How do I schedule my Thanksgiving meal so that everything is hot at serving time?

This was the lament of a friend planning her first at-home Thanksgiving. The truth is that when it comes to timing, the traditional Thanksgiving dinner has one big advantage: the roast turkey.

A 14-pound bird needs to rest for at least 30 minutes after it is removed from the oven. Note that I did not say can rest, it needs to rest. During the rest, the juices will settle back into the meat so they don't spill out onto the cutting board when you start to carve. Tented tightly with aluminum foil, the bird will stay warm for up to an hour. And now that the turkey is out of the oven, your side dishes can go in.

Most oven-based Thanksgiving side dishes can be made ahead of time, a quality you should vigorously exploit. Make sweet-potato casserole, pumpkin pie, stuffing, etc. the night before and refrigerate them. Take them out of the refrigerator while the turkey is cooking so that they are at room temperature when the turkey leaves the oven — it should take about an hour for most chilled dishes to come to room temperature. They will then have no trouble heating through by mealtime.

Limit yourself to one stove-top side dish. This will usually be the green vegetable, and this can also be done largely ahead of time. For green beans amandine, for example, boil the beans in salted water until they are just tender. Drain and plunge into ice water until the beans are cool. Drain again, towel-dry, and store in a resealable plastic bag overnight in the refrigerator. Take them out while the turkey cooks so they can come to room temperature. You will need less than 10 minutes to saute them in butter with the slivered almonds. (The same technique works with Brussels sprouts.)

Plan a first course that either requires no cooking (such as salad) or can just sit, warming, on the back of the stove (such as soup).

Have all serving platters and utensils out and ready to go.

Ideally, three people are needed to make this operation go smoothly, all of whom must be willing to cut short their first courses: one person to carve the turkey, one person to cook the green vegetable, one person to clear and to serve.

Let's say that dinner time is 6 p.m. Here is a proposed time line:

• 1:30 p.m. Turkey goes into the oven.

• 4:30 p.m. All refrigerated side dishes out on counter.

• 5:20 p.m. Soup starts to warm on stove top.

• 5:30 p.m. Turkey out and oven side dishes can go in.

• 5:35 p.m. Start gravy.

• 5:45 p.m. Pan, utensils and all ingredients are readied for stove-top vegetable.

• 6 p.m. Guests sit down to eat first course. At this point, the uncarved turkey can be brought in and displayed.

• 6:10 p.m.: The team of three excuses itself. Designated turkey carver starts on turkey; vegetable cook starts on the vegetable.

• 6:15 p.m.: First course is cleared.

• 6:20 p.m.: Side dishes brought to table.

• 6:22 p.m.: Carved turkey makes its appearance and the meal proceeds.