Lets Talk Turkey

No, really, lets talk turkey.

I'm having Thanksgiving this year.  And not just for me and Mike, I'm having thanksgiving for 9 (my parents, my uncle, Mike's parents, brother and his wife) or 10 (my sister) people total. Nine to ten people! (thank heavens our table seats 14).  I'm very excited about everyone coming in and cooking for that many people. I really am. But I'm also slightly terrified. 

I've never made a turkey before.  I've helped my mom previous thanksgivings and I've paid attention to what we were doing, but still, eep.  Those were 12 lb birds.  I was told you need 3 lbs of turkey per person, and that equals 30 lbs. Thirty!  So I did what any woman on her own having her first thanksgiving does: I begged my mom for help. (and cooking supplies. What? What else do you think we registered for?)

It sounds simple enough to roast a turkey in the oven.  Pop the turkey in the oven for some hours based on the amount of pounds, baste every now and again, let it rest a half hour before carving.  But then there are all these nuances you don't think about.  Like how big a turkey to actually get. The Joy of cooking told me 1 lb of turkey per person, my mom told me 3. Do I split the difference and say 2?  That's still a 20 lber! Do I roast breast side up or down?  Foil tent or no? Fresh or frozen turkey?  If I get a frozen turkey, I have to account for thaw time in the fridge. It will take days to thaw a 20 lb bird, and I don't have that amount of time for prime fridge space.  Do I stuff the bird with stuffing or aromatics? (stuffing). What kind of stuffing? (I'm partial to a sausage stuffing myself. Nothing says gluttony like stuffing another kind of meat into another) How about brining the bird?  When do you even do that? After it's thawed completely or during that last day of thawing? Where do you brine it? Do I even have a pot big enough to brine in the first place?

MOM!!!!!!