We're sharing our time-tested Thanksgiving hosting tips and recipes, as well as plenty from chefs, hospitality experts, celebrities, hosts and home cooks we love. Our goal – sending you into Thanksgiving with a confident smile on your face, and seeing you emerge on the other side with your sanity intact.
It might seem like a long way off - and a world away for people reeling from cuts to their food budget - but soon, you're likely going to sitting down to a dinner with loved ones (and a stranger or two), and feeling exceptionally lucky to be doing so.
Gratitude is the watchword, and it's incredibly easy to lose sight of that while you're bogged down in the details of serving a dinner that packs a certain amount of expectation. So how about giving yourself a break?
Buying | Cooking | Drinking | Hosting | Traveling
Gratitude is the watchword, and it's incredibly easy to lose sight of that while you're bogged down in the details of serving a dinner that packs a certain amount of expectation. So how about giving yourself a break?
This doesn't mean that you're not making your best effort to ensure that your guests have a great time, or that the dish you're bringing isn't as painstakingly made as it possibly could be. We're just saying that the warmth and welcome with which it's served will linger even longer than the leftovers.
Consider printing out these mantras and cross-stitching them on throw pillows or possibly taking them to the tattoo parlor:
1. Don't be a martyr, be a host.
2. You can never, ever have too much ice.
3. If they're your guests, they're very likely rooting for you.
4. Accepting offers of Thanksgiving help is a sign of sanity & inclusion not weakness.
5. There is no such thing as too much stock or too many containers for leftovers.
And a word to the wise - the sooner you get a beverage or appetizer into your guests' hands, or assign them the task of doing so, the more quickly they'll ease into the swing of things.
Un-buckle up, follow our ongoing Thanksgiving advice, and get set to have an absolutely delicious day.
If all else fails, repeat after us: "It's just a meal. It's just a meal. It's just a meal..."
– Buying and Planning
Buy right and don't waste food
The dishes America likes best
Thanksgiving dinner for 8 for $70
iReport - Thanksgiving for under $30
Stocking up for the big day
Prep for the day and keep it all safe and clean
Avoid these dreaded dishes
5 Reasons to buy a heritage bird
What if it's just Thanksgiving for two?
– Cooking
Get your prep work out of the way
– – Turkey
Defrost that bird!
Safe time and temperature for turkey
Philippe Cousteau's perfect turkey and gravy (and an ethical dilemma)
Turkey tips you wish you'd known sooner
5 Turkey don'ts
Thaw that bird!
Out of time? Spatchcock that turkey!
Stress-free brining
Deep-fried indoor turkey – for science
– – Appetizers and sides
Crowd-pleasing (and easy!) appetizers
Stuffpuppies. Stuffpuppies! STUFFPUPPIES! (The only side you'll need to serve)
Brilliant Brussels sprouts
Mastering mac 'n' cheese for Thanksgiving
Make cornbread dressing like a southern grandmother
Gravy lessons from a master
Quick, simple vegetable sides
Don't fear the vegan - feed them
Everything you need to know about squash
Squash the winter doldrums
Slim down your dishes
A 5 ingredient Thanksgiving fix from a Food Network star
Tired of turkey? Make a bacon pig
Re-imagine traditional Thanksgiving dishes
Lechon: a Filipino family feast
Take care of your gluten-free guests
How to cook a country ham
Is it stuffing or dressing, and what ingredients does it need?
Pumpkin beyond the pie
– – Desserts
Master the chess pie
Make perfect pie
Best pies across the country
– – Leftovers
5 Tips for leftovers
Aaaaand even more leftovers
Can you get your leftovers through the airport?
Thanksgiving goes to the dogs (but is that OK?)
– Drinking
Hard cider to serve with the big dinner
Bubbles, bubbles solve your Thanksgiving troubles
Rosé for Turkey Day
Wine advice from our favorite bar
Bargain wines for Thanksgiving dishes
Brilliant cold weather beverages
Pitcher drinks and Prosecco are a host's best friends
The best wines for casseroles
When this is all over, you're going to want a drink - dessert wines
– Hosting
Dealing with difficult guests, vegetarians and surprise drop-ins - and not running out of food
Must 'Friendsgiving' be a thing?
