Omg, Jan, really laughing here. I can just see you furtively watching her. LOL.. Then later the dagger looks. Glad you got the wonderful cake. Coconut... who lovvvesss coconut cake too. Today was our neighboring towns [four miles away] firehouses first chicken bbq of the season. Whole half small chickens basted with plenty of salt water over nice fires. So good. It really makes me mad that the women of the firehouse don't do big cake sales when they have the bbq's. They will have a few brownies and some crappy cupcakes with canned icing. Canned icing.... ickkkk... Seems they'd make some extra money with the bake sales but, they do such a big crowd with the chickens I guess they don't care. They even serve what seems to be some crappy commercial potato salad and cole slaw.

Lars, I make a half batch of Ann's caramel and keep it in the fridge in a canning jar..lasts a long time..it will "crystalize" a bit though reheated in the micro in the jar, but I don't mind..if I want it smooth again when heating up, I just pour it in a pan and simmer with a bit more cream. I'm still eating the whipped cream..LOL... I've got Alton's Vanilla icecream in the KA right now..Doesn't seem to make a very big batch..I guess I won't have to share.....ROFLMAO

If you do have it, the cooking is easy. One or two days before 1. Set the table the day before. Get all serving pieces and utensils ready, for each dish. Put them out. Napkins, glasses, stemware and decor if applicable, daughter's stuff. salt/pepper/condiments. Guests won't feel deprived if they dont have pickles(unless it's that strange person....) 2. Clear an area to serve dessert, even if plating in the kitchen. Keep dessert area near the coffee/tea area. Serving pieces and plates ready. Have coffee/tea making stuff ready, near the dessert area. Have sugar and creamer bowls ready for service. Use lemons? have a plate/knife, have it out. Dessert teaspoons/forks? put them out here. 3. Disposables are fine in my book. Fifty years ago I used sterling, china and crystal. Then silverplate. Then various potteries and stoneware with stainless utensils. Wood, chrome, stainless, etc serving pieces. Now I use disposables for appet and desserts, and I don't give a hoot. (70 yrs old now) And I love tablescaping. I have a ton of stuff. Very personal here. If you only have energy or desire for disposables, don't be affected by critical snobs. I love good stuff, but I love good people more-and I surely care more about the people. 4. I roast a turkey breast and dark meat pieces. Everyone's favorites. Use the time guides on the packaged turkey and/or in reliable books or reliable on line sources. 5. I don't stuff the turkey anymore but do stuffing in a casserole/or baking pan. No toxins from turkey juices-which can be simulated, taste-wise, by butter, stock, water and spices. Not the toxins! Packaged stuffing stuff is great. If you add celery/onions/nuts/family faves/ cut the celery/onions, etc the day before-which is two days before tg? Wrap in cheap fold over sandwich bags, double wrapped to contain smells. The single most important roadblock to a successful tg day, is an inadequately defrosted turkey. This has been mentioned often before. Depending on size, at least, three,four or five days of defrosting. You can't do anything with a partially frozen turkey. Keep it simple, less sides. Not 4 cranberry recipes to keep everyone happy. Guests will love 7 starches, but will respect 3 plant dishes. What do you want, love or respect. Well, that's pretty drastic, No, hunnybun, no need to choose between love and respect. I am getting crazed. To be continued.

I hope you won't shut up and knuckle under, Bart. Sounds like you came from an intolerant background. But you all do sound like an echo chamber. Guess it's nice to have common values. I think I value human rights too. Maybe re the bathroom issue human rights trump people's comfort zones, but I think forcing people on this issue is itself intolerant. People change gradually. IMO gradual change can be more lasting and more valid as it may come from the heart. Sometimes maybe there is not time to wait around for that. It's debatable. IMO Martin Luther King had it right as he didn't demonize anyone. He treated people like he wanted them to exist, to be around, to contain a different attitude and to relate to better to. Not to pound into oblivion, shame into like mindedness, trivialized, etc. IMO race relations and acceptance of gays got a lot better through the last half of the century and beyond. I think it came from the heart. From just living, discovering friends, finding that relationships were valuable, people who used to live more apart could work together. I know I took joy in it. The demonizing and force work against all that. The appropriation of identity politics issues. Some do it in a cynical way I believe.