quicker than the legs, and by icing them you allow the whole bird to cook evenly.   Is it safe to leave the turkey out for hours while you relax after dinner?Once your turkey comes out of the oven and cools down to eating temperature it&amp;#039;s a prime breeding ground for bacteria. Think about all the time between taking the turkey out, letting it rest, taking photos with it, having a toast, and then eating. It&amp;#039;s safest to get all your leftovers into the fridge right after you finish eating.  What about some recipes that call for cooking a turkey at very low temperatures for a very long time?This can be a recipe for disaster. While cooking a turkey at a low heat for a long period of time can prevent overcooking, the temp might not ever get high enough to kill dangerous bacteria that are sometimes found on or in the turkey.  Should I puree my potatoes in a food processor or blender?Never!! Putting potatoes in a food processor or blender breaks open the cells and releases a glue-like starch that will make your potatoes heavy and gummy instead of light and fluffy.  With only a few days left before the big day, check out our Thanksgiving survival tips and best pie recipes. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/thanksgiving-ideas/a23496/harold-mcgee-talks-turkey/>