This blog has now seen three Thanksgivings — two here at home in NYC and one at my mom’s house — and for this, my fourth Thanksgiving, I have to admit, I’m not feeling especially frazzled about it. I’m definitely not going to put on an extravaganza of side dishes like I’ve done in the past. I’m going to keep things simple (turkey, stuffing, cranberry in some form, a vegetable or two) and enjoy the day.
So, in lieu of discussing all the freakouts I would usually be having at this time, I’ve dug up the best advice, recipes, et cetera, from the past three years. Think of it as the blog equivalent of a free turkey from the supermarket. It may not be great, but hey, it’s free.
- • I ask about brining a turkey.
• I get some advice on pie and frozen turkey thawing.
• Martha Stewart’s recipe for genuinely perfect roast turkey.
• The best sweet potato (or pumpkin or squash) pie I have ever had.
• The time I live-blogged my Thanksgiving prep work.
• Finally, a brief essay on using the whole turkey.
As much as I want to dislike Martha Stewart for her financial caprices, I have to separate the artist from the art and say I genuinely admire her contribution to domestic cooking. My sister converted me over a series of holidays with amazing dinners and desserts, each one wrapped up with “and I got it from Martha Stewart!” Then she signed me up for a subscription to her little magazine, and that was pretty much that. And as for convenience, who’s the alternative? Rachel Ray? I’ll take Martha over her any day, thanks very much. I’ll take any yellow dog over Rachel Ray.
I got a free subscription to Martha Stewart Living and I swear, each issue is a new revelation into how I am a complete and utter domestic failure. That magazine will fuck your head up in ways you didn’t even think possible.
That being said, that turkey recipe is brilliant and her recipe for pie crust is the best I’ve ever used.
Have you ever picked up an issue of Everyday Food? I think you would really enjoy it. It’s from the Martha Stewart juggernaut but the recipes are sort of Martha Lite. Surprisingly good but usually quite simple and easy to make.