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We cooked Thansgiving dinner yesterday.

This was not a trial run. I just saw a good deal on frozen free-range turkeys, and swooped down the aisles in search of dressing, cranberry sauce and stock. The family comes over on Sundays to watch Patriots games, and it became a habit even on bye weeks and off-season. Some weeks, they get science projects for dinner.

It's all coming back to me now: The turkey didn't quite thaw (I thought two days would be enough). A few hours of cold water bath helped, but to get the bag of gizzards out, Joe ran warm water through the turkey's tunnel.

Everybody pitched in, the gravy was good, mashed potatoes and fresh green beans perfectly cooked. I had remembered to chill the cranberry but didn't buy enough rolls. (The party grew unexpectedly). The only disappointments were the healthy store-bought pies: Both the apple and pecan fillings were mushy.

And while arriving guests loved the aroma of turkey cooking, the house now reeks of turkey grease, the scent of tiny fowl electrons strong as incense.

Lessons from yesterday:

-- Buy a fresh turkey. By Thanksgiving you won't want it in your fridge thawing for three days, and it may not have much luck thawing outdoors. You can put a fresh turkey in a cooler on the porch on late-November nights and make room in your fridge for the rest of the feast.

-- Consider looking into your oven with a flashlight. You might not want to clean it before Thanksgiving but I'm considering it. I just read reviews of Easy Off Max Fume Free Oven Cleaner, but I really think I need a commercial gunk-removal squad. This one gets raves from people willing to spray wet baking soda frequently for a while as long as they don't have to scrub: Eight Easy Steps to a Clean Oven.

-- Dried mushrooms are a nice addition stuffing, and add interesting contrast. Just pour boiling water over them while you're chopping onions and celery, drain and add them after 20 minutes or so.

-- Have a backup easy dessert, like cookies, ice cream and chocolate sauce.

It doesn't have to be so hard.

If you want to start recipe-browsing, here's what I blogged last year: 2008 Thanksgiving recipes from newspaper food sections. This grew to four parts and a personal finale, all linked from there. Not all the links at newspapers still work, but many do.

There are many more from Providence Journal Food sections at projo.com's Thanksgiving recipes.

Here's a search link to Thanksgiving recipes blogged in previous years.

I'll gather new recipes much closer to dinnertime.