• Dinner rolls (figure 2 per person—you’ll have leftovers, but they’re good for turkey sandwiches the next day)
• Salted butter for the rolls
• Coffee, tea, or a digestif to serve with dessert (you can also ask guests to bring this)
• Aluminum baking trays or roasting pans, if needed (helpful if you don’t own all the necessary pans)
• A meat thermometer. It will take all the guesswork out of turkey cooking. They’re relatively cheap and are generally available at regular grocery stores.
What to Do Thanksgiving Day
1. First, roast the turkey. You’ll want to start this early in the day. The general rule for cooking turkeys is 13 minutes per pound, so if you are cooking a 20-pound bird, plan for a little over 4 hours of roasting. You’ll want to have the turkey out of the oven about an hour before your guests arrive (so it can rest and so the oven can be made available for other items that need to be warmed up).
2. While the turkey is roasting, make the cranberry sauce and prep the stuffing for the oven. Keep the cranberry sauce in its pot on the stovetop and pack the stuffing into a baking dish (or two, depending on how much you are making).
Whew! Now for the Homestretch!
3. When the turkey is finished, let it rest on a carving board for at least 20 minutes before you carve into it. Use this time to bake the stuffing.
4. At this point, your guests are likely showing up. Have them set out their appetizers and stick any side dishes they brought that need to be warmed up, along with the rolls (on an ungreased baking sheet), into the oven with the stuffing until everything is nice and hot, about 20 minutes. Transfer the hot rolls into a basket lined with a clean dish towel or napkin.
5. Just before you carve the turkey, make the gravy and transfer it to a bowl with a spoon, or a gravy boat (whoa, you have a gravy boat?).
6. Ask everyone to help you bring the food to the table, and invite your guests to be seated.
7. Finally, raise a glass, toast yourself, your friends, and the joys of pulling off the cooking of an enormous meal, and dig in.
8. Make everyone else do the dishes. Obviously.