2009 thanksgiving plan and timings

Looks like Beckey's folks and our friends Ray and Patrick are coming up for Thanksgiving.

Proposed menu:

1. 20-22 lb roast turkey (no stuffing, stuffed with thyme, lemon, and onion)
2. roasted garlic mashed potatoes
3. roasted brussel sprouts with pancetta
4. cranberry sauce
5. gravy
6. Beckey's family sausage stuffing
7. green beans
8. roasted beets
9. yams
10. brandied white onions
11. pumpkin pie

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Here are the actual timings for 2009 Thanksgiving

23 lb bird, 16-17min/lb, 6.1 - 6.5 hours

Night before:

• Stuffing is made
• Cranberry sauce is made
• Make rosemary compound butter (2 sticks unsalted butter, about 3 tbsp fresh rosemary, 1 tbsp fresh sage)
  

The next day:

Preheat oven to 500F: 800am
Prep turkey: 830am
Turkey in the oven: 900am (actually, 850am)
Garlic goes in to roast: 930am
Make bacon-wrapped dates: 945p
Garlic comes out: 1130am

Set table: 200p
Peel potatoes:200p
Start potatoes in cold water: 230p
Stuffing goes in to bake: 230p
Prep brussels (wash, cut and peel): 230p

Turkey comes out to rest: 330p
CHECK STUFFING FOR DONENESS! 330p
Oven goes up to 425F: 330p
Start green beans: 330p
Start onions & yams: 330p
Onions & yams & beets & brussels go into oven: 345p
CHECK STUFFING AGAIN: comes out?
Heat soup: 400p
Make gravy: 400p
Heat rolls: 415p

DINNER TIME: 430p

Notes:

• Turned out fine! LOTS of turkey for leftovers.
  
• Turkey was done in probably 5 hours! Turkey must've rested for 45min to 1 hour but was still hot and juicy. Skin was beautiful crisp and brown.
  
• I really felt "in the weeds", b/c most of the production took place AFTER the turkey went in: peeling & cutting potatoes (2 person job), brussel sprouts, onions, yams, stuffing going into the oven.
  
• Took about 45 minutes to do stuffing (brought it up to about 167 degrees). It was in one of those 1/2 size aluminum serving trays.
• Gravy turned out really well; our friend Patrick really liked it.
  
• It was great that our friends Ray and Patrick brought homemade butternut squash soup and pumpkin pie.
  
• Fresh green beans: added to 1" of boiling water in large skillet, flipping with tongs took about 15 min, covered with foil and let sit.
  
• Boiler onions: the frozen ones took longer to cook, and were tiny! Still good flavor.