I am cooking turkey and doing Thanksgiving for my parents, my best friend
and her husband, and my other best friend and her nephew. This is the
first time I've cooked a turkey or hosted a holiday meal.

I am not completely inexperienced in the kitchen, am working hard to "keep
it real", and my friends are bringing the dessert (and mom is bringing
gravy from the freezer :-). I also just took the "New Classic
Thanksgiving" class that Fine Cooking has been doing around the country.
So I'm feeling ok about this. I have the menu down in my mind, with
allowances for the no-onions person, the fishitarian, and the
dairy-sensitive. Actually, the class was worth the price of admission for
the tips that mashed potatoes can be done up to 2 hours ahead and
microwaved to warm up (don't put them in the fridge), and I can blanch the
green beans the night before. Bye bye last minute anxiety! (Hey, I only have
two burners on my stove, that is going to help.)

But I have questions, and I imagine a number of first-timers do.

I am getting a "natural" birdie from my favorite meat counter and plan to
brine it. I know I should have asked this last night, but forgot. Recipe
says 1 cup kosher salt. I have a big box of Diamond brand salt around.
It's flakier and less dense than a lot of salt. Should I use more than
one cup?

I seem to recall reading (yeah, I could check google, but I'm fried) that
brined birds work better if you brine them and then take them out of the
brine and let them "dry out" in the fridge. I'm getting the bird on
Tuesday, should I brine one day and let it "dry out" overnight, or just
pat it REALLY REALLY dry? Is there a law of diminishing return for
brining? (e.g. is the recommended 18-24 hours not to be exceeded)

Also, if I am using a ricer for my potatoes, do I really need
to bother to peel the potatoes when I boil them?

Thanks,

Charlotte
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