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Every year, millions of people manage to pull off the preparation of a massive holiday meal. With a little bit of planning, you can, too. Stick to these simple, classic recipes for a low-stress, high-satisfaction feast that will impress your family and friends.
Turkey
The showpiece of your holiday meal should be your priority in the kitchen. If all else fails, you can purchase or outsource the sides, but the bird is irreplaceable. Don’t. Mess. It. Up. To prepare, first ensure that your turkey is thawed. (No, you can’t remove it from the freezer on Thanksgiving morning and expect this to go well for you.) Remove giblets from the body cavity and season the turkey with salt and pepper. Set turkey breast-side up on rack in roasting pan and pour 2 cups chicken broth into the roasting pan. Heat oven to 450 degrees, then drop it to 350 degrees after you put the turkey in.
The rule-of-thumb for turkey roasting time is 13 minutes per pound; that can vary, however, so make sure you have a meat thermometer on hand. Your bird isn’t done until the thermometer reads at least 165 degrees when inserted in all sections of the meat. Throughout the roasting process, you’ll need to baste your turkey (read: suck up the juices in the pan and squirt them over the skin) every 45 minutes. Towards the end of your roasting time, you can change it up and baste with melted butter instead. Once your bird is done, remove from oven and let it rest for 30 minutes before carving. Save the drippings and assign the making of homemade gravy to someone else.
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Stuffing
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There are two schools of thought on cooking stuffing: in the bird and out. We’re opting for the latter because let’s be honest: if your turkey doesn’t turn out, there’s no reason your stuffing should have to suffer, too. You could make stuffing completely from scratch, but time is of the essence, so we’ll take a shortcut and use bagged herbed stuffing (such as Pepperidge Farm brand). To make, combine 1 3/4 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup chopped celery, and 1/4 cup chopped onion in large saucepan. Heat to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover saucepan, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and pour in 4 cups stuffing; stir until uniform. If you like sweet or crunchy qualities in your stuffing, fold in 1/2 cup dried cranberries or 1/2 cup chopped pecans just before serving.
Green Bean Casserole
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This dish is designed for those who only eat vegetables when they’re drowning in some kind of creaminess and topped with addictive fried things. To make, heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 4 cups cooked cut green beans, 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup, 2/3 cup crispy fried onions, 1/2 cup milk, and a dash of pepper in a casserole dish. Stir to coat beans completely. Bake for 20 minutes, top with additional 2/3 cup crispy fried onions, and bake for 5 minutes more. Casserole should be bubbly, onions should be golden, and your olfactory system should be ecstatic.
Whipped Sweet Potatoes
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Sure, you could go with the old-school sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows or with the traditional mountain of mashed Russet potatoes, but whipped sweet potatoes lighten the load on your stomach and add a burst of color to an otherwise bland tablescape. The key to this recipe is to roast — not boil — the potatoes to soften them up. (Boiling means all that flavor gets tossed out with the water.) To make, heat oven to 350 degrees. Pierce the skin of 3 pounds of sweet potatoes with a fork, then place in baking pan. Cover pan with foil and bake for at least 1 hour or until potatoes are soft and can be easily sliced. Remove potatoes from oven and peel off skins. Place potatoes in large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer until smooth. Stir in 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 tablespoons room temperature butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a sprinkle of cinnamon (if desired). Sample a spoonful and adjust butter and maple syrup levels to taste.
Parker House Rolls
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A well-baked piece of bread is a thing of beauty. Parker House Rolls, named after the Boston hotel where they were invented in the late 1800s, are puffs of soft, buttery perfection. For a side as basic as bread, however, the recipe is a little involved. Patience is a must.
To make the dough, combine 1 envelope active dry yeast with 1/4 cup warm water in small bowl. Whisk, then let yeast dissolve. Meanwhile, heat 1 cup whole milk in saucepan on stove, stirring often so it doesn’t burn; when warm, remove from heat and set aside. In large bowl, combine 1/4 cup Crisco, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Pour warm milk and yeast mixture into large bowl containing Crisco mixture; add 1 room temperature egg and stir. Gradually add 3 1/2 cups flour to bowl, stirring until dough forms. Use clean hands to incorporate if necessary. Sprinkle flour over clean countertop or work surface, then knead dough on floured surface for 5 minutes. Return kneaded dough to bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 90 minutes.
Once dough has risen, remove plastic wrap from bowl and punch (yes, punch!) dough down and divide into 4 equal sections on floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll each of the 4 sections into a rectangle and cut into 9 squares. (Math check: you should have 36 squares total.) Brush each square with melted butter, then fold in half so that buttered area is on the inside. Place rolls-to-be, slightly overlapping, in greased 13 x 9 baking pan with all seams facing the same way (think roof shingles). Brush tops of dough with melted butter. Cover pan with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 6 hours.
When you’re ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap from pan and bake rolls for 25 to 35 minutes, or until golden. Give rolls one more coating of melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve warm.
Sound intimidating? It is, but not impossible! If you need a visual, check out this video from Epicurious.
Cranberry Sauce
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You worked so hard on those Parker House Rolls (above) that we’re going to go easy on you with this side dish. Purchase canned cranberry sauce. Open can. Turn upside down and dispense crimson gelatinous substance into bowl or onto serving platter. Don’t even try to disguise the can marks; it’s part of the charm. Serve with knife.
Maple Pecan Pie
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Traditional pecan pie is made with corn syrup, which, for all its essential stickiness, is really, really bad for you. The average Thanksgiving eater ingests around 4,500 calories, so counteract the inevitable blood sugar crash with a more natural sweetener (maple syrup) and a dose of healthy fats (nuts) and call it dessert.
To make, heat oven to 350 degrees and let refrigerated pie crust thaw on counter for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine 1 cup pure maple syrup, 1 cup granulated sugar, 3 eggs, and 2 tablespoons melted butter in large bowl. Stir vigorously with fork until uniform, then add 1 tablespoon flour and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; stir again. Fold in 1 1/2 cups pecan halves. If you have a chocoholic in the family, you can also fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips. Unroll pie crust and press into deep dish pie pan; pinch edges of crust for fanciness. Pour pecan mixture into crust, using spatula to scrape bowl clean. Bake for 50 minutes or until center is set. (If edges of crust begin browning too fast, remove pie from oven, cover crust edges with strips of aluminum foil, and return to oven.) Let pie cool for at least 2 hours before serving. You can also make this a day or two ahead and chill until the big meal.
