If you think it’s tough preparing one dinner each night, then imagine cooking up 10 different main dishes in one day —and making sure each meal looks perfect for photos.

Gretta Irwin and her crew of home cooks heated up their kitchens this winter by embarking on a cooking marathon to test recipes for the Iowa Turkey Federation’s (ITF) latest turkey cookbook.

Irwin, a former home economics teacher who now serves as the ITF’s executive director, opened up her home and kitchen ...