Thank you everyone! Grainlady, you solved a problem I was having with by suggesting your recipe. It's printed out and attached to my notes and already on my shopping list. We live in Arizona and like a lot of other places, the temps here have been so high that we've been compared to Death Valley temps. Ugh! We were up to 128-129 for a couple days. Double ugh! But hey, it's cooled down to 121 for the past couple of days. :) The pumpkin parfaits couldn't be more perfect and will be one less thing to heat the house up and something the younger kids can put together. We downsized drastically when we bought this home and moved about seven months ago. My kitchen doesn't have half the counter and prep space that I had before...or any other space that we had before. Liz, our friends and family will be helping but I'm kinda OCD about my Thanksgiving dinners. But in planning I'm realizing that it's time to get over it. Strangely, not so much with other meals and since everyone is volunteering kitchen clean-up, meal suggestions, shopping and cooking it's really going to make it easy. So far we have about 35 people arriving in a two week period, with a 4-day window when everyone will be here together. We're expecting that number to rise somewhat in the next couple of weeks. We're lucky that we live very close to a lake and boats, PWC's and a couple motorhomes will be in the mix and arriving as well as our boat and pool, even tho it's a smallish pool. A surprise that we got yesterday was that our neighbor offered us the use of his house! We live in a town where a very significant percent of the homes are owned by out-of-towners as vacation homes and snow bird homes so they sit unoccupied most of the time. Our one neighbor, who we've only met/seen three times had come out to check on his house from out of state and we asked him if it would be ok if our visitors could park in front of his home (on the street) if he wasn't going to be here. Half an hour later his wife came over with the keys to their house and asked if we wanted to use it. We was absolutely stunned! Even today I can't believe it but I did call around and found a cleaning company for after all the company leaves. My husband and I also decided to pay for one month's of their water and other utilities bills so that they aren't incurring a cost as well as take them out for a nice dinner when they're back in town. I made PW's recipe yesterday and my husband didn't complain too much but he wasn't overly excited about it either. I froze a good portion of it as I want to see how it is after defrosting and warming. But, like Annie, I like mashed potatoes the traditonal way and have always made it that way with butter, a little cream and S&P. So that will most likely be the route I take, especially if someone else does all the peeling.That is probably the one thing I hate to do in any meal that calls for potatoes. Here's the basics of how I plan on doing all the hot foods: 2 turkeys - one stuffed, the other not - the 'empty' one done outside in the roaster the day before and the stuffed one done in the roaster outside the day of. Ham - spiral, wrapped in foil and warmed on the grill Two sides (yet to be determined, but sure one will be spiced yams) will be done in crock pots...you guessed it, outside. Deviled eggs started the day before. I'm also toying with the idea of making LindaC's cranberry Jezebel but haven't decided for sure. I've had the recipe for years but have never made it. Potatoes will be done inside and like suggested above, will put them on a back burner. Just so happens that I have a warmer spot on my stove that I've never used so thanx for the suggestion/reminder. I also have two warming plates so I'm sure those will be in use as well. Any other sides will be lighter and cold dishes and easy to make ahead. Our niece's BF makes breads and he's already volunteered to do all the bread and roll making, as well as breakfast rolls. Think that will be done at the neighbor's house. Alot of the eating will be done sitting on the floor or any other place that can be found. Nothing formal about this get-together or turkey dinner. One thing I never do is make appies.........I want everyone very hungry, so a light fruit breakfast the morning of the turkey dinner. Which is why they probably all think my meals are so spectacular because they're all half starving by the time dinner was completely ready. I'm sorry this got so long and that I've been rambling on. I am so very excited about next month and all the company that will be here. We have some wonderful long time friends and family and it's going to be oh-so worth all the time and effort. Thank you all again! Jenna

I make this recipe every year during the holidays - I know mashed potatoes are one of the easiest things to make, but IMHO it's also one that can be successfully made ahead, so I don't bother when we have lots of other things going on. With the meal you've described, this really would feed 12 as a side dish, so you could either double it for really generous portions and seconds, or just increase by 50% for about the right amount. Becky * Exported from MasterCook * Rich Mashed Potatoes Recipe By :Becky Chatham Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Freezer Potatoes Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 4 pounds Potatoes (12 medium) 4 cloves garlic -- pressed 1 package Cream cheese -- (8-oz.) 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 1 stick butter or margarine 1 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons Salt 1/2 teaspoon paprika Grease casserole dish. Cook potatoes and pressed garlic in water, drain, mash. Add butter, cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper. Beat until fluffy. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake 350 for 30 minutes. This keeps in freezer, but thaw bake when ready to use. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Makes one 9x13 pan or two 8x8 pans.

Thanks all. Tib, I read that refrigerating the potatoes brings out the starch but it sounds like they are fine that way. If I could peel them the night before it would be a cinch to throw them together on Tday! Lvmadison, thank you for the recipe, they are very close to the ones I made last year. Ann, I was turned off by the cream cheese at first too but honestly they just taste like luscious creamy mashed. You would never know they were a casserole if you didn't see them in the casserole dish. Lars, I like the way you think using a pressure cooker, I don't have one but you are right about the peeling being the worst. The Ree Drumond potatoes do have cream cheese in them but my whole family said they were the best mashed potatoes they ever had so why mess with success? I will do the peeling tomorrow night stow them in the fridge and get them ready to bake.

I am trying a new (to me) recipe. It uses russet Baked potatoes, cream, and butter. So far they are easy and taste wonderful. We will see how it works tomorrow...I may be killed, I know my mother is rolling over in her grave.... 3-1/2 pounds Russet potatoes 2 cups heavy cream 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 1-1/2 teaspoons salt Chives, for serving Instruction Preheat the oven to 450°F and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack (alternatively, you can place them on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet). Bake until very soft, 50 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. (Err on the side of overcooking rather than undercooking them.) Remove the potatoes from the oven. While they are still hot, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Using an oven mitt or a folded kitchen towel to hold the hot potatoes, scoop out all of the flesh from each potato half into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (see note on using a hand-held electric mixer). Break the cooked potato flesh down into small pieces using a fork, potato masher, or rubber spatula. Beat on low speed until completely smooth and no lumps remain, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream and 6 tablespoons of the butter to a simmer. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and, using a large rubber spatula, gradually fold in the hot cream and butter mixture. It will take a few minutes to mix it all in; keep folding until the potatoes are smooth and creamy. Stir in the salt, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Transfer the mashed potatoes to a large microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap (the bowl should be large enough that the potatoes don’t touch the plastic wrap). Refrigerate for up to 2 days. (DO NOT FREEZE) To reheat, use the tip of a knife to poke about 10 holes in the plastic wrap knife, and microwave at medium-high (75 percent) power until the potatoes are hot, about 14 minutes, stirring halfway through the reheating time. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Transfer the mashed potatoes to a serving dish, top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and sprinkle with the chives. Serve hot. Note: You can use a hand-held mixer instead of a stand mixer but the mashed potatoes won’t be quite as smooth. If you don't have either, you can pass the potatoes through a food mill or potato ricer and then whip by hand with a wooden spoon.