There might be a little southern flair in here, so if you pick up on it - enjoy it. The best Thanksgiving meal you'll ever have will be down South anyway.

1: Organization is of prime importance. Get you food items lined out, have your recipes organized to the order in which they ought to be cooked. Take the thought out of the process. On the fly decisions of cooking order, wondering where the hell you put the cayenne, etc, contributes not only to your stress level, but a decrease in the quality of your food.

2: Don't inundate your guests with 50 side dishes. Focus on what actually goes with the main dish and limit your sides to those. Use sides that compliment the main dish, not the other sides.

3: Guests ought to be able to walk away from the dinner with the enjoyment of the meal, and also perhaps an education themselves. We all learn to cook by the dishes we eat, the dinners we attend, so don't give your guests bad habits...remember, its a presentation as well.

4: Having wine? Good, have some sparking non alcoholic beverages as well. There is nothing more awkward then the guest having to call your attention to the fact they don't drink alcoholic beverages.

5: Unless there is a good reason, ditch the margarine and other poor substitutions to the "real stuff." Last Thanksgiving I had the sad occasion of going to dinner where the host thought spices were simple recommendations - not required...she also thought MSG was a fine substitute for salt. Bland, good God, was it bland. Another 5 minutes to follow a recipe could have saved this dinner. So, unless your guests don't have taste buds, it might be a good idea to enrich your food with the flavor it deserves.

6: If any other guide says its a good or an okay idea to buy prepared foods, trash the guide and boycott the author. Give me a break - its Thanksgiving and you are microwaving a Lean Cuisine pasta dish? Come on now.

7: Relax and clean as you go. You ought to be able to sit down and eat with the rest of your guests with a clean kitchen. Not only is it tough for you to know that after dinner you have a complete dump to clean up, its not all that great for the guests to have to feel compelled to help you clean up after your sloppy cooking experience. CLEAN AS YOU GO.

8: Don't be afraid to put bacon grease in the green beans etc. You don't have to tell anyone. One other note on veggies - like grean beans - cook them long enough to have the flavors of your spices and bacon cook INTO the veggie. Yeah, you boil out most of the nutrients, but oh well...its a feast, we are here for the flavor not the nutrients.

9: Again, remember its not only the flavor (spices etc.) on the outside of the dish that matters, get the flavor INSIDE the food...just like with the veggies, make sure there is flavor when you bite into the food as well.

10: Remember presentation is half the battle. Food a little on the poor side? Well, at least you presented it well...even if they don't like it, you obviously knew what you were doing, so maybe it really is good...maybe they just don't have a developed palette?