Meal planning guide

Shopping List
1 loaf bread
1 carrot
1 bunch celery
1 pint half-and-half
1 (12-ounce) bag cranberries
2 cups milk
2 onions
1 bunch parsley
6 baking potatoes
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 bunch sage
1 (12- to 14-pound) turkey
1 orange

Staples
Allspice
Butter
Cinnamon sticks
Cloves
Eggs
Flour
Ginger
Nutmeg
Pepper
Peppercorns
Salt
Dark brown sugar
Granulated Sugar

GAME PLAN

1 Week Before: Order fresh turkey.

3 Days Before: Buy frozen turkey. Put in refrigerator to defrost. Make cranberry sauce, cover and refrigerate.

2 Days Before: Prepare pumpkin pie filling and make dough for pie shell.

1 Day Before: Pick up fresh turkey.

Night Before: Roll out shell and fit in pie plate. Fill and bake. Cool and set aside. Cut bread into cubes for stuffing and bake in 200-degree oven until dry, about 1 hour. Set aside.

Day of dinner:

9:30 a.m.: Chop onion, celery, sage and parsley for stuffing. Combine with other ingredients.

10 a.m.: Stuff turkey and put in oven.

Noon: Brown giblets for gravy. Add onions, carrots and peppercorns; then add water and bring to boil. Simmer to make turkey stock.

1 p.m.: Peel potatoes for mashed potatoes and cover with water to hold.

3:00 p.m. Boil potatoes for mashed potatoes.

3:30: Remove turkey from oven, tent with foil and set aside to rest. Make mashed potatoes.

3:45: Deglaze roasting pan with stock to make gravy.

4 p.m.: Carve and eat.

Need help? Here are some toll-free phone lines and Web sites.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline: (800) 535-4555.

Food safety specialists answer calls about meat and poultry preparation and cooking questions, year-round Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Recorded information is available 24 hours a day at the same number.

Butterball Turkey Talk-Line: (800) 288-8372.

Home economists and nutritionists answer holiday cooks’ questions, in both English and Spanish. The company operates its Turkey Talk-Line 6 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays; 6 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends through Nov. 21; and 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. https://www.butterball.com

Foster Farms Turkey Helpline: (800) 255-7227.

Turkey-cooking questions are answered and information given by live operators 24 hours a day Nov. 15-Nov. 26. After that date, Helpline is available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. After-hours voice mail is available. www.fosterfarms.com.

Empire Kosher consumer-affairs hot line: (800) 367-4734.

Help is offered by consumer-affairs representatives year-round 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 5 a.m. to noon Friday. Program offers recipes, newsletter, video, tips on defrosting and cooking poultry. Closed Jewish and secular holidays, including Thanksgiving. www.empirekosher.com.

Land O’Lakes Holiday Bakeline: (800) 782-9606.

Baking specialists are available for questions or suggestions 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Dec. 24. Free recipe leaflet for all callers. www.landolakes.com.