Getting ready

I'm in full planning mode for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I have a very specific menu and start tracking down items well before the holiday.
This year I've ordered two heritage turkeys. These are turkeys with bloodlines closer to wild turkeys that were cultivated long before our current mass-produced birds. Unlike the broadbreasted turkeys that grow large quickly, these birds take a long to develop and have a more even white/dark meat ratio.
I've been fascinated with the concept since a friend gave me a flier about them last year. In the intervening year, more turkey producers are offering them this year.
This year, I'm also making the young women in the family contribute a dish.
I'm kind of a megalomaniac when it comes to the kitchen and preparing feasts. But it's time to realize that eventually I'll need to pass the torch and it would be fun to teach a little of what I've learned.
I've got my Thanksgiving decorations in place and am assembling the required table accoutrements. My husband had the wonderful idea of hollowing pumpkins out and putting flowers in them and they looked gorgeous last year. So we're doing it again this year.
We should have lots of people come over because every year there seems to be more and more people who enjoy having a place to go. It's always been my fantasy to cook big meals for a crowd of people.
We'll be having our traditional meal of turkey with cornbread/celery/almond/current dressing. Homemade mashed potatoes (these are a real crowd pleaser and no matter how much I make (I've made up to 10 pounds of mashed spuds) it's not enough. We'll have green beans with toasted almonds; mashed sweet potatoes with orange, maple syrup and toasted pecans; creamed pearl onions; pureed squash; roasted rosemary turnips; giblet gravy; cranberry orange relish; boiled cranberry sauce; two pumpkins pies and an apple pie. Oh yeah, and rolls.
I'm going to try brining this year. I bought some great plastic bags at Sur la Table, which are perfect for this purpose. I've read that brining is perfect with the somewhat tougher heritage birds.
I'm planning to use one of the birds so I can send people away with leftovers. It's just not Thanksgiving without leftovers in my book.
I just have one hope. I live in Southern California and sometimes Thanksgiving can be quite warm, which makes cooking a rather warm affair -- we've had to move Thanksgiving dinner out one the patio on more than one occasion.