Food features prominently in many holiday celebrations, but perhaps no holiday is more closely associated with eating than Thanksgiving. In fact, Thanksgiving and food are so closely connected that many people lovingly refer to the holiday as “Turkey Day,” which is an homage to the popular main course that finds its way to millions of Thanksgiving dinner tables across the country each year.

Side dishes abound on Thanksgiving dinner tables, but turkey still takes center stage. That reality can put some pressure on hosts tasked with preparing the meal for their family and friends. Unlike some other dishes that require a laundry list of ingredients and lots of prep work, turkey is a relatively hands-off main course. However, home cooks know a dried out turkey is not on anyone’s holiday wish list. Slow cooking can help to avoid such a result. This recipe for “Holiday Turkey,” courtesy Andrew Schloss’ “Cooking Slow” (Chronicle Books), calls for slow cooking the bird. Such an approach should result in a delicious and mouth-watering main course that satisfies anyone who’s anxious to sit down at the Thanksgiving dinner table this year.