Turkey Tips

In this New York Times article, Bobby Flay and other celebrity chefs offer some tips for Thanksgiving Day cooking. One of Flay's tips is incredibly simple:

Have an abundance of chicken stock on hand, bubbling warm on the stove all day. "You slice the turkey and put it on a platter to serve it," he said, "and then right before you go out to the table, you ladle some stock over the top to warm it and give it a little moisture, too. You do the same for the stuffing. You make the gravy with it. You go through a lot."

Sounds like a smart approach to me.

Final Tips & Ideas for Thanksgiving

Take a deep breath and relax. Linda Larsen offers these tips on making a gravy for the Thanksgiving turkey.

Cranberry sauce shouldn't come out of a can. Especially when there's an easy recipe like this one. Stir in a little orange zest if you wish.

Mashed potatoes are a predictable side dish. Want to try something different? How about sweet potatoes? No, they don't have to be candied. Try this recipe, but substitute a can of mandarin oranges for the orange, and replace the corn syrup with 1/2 cup of molasses. You'll love it.

What about pies? Pumpkin pie is traditional, but Simply Recipes offers several other options on this web page.