Don't know why anyone is posting their age--you can look up my other postings for that. I have hosted lots of Thanksgivings feasts. First time I did it, everything turned out wrong!! Now, my family likes turkey so much I make a "thanksgiving-like" meal 6-8 times/year, so, for me it's a piece of cake. Partly, it's easy because I've taught my 3 DD's how to make every dish, so I get help, BUT, I made turkey, gravy, cranberry-orange relish, corn-on-the-cob, mashed potatoes, beets, and pie without anyone's help in Mid-October. This was for the 5 of us, but numbers don't really matter, the prep-time is about the same for 3x that many guests. You just use bigger serving bowls/dishes for everything.
Here are the tricks:
--Cook the bird covered, lower temperature, longer cooking time than any directions tell you.
--Use a crock pot to cook the potatoes. This will save space on your oven's burners, and you can turn it off and still keep the potatoes hot if you need to.
--If you find that everybody likes a dish that comes in a can (or frozen,) buy that ahead of time. It will REALLY save you prep time. (
Not everybody's tastes are the same, you know.)
--They're advertising those teaser deals for turkey--for those who aren't raising their own, of course. Buy and donate the $canned food you have to buy, to Salvation Army or Empty Tomb. It'll make you feel great that somebody else gets food, too.
This year my SIL is doing everything but the pie, and 2 of my DD's are driving over the night before to help with the cooking. Our family prefers Thanksgiving to Christmas because it's just food and no gift-giving is involved.
