How do I get TOC on physical page 3?

[Nah]

I have a cover page with blank reverse side. Then I want the TOC to 
follow on the next page. But I end up with like 3 blank pages so that 
the TOC ends up on page 6. With some dubious hacks I was able to get it 
on page 4, but never on an odd page.

When I comment out the cover, the TOC ends up on page 1, the extra blank 
pages disappear, and everything is okay. So how can I make it works with 
the cover? What I want is:
cover (physical page 1)
blank reverse side
TOC (begins on physical page 3)
zero or one blank pages (whichever works out best for page turns)
lessons