But under the sink is a cool, dark place. 
You know those clear plastic bags that grocery stores provide in the fresh fruit/vegetables aisle? I’m keeping 'em in one of those, which in turn is wrapped in one of the store’s plastic bags, on the kitchen counter. It’s a room-temperature, dim place. 
You don’t have a drawer or cabinet you can stick them in? Sitting on a countertop is going to hasten the spoilage process.
Nope, no free drawer or cabinet. What about putting them in the fridge?
For the amount of time you will be storing them, under the sink, in the fridge or hell in a paper bag on the counter will be fine.
It’s not like Thanksgiving is 4 months away.
Admittedly, this lyric is not commonly associated with Thanksgiving, but it also isn’t limited to Christmas:
There’s a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy,
As we pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie
Be ready to brew a pot of good coffee to serve with dessert. Maybe canvass your guests to see if any of them considers himself a coffee guru, then invite him to bring the necessary. Or you might be able to do a Board search for coffee suggestions.
—Figure out, right now, what’s going to be cooked in which pot and what’s going to be served in which dish. Like, the mashed potatoes will be boiled in the big cooking pot and served in the blue bowl. Nothing like being all set to make the roux and realizing that the saucepan you need is already dirty from the sweet potatoes.
—Work backwards from the serving time. If you’re serving at four, and the stuffing has to bake for an hour, then you put it in at three, and like that.
—Try, as much as you can, to wash pots and pans as you go along. Cleanup will be hellish enough without starting with a sink already full of dishes.
—Don’t be afraid to ask someone to give you a hand. Like, “Can someone put these potatoes in a bowl? I’m all tied up with the roux here.”
—For appetizers, you can’t go wrong with toast, popcorn, jelly beans and pretzel sticks.
Rick, have you ever tried the Granitewear with a cover? Never had a dry turkey, and really no special precautions need be taken 'cept make sure you add enough water to the pot. I also use the ‘butter under the skin method’ and I add a couple of sticks of butter to the pot (along with the gravy and giblets and water). If you keep the cover on the whole time ('till the last 1/2 hour) and turn the heat down a bit the bird will come out perfect. You may even baste if desired, but even if you don’t the bird just falls apart when it comes out. I don’t use a knife to trim, two forks is usually enough.
I’ve had nothing but praise from anyone who’s ate with on.
I use Alton’s cooking method, *without the brine * and it comes out perfect every year.
One caveat about brining: It makes the drippings very salty. Since you don’t seem to be concerned about making gravy this probably isn’t a problem, but that is the reason I no longer brine any fowl, instead I inject, cover and baste turkeys, and use a rotisserie for chicken.
Well, I’m not sure about the drippings. I don’t really intend to make gravy, but people might be disappointed in no real gravy. I recall reading that it might be possibly to thin out the saltiness and still make gravy. I don’t know.
I have the stuff to brine with, except none of the stores have brining bags. So I may not brine by default.
No for the simple reason that you can’t get smoke flavor inside a pot. (In case you missed it, I do mine on the BBQ) I have done chickens in covered pots, and while very tender, not the texture or presentation I am shooting for in a Holiday bird.
phall0106 If you have never brined a bird, you don’t have a basis to compare. No matter how good you think it is without a brine, it is better with a brine. Trust me on this, I have done them both ways.
light strand Alton’s brine is really not that salty when compared to many others. Therefore the drippings are not as salty as they might be. Also you can cut the drippings with a little chicken stock the gravy comes out perfect.
BlueKangaroo time to get creative. If you can’t find brining bags in the supermarket, try Williams Sonoma. If that still is a no go, go to a professional kitchen supply store and buy a plastic prep container of about 12-14 qts (about $10 bucks) Or if all else fails, get a clean plastic 5 gallon bucket (what Alton recommends) I saw clean used food grade 5 gallon buckets at the Krispy Kreme for $2 week before last.
So BlueKangaroo have you found a brining vessel yet?
Not yet. I just got the turkey an hour ago!
But I’ll be sending the Kangaroo_in_Black to check out Williams Sonoma later in the day.
Just use a Reynold’s Turkey Roasting bag.
I found brining bags at Bed, Bath and Beyond. A cooler also works well.
Well, we found brining bags at Williams-Sonoma, so that’s done.
The brine is made and in the fridge now. The turkey came oven ready, so I will start brining it sometime tomorrow. Probably I will try to get to it around 8pm. I’ll let it brine until I go to bed, which will probably be around midnight. Then I’ll pop it in the fridge, uncovered.
Thanks, Rick. Here’s hoping! Tomorrow is pie day, and possibly sweet potato day.
Rick It sounds like you will be at many, many Thanksgiving tables this year so try not to over-do it to badly. 
As to the brine bag problem, I will be using my large pot I use for spaghetti sauce and such. I’ll put the turkey and brine in and set the whole thing in the cooler with ice around it.
Thanks to all for the great ideas! I’m off to the store for some last minute stuff.
So Blue kangaroo how did it come out? For that matter how did it come out for everybody? I’m on the west coast, so it will be a few hours yet for me.
It’s going to be a few hours for us as well. The Kangaroo_in_Black has to work today until 4pm, so dinner will be at 6pm.
However, the turkey is in the fridge crisping now. I have two pies made, and am going to make a third. The sweet potatoes are in the fridge and they are to die for. I’ll make an apple pie soonish.
I’m working on the deviled eggs, and trying to decide if my yolks are done enough. I’m getting 2 shades of yellow and a tiny, tiny patch of slightly liquidy area, but not like uncooked liquid, like soft fried liquid.
Well, it turns out I can’t peel eggs in a pretty manner any way, so it looks like my first attempt at deviled eggs is a bust. That’s sad, but not a huge problem, as I have other munchies for before dinner.
I was wondering, if you’re reading still, am I supposed to baste this turkey?