Substitutes for stuffing the turkey cavity

[desertmama2007_11860076]

Hey all: I can't seem to get any suggestions from Food Network, regarding my question. Every year, I have stuffed my turkey cavity with traditional dressing; this year, I want to prepare the dressing separately, and stuff the turkey with fruits/veggies, instead. Can this be done and if so, what fruits/veggies does anyone recommend? My turkey is nearly 23 pounds, if that helps. I would appreciate any and all suggestions.

Thanks! And Happy Thanksgiving from our home in Arizona!

[duonyte]

My mother never used stuffing/dressing - it was just something she was not familiar with. Instead, she would cut up fresh apples and use those, prunes, apricots, dried pears and put some in the cavilty - pretty much fill it up. The fruit absorbs the juices of the turkey and makes a wonderful accompaniment to the meat - I like fruit with poultry.

Now I've done a variation on this where I macerate the dried fruit in some port, red wine or sherry - that adds a very nice flavor to the whole.

For apples we favor Granny Smith or a similar tart apple.