HABITAT Platter Perfect

For most of the year my grandmother’s brown transfer-ware turkey platter hung on the wall of her breakfast room. But each November it moved to the dining room table to become an integral part of our Thanksgiving Day dinner. It was the only thing large enough to hold the biggest turkey anyone had ever seen and was always treated with ceremonial care. As the bird was carved and its garland of vegetables disappeared onto plates passed around the table, the Pilgrim-perfect turkey beneath quietly stared through the last pool of gravy.