The Essentials to a Great Thanksgiving Meal

OK, boys and girls.  The big day is only 10 days away.  Time to start the prep right now.  Why?  Well, the grocery stores are starting all of their sales this week.  And trust me, it's much easier to shop the grocery stores for most of your supplies this week, as opposed to next.

Also, you need to make all of your food assignments.  You may think that you can do it all.  You're wrong.  Trust me, you're... Now don't argue with me!  I don't care how good of a cook you are or that you have the time management skills of the GM of Grand Central Station.  It's physically impossible to do everything yourself without causing yourself major mental trauma.  And the other side effect is the stress that will put you in one of THOSE moods that will turn the holiday into one you'll remember years from now for all the wrong reasons.

So let's plan out what you want to make.  Here's a list of our past Thanksgiving posts, along with our most recent editions, that can make your day that much easier on your psyche.

Brined and Roasted Turkey

The centerpiece of the meal and the one thing that can so horribly, horribly wrong.  Leave it in the oven too long, cut it too soon, or fail to treat it properly and your meat will turn out dry and spindly.  No amount of gravy will solve that problem.  So let's take out some insurance and infuse a little extra flavor into the bird by brining it.  You will need to start your preparations the day before, but believe you me... this bird will be the must succulent turkey you've ever had.  This works for any size bird, from the giant monstrosities down to a small turkey breast.

Crock Pot Turkey Breast with Vegetables

Sometimes you don't have an army coming for Thanksgiving.  So instead of going through the whole turkey ordeal, why not do a smaller, more efficient turkey preparation method?  All you have to do is thaw the turkey breast, place it and your veggies in the crock pot and then sit around and watch football for about four hours.  You'll have almost the entire meal done in one vessel.  Make a batch of the stuffing in the oven as listed below and serve a pie for dessert.  Thanksgiving done without a marathon in the kitchen.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This recipe was inspired by my grandmother's mashed potatoes.  She'd stand over the giant stockpot filled with strained potatoes and mash them into oblivion by hand.  Then she'd pour in whipped cream, drop a whole stick of butter and froth them up into fluffy clouds of oblivion.  This recipe follows her technique, but uses my giant stand mixer, so I can avoid the carpal tunnel. 

Sausage and Mushroom Stuffing / Dressing

This is the recipe handed down from my mother.  It's a beautiful conglomeration of all sorts of flavors.  The richness of the thyme and sage, the saltiness and depth of the sausage, the freshness of the onions and celery, it's all here.  I know a number of you are afraid of stuffing because you worry that it may not warm up enough inside the bird to prevent food illness.  That's OK.  We can just place it in a large casserole dish and allow it to cook next to the bird instead.

Turkey Gravy without the Lumps

There are all sorts of gravy making methods out there, and most leave islands of starchy lumps floating in the sauce.  The key to lumpless gravy is to coat the starch with fat so the flour or cornstarch doesn't have a chance to congeal into powder bombs.  And the preparation takes no more time than the bird's cool-down period. This will work with any type of meaty liquid, but since it's Thanksgiving, we're working with poultry broth.

Aunt Dianne's Parkerhouse Rolls

Another classic recipe that reminds me of my childhood.  You ever have a recipe where you're name ends up in the title?   Well my mom did.  This roll recipe is classic and the perfect accompaniment when you want to sop up any leftover juices.  And if you have leftovers, cut open a roll, load it up with some turkey and you have a perfect little lunch.

Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad

Would you be surprised that this recipe is one of the most popular on the site?  It is!  Top 5.  If you're assigned a salad or a dessert, you can avoid the mundane options and go with this.  Salty and sweet, fruity and starchy all at the same time.  It pleases your tastebuds five ways to Sunday

Pumpkin Pie

It's the classic pumpkin pie recipe.  But Like many things in this world, it's just not what you put in the pie, but HOW you make the pie.  For it to taste it's best, we need to follow the instruction from my mother-in-law, the best pumpkin pie baker in the world.

And if Pumpkin Pie is not your thing, no worries.  The COMPLETE list of every pie posted on this site is coming on Monday, so watch for that post listing all of the pie recipes we've done so far.