Confessions of a cooking alpha
Round up the orphans and celebrate their traditions
When a picky eater comes to your Thanksgiving table
Embrace the chaos (and make excellent dairy-free mashed potatoes)
Remain calm in the face of Thanksgiving madness
How do you deal with family drama?
Last-second anti-freakout tips
Make your guests feel right at home
My first Thanksgiving with white people
el Dia de Las Gracias – Thanksgiving with a Latin twist
What to serve if Wolf Blitzer shows up
Where to eat if you're in Vegas
Thanksgiving stuck at your desk
How to get a drunk guest out of your home (safely)
It's not Thanksgiving without...leftovers and strays
– Travel
The TSA won't swipe your pie – but will they take the cake?
Andrew Zimmern's top airport dining
Your must-eat places while you're at home for the holidays
Still stressing? Leave your question in the comments below and we'll do our best to get you back on track.
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Back to the secret ingredient; Gratitude.
I get mine at the grocery store.
Our local supermarkets have bar-coded cards at the checkout.
I just hand one to the cashier to swipe a donation to the Food Bank.
(Technology ain't all bad.)
It gets better when I stop by the red kettle out front.
I really like to surprise the lady or guy with the bell.
They've been out in the cold wind all day so when they thank me, I reply,
"Thank YOU for your service – you've helped me be a better person than I was when I got here."
Then I get a hug.
Sometimes I get lucky and see parents give the money to their kids to put in the kettle.
Then I drive home, smiling and thankful.
For a little while I've become what I needed to be when I grew up.
No turkey for us but we enjoy all of the usual sides–stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread etc. There is so much to eat, we don't even miss the bird. Oh, and we are not vegetarian but we don't care much for turkey or any other meat so we just save our money for other things. Meat is pretty darn expensive these days anyway.
To all you PETA freaks out there, five words.
Gobble, gobble, CHOP; Happy Thanksgiving...
Ayyyymen!
Shiiiiiiiiiiiii we don't need a holiday to be dysfunctional. That's a daily thing for us. WOO! And people wonder why I'm so gone in the head. lmao
On the other hand, we're not super close with extended family anyway so we don't visit or any of that. It's always just immediate family and not always all of us either. Usually either my brother or sister don't make it for Thanksgiving. Probably neither of them will this yr. Not sure. Hell, we may not even -do- Thanksgiving this year – we're all too broke.
"I like a close-knit family on the other side of the country." -George Burns
yay! thanksgiving!
While living in South Korea, we hosted a "Geographic Orphans' Party" on Thanksgiving. Everyone invited brought either 'what I cannot do without on Thanksgiving', or a traditional food from their country of origin. We supplied the turkey, smashed potatos/sweet potatos/green bean casserole and other 'leaner veggies', plus pumpkin and apple pie. There were about 30 of us in a tiny on-post housing unit, we ate in shifts, and it was the most fun I've had as hostess!
Since returning home, we've continued the party theme, inviting families (or parts of families) who were unable to go 'home' for the holiday, families from Europe who found themselves working at a local business and spoke little or no English, and families of those "on call" at the local hospital. Again, we had tons of fun, with the unbelievable mash-up of cultures!
And always, always, always: Saturday Night's Left-Over Party! Friends who had their own TGiving parties (and some returning guests from our own party) were required to NOT EAT ANY leftovers on Friday, then bring them all to our home on Sat. That way, shoppers were done with crazy Fri rituals, we allowed a small introduction of Christmas into our celebration (sharing fond memories or Christmases past and family traditions, singing a few carols with someone playing piano or children on their instruments), and everyone else's leftovers were brand new foods for the rest of us! Win- Win!
Would love to hear other stories of 'different' TGiving Celebrations!
Consuming a turkey of ANY type is nothing short of barbaric. Do NOT tell me "Oh, but it's organic/free range/guilt free/whatever. YOU are barbaric. Period.
And as a mother in law, I have a DUTY of correcting my children. I HAVE TO! If not for me, your lives would be an even bigger mess than they are. You NEED my advice and guidance. Accept it.
Animals eat animals and humans are animals. I thoroughly reject the idea we should not be eating meat. And i am someone who has gone through the process of catching a live animal, removing the edible flesh and cooking/eating it. I understand the sacrifice of a life is required, but i accept it as part of our natural order... and turkey on thanksgiving is about my favorite meal of the year.. Go preach to the choir, I dun wan hear it.
