The trick, of course, rests in minimizing the work that goes into food preparation and maximizing the opportunity to have a truly great time with family and friends.

You can make your own Thanksgiving an event to remember � and repeat � if you learn three rules: get organized, get help and get simple.

Get organized
Thanksgiving is probably the biggest meal you serve during the year. All that food, so little space. Clean out your refrigerator before you do any shopping, says Sherleen Clausen, a culinary specialist with Butterball Turkey Co. in Downers Grove, Ill. That way you'll have space for fruits, vegetables and a 20- to 30-pound turkey.

Allow 1 1/2 pounds of turkey per adult for hearty eaters; 1 pound per adult for a normal serving; and 1/2 pound per child. If you�re having a crowd, you may choose two smaller turkeys, as Diane Morgan does. "Two turkeys are faster and easier to cook. I carve one turkey and have the other waiting for guests who ask for seconds," says Morgan, a Portland, Ore., cook.

Decide whether you want a fresh or frozen bird. If you prefer fresh, you'll probably have to place your order two to three weeks in advance. If you want a frozen turkey, you'll want to buy it up to a week ahead of time.

"The biggest problem for people is that they don't allow enough time to thaw the bird," Clausen says. (Turkey thawing is the No. 1 question fielded by home economists staffing the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line each fall.) "A 20-pound turkey will easily take four days in the refrigerator to thaw."

Once you've settled on the turkey, everything falls into place. Gather your recipes a week in advance. Make a list of the ingredients you need and shop for non-perishables. Buy produce and dairy products a couple of days ahead. Get as much as possible cooked in advance, say the pros.

The following can be prepared and frozen:

• most soups;
• cooked squash puree;
• raw or baked pie crusts;
• raw or baked pumpkin pies;
• rolls and quick breads.

The following can be made a day ahead and refrigerated:

• cranberry relish,
• cooked vegetables; and
• mashed potatoes.

Chop vegetables and bread cubes for stuffing in advance, but don't mix the ingredients until you're ready to roast the turkey, Clausen says. Although it may seem silly, set the table the night before. That way you won't worry about water spots on the glasses while you're mixing gravy.

Get help
Thanksgiving is easier if it's a group effort. "You can make the holiday less stressful and more festive by letting other people bring some of the dishes," says Morgan, author of the new book The Thanksgiving Table (Chronicle Books, 2001).

"The original Thanksgiving was the ultimate potluck. Why stop now?" she says. Morgan, who prepared 14 to 16 full Thanksgiving dinners to test recipes for her cookbook, suggests you make the turkey, stuffing and maybe the mashed potatoes and invite guests to bring the vegetables, desserts and cranberry sauce. If you're not comfortable with that, let guests help in the kitchen.

"I like to do Thanksgiving as a group," says Martha Storey, author of 500 Treasured Country Recipes From Martha Storey & Friends (Storey Books, 2000). "We sit around chopping vegetables together. People like to help."

Friends and loved ones also tend to be resilient in the face of disaster. Storey recalls the "exploding" sink her daughter faced one recent Thanksgiving when she hosted the meal. "We all did the dishes in the bathroom sink," Storey says.

Get simple
"My rule of thumb for Thanksgiving is start cooking early and don't do anything overly complicated. Do the things you�re confident to do and don't go out on a limb," Storey says. Look for ways to avoid a kitchen logjam. Clausen suggests you grill instead of oven-roast a turkey. You'll free up your oven and get someone else to tend the bird.

Don't do things just because your mother did. Streamline the menu. Skip the appetizers; go from five vegetables to one or two, and don't feel you have to make everything. "There are so many good bakeries. You can buy a pie," Morgan says.

If you've ever suffered through turkey with the consistency of plywood, you'll appreciate Morgan's brining technique. This old-fashioned treatment, which is very popular now, results in succulent poultry.


Frequently Asked Questions

1. My turkey is done, but guests haven't arrived. What should I do?
"Remove the turkey from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 140 degrees and return the turkey to stay warm," says Clausen, who warns this is still a temporary measure.

2. I'm making the turkey, but the dinner will be at my brother's house. How can I transport it?
"Wrap the bird in heavy-duty foil, then wrap in towels and put it in an insulated cooler," Clausen says.

3. Can I stuff a bird I'm going to cook on the grill?
Clausen says no.

4. We keep the leftover bird on the counter so we can pick the meat all evening. Is that OK?
"We recommend refrigerating turkey two hours after roasting. Remove the stuffing and put in a container in the refrigerator. Take the meat off the bone and chill it in several small shallow containers rather than one big one. It will cool down faster," Clausen says.