Thanksgiving’s at 5:55

I am a 49-year-old career woman who had, unbelievably, never prepared a Thanksgiving dinner until last year. Dreading the loneliness of Thanksgiving alone, I invited 12 of my unmarried, baby-boomer friends to dinner at my home. When they all accepted the invitation, I realized in a panic that I didn’t have the first clue how to prepare what is probably the most emotional meal any of us ever eat.

On an impulse I decided to check The Times Food Section (Nov. 21, 1991) for help. Until then, this was a section of the newspaper that I had never read, so I was in for a wonderful surprise. In the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving I found step-by-step articles on how to prepare dinner, including a timetable, a feature on how to carve a turkey, even a warning article about botulism. By following your recommendations I actually served dinner to 12 guests at 5:55 p.m., when dinner had been promised at 6. (Back home, Thanksgiving dinner had never been served on time!) The turkey was carved by a bachelor who held your article in front of him as he did the honors. No one got sick, and everyone raved about the menu!

PAT KAYE

Burbank