Thanksgiving math actually isn’t all that hard. You just need to use a few basic equations.
Perhaps you need to know how many pies to serve. Tally the total number of guests, then add another eight guests to that number to account for your niece’s heartthrob of the moment (who may or may not come, but if he does will eat an entire pie himself). Now subtract 12 from your total to account for the guests who without warning will diagnose themselves as gluten-sensitive, fruit-free, paleo-centric or anti-sugar. Buy that many pies.
How big a turkey should you get? This one is more complicated. Start by making a list of everyone coming to dinner. Rate each guest on an annoyance scale of 1 to 10. Bump up the rating by 2 points for any guest likely to spend the day standing in the kitchen distracting you. Tally all of the ratings, then divide by the total number of guests. If the final score is 5 or more, don’t waste your money on any turkey. You’ll probably overcook it while being annoyed and distracted by guests.
For more help navigating the Thanksgiving math minefield, we’ve assembled a cheat sheet to the most common culinary calculations. And because this is Thanksgiving, all estimates are generous to allow for plenty of seconds and leftovers.
The sides
• Carrots: a 1-pound bag makes 4 to 5 servings.
• Cranberry sauce: a 12-ounce package of fresh cranberries makes about 2 1/4 cups of sauce; a 16-ounce can has 6 servings.
• Gravy: plan for 1/3 cup of gravy per person.
• Green beans: 1 1/2 pounds of beans makes 6 to 8 servings.
• Mashed potatoes: a 5-pound bag of potatoes makes 10 servings.
• Stuffing: a 14-ounce bag of stuffing makes about 11 servings.
Double-oven trouble?
Are you lucky enough to be blessed with two ovens? Your Thanksgiving prep just got easier. Here’s how to make the most of the extra roasting space.
• Dedicate one oven (if one is larger, use the larger) to the turkey. Place one rack on the oven’s lowest shelf and remove all others. When the bird goes in the oven, it goes on that bottom rack. Now see if you have room to add another rack over it. If so, this is the ideal place to cook your stuffing (assuming it isn’t in the bird), au gratin potatoes and green bean casseroles, which can cook at the same temperature at the bird.
• Early in the day, use the second oven to cook anything that can be done ahead. Pies and rolls are good. Closer to the time you will serve the meal, use the second oven to cook things that need a higher temperature than the turkey, such as roasted root vegetables and pies. As the turkey is being carved, use both ovens to reheat items (such as those rolls) or keep things warm.
The desserts
• Pie: a 9-inch pie can be cut into 8 modest slices.
• Whipped cream: Dolloping whipped cream on those 8 modest slices will require 1 cup of heavy cream beaten with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (a splash of vanilla extract is nice, too).
• Ice cream: a la mode doesn’t require much — 1 pint per pie should suffice.
