The T-day game plan

--1 14-lb turkey, soon to go into brine. To be stuffed and roasted.

-- Corn bread pudding -- to be gently reheated

-- Green beans -- trimmed and ready to be microwaved. Yes, so the taste won't be optimal. But they're more of a nice green statement at the holiday table than actual food.

-- Potatoes, already peeled, cubed and sitting in water. To be boiled and mashed with an obscene amount of butter.

-- Rolls in dough form -- to be shaped and baked.

-- 2 pies, pumpkin and apple, to be filled and baked.

Everything is made from scratch, except for the stuffing (because pepperidge farm stuffing is yum) and the cranberry jelly (because...I secretly prefer the canned stuff to homemade).

And yes, it's practically an all Food Network Thanksgiving.

A thought: Somebody should come up with a tabletop appliance that is like a toaster oven but square in shape. It would be worth its weight in gold for pies on major holiday occasions, and frozen pizzas when a whole oven takes too long to heat up, and otherwise do everything accomplished by a toaster oven without taking up hardly any more counter space. C'mon, appliance people. We're not talking rocket science here. Just a tiny tweak on existing technology. It's certainly would be more useful than an all-in-one breakfast sandwich maker.