There's something about the prospect of making Thanksgiving dinner that freaks out even experienced cooks. A lot of it is the giant turkey that most families only have once a year. What's the correct oven temperature? How long does it cook? Heck, I make baked potatoes all the time and I still have to look up the temperature and time on those, so I get why no one ever remembers how to bake a turkey.
Then there are the other decisions like what side dishes you should make and how you can get your pumpkin pie to have actual flavor.
To assist you with many of these burning questions (no pun intended…maybe), might I recommend Average Jane's Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes.
It's a free PDF of all of my classic family recipes for Thanksgiving from appetizers to dessert, plus a few wildcards to make things more interesting.
If I needed to make a big family Thanksgiving dinner, these are exactly the recipes I'd use.
These days, I generally have no more than a half-dozen people over for Thanksgiving dinner, so I do an abbreviated version that involves ordering the turkey, potatoes, gravy, dressing, rolls and green bean casserole from the catering department of my local grocery store. That way, I can concentrate on making my house presentable and I only have to whip up a couple of side dishes and pies before it's time to heat up the pre-made parts of the dinner.
I like the compromise because it cuts out some of the messier and more labor-intensive portions of the meal, while still allowing for ample leftovers. Then I have more time for touches like homemade whipped cream for the pie.
What's your plan for Thanksgiving this year? Do any of my recipes sound like something you'd be interested in trying?
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