I assume you are never invited to Thanksgiving dinner?
I'll have to remember that (fleetingly), the next time I tear into the juicy, tender flesh of some beast I have charred over coals, with my greedy, yellowing fangs...ARRRRGNNNNNN!!! But not before I teach it to fetch...
I work at a hospital, so I will be at work during the day of thanksgiving, so I will be traveling next month to be with family for a belated thanksgiving/Christmas celebration
This year, there will be a small get together with my "family of friends," that we are all looking forward to with a grand pot luck, and then watching Addams Family values. A fun tradition to watch on Thanksgiving, and if you don't know why, I encourage you to watch the movie.
Happy Turkey day, all
Eat me!
Bravo! :)
Advice for mothers and mothers-in-law everywhere: if you are invited to celebrate Thanksgiving at the home of your daughter or daughter-in-law, remind yourself that it's not your home, not your party, you should not insist on being the center of the room at all times, and that if you have anything negative to say about the preparations just keep it to yourself. Both Christmas and Thanksgiving are forever ruined for me because of years of manipulation, belittling and downright bad behavior of my mother-in-law and my own mother. These holidays should be happy events. Don't infect your children with your own unhappiness.
Get help – soon.
Uh, Freud's Ghost...someone who goes out of his way to anonymously spit at another anon person online is in great need of psychiatric help. I suggest you take a good look at your life.
The way you poured your heart out on a food blog indicates you're the one who needs help fraulein.
Freud's ghost – You must be a lucky someone's mother in law.
I completely understand, Fiona. I have excused myself from all family holiday functions because of all the dysfunction and am much happier for it. Eatocracy rocks!
Don't invite them.
I agree with you Fiona, mothers-in-law are the reason that even if people did not want to go fast with the wind in their hair and humanity suddenly reviled the concepts of Corvette, Miata and Jeep, two-seat cars would still continue to exist...
On behalf of the turkeys, please, please have mercy!!
Bite me. Oh wait, that's my job. Bite YOU!
Last year I had to stick in town and hosted Thanksgiving for some colleagues. I took care of the bird (roast chicken, because I don't much like turkey and no way was I going to roast a monster of a bird for a handful of people anyway), desserts, and homemade bread. All the guests brought some side dishes. We had sweet potato curry, fantastic mashed potatoes, delicious salad, and some good conversation...it was a win all around. This year I'll be with family and I'm hoping to God that my grandmother lets me help like she did last Christmas. She gets downright nasty when she's overworked.
go turkey free!
Last night on i26 I saw a tractor trailer driving with turkey on the back. Completely open, at 39 degrees, the 65MPH windchill brought it down to 29. We thought it was a snow storm, but it turned out to be the feathers being ripped off by the wind. Maybe some of us can sacrifice taste and tradition for compassion this year.
Agreed. If people even knew about half the amount of suffering that goes into the many millions of turkeys that suffer and die for our gluttony fest each year they may reconsider the turkey part.
I agree. I'm a vegetarian who will be enjoying some version of squash this Thanksgiving. Mercy for the animals.
BTW, that hellish truck ride is the fate of all meat animals, dairy cows when they are no longer productive, and horses auctioned for meat. Horses have it the worst because they are trucked to Canada or Mexico for slaughter. They have days of travel with the unrelenting cold in winter and the searing sun in summer, hours of delay at the borders, no water while waiting. No food.
Good thing vegetarians don't engage in hyperbole.
"All meat animals?" Seriously?
Glad: seriously. Did you think those free-range, organic, prep-school-educated critters drove to slaughter in limousines? Even the most carefully raised organic heifer still gets trucked to the same slaughterhouse that her less privileged brethren are sent to. Do some research.
Boohoo, sto-o-op it, sto-o-op. You're making me cry on my steeak...
Things I love about November:
– The start of ski season (but not yet tourist season)
– Cooler weather, but no too many blizzards (at least in recent history)
– The last lull of the year before year end madness
– Seeing Kat on live television talking about "Spatchc0cking" with a straight face...:)
I'm gonna do my damndest for you, sir.