Oh no -- hope we're not becoming predictable...!

We're just all so in sync...

Here is a funny story from the Awl -- in which Choire Sicha "debunks" the difficulty of making pie dough from scratch. http://bit.ly/5yyYFU I like the butter and cream cheese crusts in The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I learned a lot about pastry making from this book -- the key is chilling all your ingredients and not over-working the dough. If you don't have a pastry blender, you can do it in a food processor, or even quite easily by hand with your fingertips or a fork. Good luck!

Glad you raised the saltiness factor, lastnightsdinner! Morton's does, indeed, taste saltier and should not be used in the same proportions as Diamond Crystal, which has a softer salinity.

Janneke, it's possible that kosher salt is an American product. I don't ever remember seeing it in markets when I lived in England -- do even they sell such a thing in the Netherlands?

We would use the same guidelines outlined below for dry brining a whole turkey -- 3/4 teaspoon salt per pound of meat, on top of the skin, for 2 days. (Again, these suggestions come straight from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook) Good luck!

As we know them in the U.S., yams and sweet potatoes are interchangeable. The name "yam" is often adopted to distinguish varieties of sweet potato with bright orange flesh and dark skin (garnet yams, jewel yams, etc.) from their lighter brethren. Basically, anything you come across in your local supermarket will work for a Thanksgiving side dish. Real yams, which are not native to North America, are completely unrelated to sweet potatoes. They are very long, with dark brown or black skin and a higher sugar content than sweet potatoes. Although you can find them in some Latin grocery stores, you wouldn't want to use these in typical American sweet potato or yam recipes.

The "Pink Greens" recipe is made with beet greens but, yes, you can make it with spinach. Use mature spinach (large leaves as opposed to the baby stuff in bags) and, as Savorykitchen suggests, decrease the cooking time by a few minutes.

We completely understand your anxiety, but the good news is that gravy is really a no-brainer once you know what to do. Once the turkey is cooked, carefully pour off all but a few tablespoons of the fat, reserving the juices (you can use a gravy separator for this if you have one). Put the pan right on the stove over medium-low heat and add a large splash of wine or cognac, or whatever dry booze you have lying around. Cook for a little bit, scraping the pan to release all of the brown bits. At this stage, you can whisk in a smidge of flour (about 1 tablespoon) if you'd like. Then whisk in chicken or turkey stock (about 1/4 cup per guest) and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the gravy reaches the consistency you want. Taste, season with salt and pepper, and you're done!

and if you're averse to using booze to deglaze the pan, orange juice works well too.

The first thing I do is cut off the legs and slice them. Then I like to remove the entire breast from each side of the turkey so I can lay it on a cutting board and thinly slice it like a roast. This makes it much easier to handle -- no fighting with bones! Next my favorite part: picking the bones. Some of the most delicious meat is on the underside of the bird, around the backbone. Many people save these bits for soup but I like to serve them for the big meal. Here's a good video on YouTube from Cooking.com: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GCdkuQoLrY

I find someone else to do it.

Thanks so much for reminding us! Amanda made that stuffing, and it is both delicious and indeed, gluten free. And thank you for weighing in, it sounds like you have more expertise in this area than we do, and we so appreciate your weighing in.

For savory dishes, the best substitute for heavy cream is often olive oil, and for sweet dishes, we recommend coconut cream. Many cornbread recipes do not include flour, and you may want to try soy milk in place of the dairy. We're not experts in this area but here are two sites to consult: glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com and babycakesnyc.com. Babycakes sells gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free cornbread so they may be able to help you.

We recommend the smallest whole fresh turkey you can find. And remember, a turkey is a gift that keeps on giving -- the leftovers can be meals for a week, and the carcass can make a stock that can be frozen for months.

Stay tuned! In the next day or so our wine partner, Chambers Street Wines, will weigh in on this exact question!

The dry brining/salt rub method has been perfectly honed by Judy Rodgers of the Zuni Cafe, and these notes are summed up from her book, The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Salting poultry beforehand allows for the reabsorption of salted moisture into the bird's flesh. She recommends using 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt per pound of meat, and salting the turkey 2-3 days in advance. She says to wipe the bird off before roasting (but not rinse it), and to roast it at a high heat (450-500). Ultimately the argument for dry rub comes down to this: you use about 1/10 the salt (for a 14# bird, you use 10.5 teaspoons as opposed to 96 used in a 2 cups salt : 8 cups water standard brine), and it takes up less room in the fridge! I've done it with chickens for years, and had great success, and would love to hear if you go this route for your turkey.

Thanks Pierino for pointing us to Russ's story. Also, Kim Severson ran a recipe for dry-brined turkey in last week's NYT Dining Section. Here's a link: http://bit.ly/4qklWO

I think it's a good idea to combine these methods. By brining, you're basically taking out an insurance policy against dried-out meat, and you're adding flavor. But you should also do your best to avoid overcooking the turkey -- especially the white meat. As the NYT article points out, you can always return the dark meat to the oven to cook a little longer if you need to.

I'm making a Heritage turkey this year too, and both Amanda and I agree that brining helps to offset the lower fat content of an HT. We also think that low heat (350 degrees) is best, since the meat is darker and more sinewy than on a standard turkey. We'd recommend covering the turkey initially, and then uncovering it towards the end and turning the oven to 375 to brown the skin a little.

We agree -- looking forward to seeing yours!

That works for us!

We think your best bet is probably to think about the number of sweet potatoes you need in terms of how many will fit in the pan. Then we'd do 1 1/2 times the amount of bacon, and 1 1/2 times the amount of sauce. Use the sauce judiciously, and you shouldn't have to even double the recipe!