The Naked Truth About Thanksgiving; What to Make First? A Plan

THERE will be 11 of us at the Thanksgiving table this year, and if the table were larger there would be more. For me Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving unless there are a lot of people at my table.

I know that cooking a Thanksgiving feast takes a lot of time and effort, and I don't like cramming the entire process into a couple of days. I hate spending Thanksgiving either locked away in the kitchen or faced with a lot of kibitzers (I am incapable of cooking and chatting at the same time).

So I start preparing the week before, and I do as much as possible ahead of time. I order my turkey way in advance, and I keep lists: shopping lists; cleaning lists; a plate, silverware and glassware list; and the menu.

I don't want a repeat of the infamous Thanksgiving dinner when I, then an enthusiastic novice cook, decided on a chestnut stuffing, and on preparing the chestnuts from scratch. We ate at 10 that night.

Scratch the chestnuts.

Gone, too, are the carrot soufflés and all the other last-minute dishes. Getting the turkey right is challenging enough (though Kim Severson's streamlined turkey recipe on Page 10 removes a lot of the angst).

Very little is left for those final frantic minutes before everyone sits. Over the years I have figured out the dishes that can be prepared ahead so that by the time dinner is served in the late afternoon I'm not ready for bed.