• Mary Creek, Michael Creek, and Ryan Shank of Palmyra Dairy Farm along with John Heizer – DVM, discuss why Maryland's elite cow embryos are international favorites.
• Farmer Terri Wolf-King talks about rebuilding her farm following a tragic loss.
• A new generation of farmers, including Trey and Herman Hill of Harborview Farms, works to save the Chesapeake through sustainable growing practices.
• Then & Now: Flour Milling and Wye Mills.
• Local Buy: Al Spoler visits Maple Lawn Turkey Farm to check out some locally-raised Thanksgiving turkeys.

It's a tobacco spike! Although tobacco has mostly vanished from the Maryland landscape due to a government buyout in the early 2000s, the controversial crop was once a mainstay of the state's economy. On the few farms in southern Maryland that still produce tobacco, the tobacco spike is used to this day to harvest large tobacco stalks. Farmers drive the pointed end into the thick stalk and then hang it in the barn to dry.

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Add approximately 2 cups of water in bottom of pan, or 4 cups for larger birds.
• Salt and pepper the turkey, add a few pats of butter on skin and sprinkle with a little flour for a tasty skin.
• Cook at 450°F for one hour.
• Lower temperature to 350°F for the remainder of your cook time.
• Turkeys require approximately 10 minutes of cook time per pound.
• Stuffed turkeys take longer (at least a half hour longer or more).
• Use a covered pan or make a tent with tin foil.
• Remove lid for the last half hour if not sufficiently browned.

Ingredients

• 1 (16-18 pound) Narragansett or other heritage-breed turkey, cavities cleaned, rinsed and patted dry.
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, peeled
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
• ½ teaspoon dried savory

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the turkey breast side up on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Make six small incisions in the turkey's skin using a sharp knife. Insert the garlic under the turkey's skin.
• Spread the mustard over the turkey's skin with a knife, and then drizzle the olive oil all over. Sprinkle the salt and pepper on the turkey's skin and in the cavities, and place the onion in the neck cavity. Sprinkle the sage, thyme, rosemary, and savory over the turkey, and insert a meat thermometer into one of the thigh areas near the breast.
• Loosely cover the bird with aluminum foil, making a tent over the turkey and lightly tucking the foil around the edges of the pan. Roast for about 4 hours, or 15 minutes per pound. (See note.) About 30 minutes before the turkey is done, remove the aluminum foil and allow the skin to brown. Continue roasting until the meat thermometer reaches 180°F and the turkey's juices run clear.
• Remove the turkey from the oven and let it stand, covered, for 20 minutes before carving.

Note: If you choose to stuff the turkey, you will need to increase the roasting time. I usually bake my stuffing separately so that vegetarians can eat it, but you can certainly divide the stuffing, putting some in the turkey and baking some separately, if you prefer.

For more information about locally-raised turkeys or to request a bird for Thanksgiving dinner, visit Maple Lawn Turkey Farm .

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