I need your help! I’m hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, and I’ve only cooked Thanksgiving dinner a handful of times in my entire life. When we lived in New York, we always visited my family for Christmas and not Thanksgiving, and my Korean family didn’t really celebrate Thanksgiving growing up. But we’re all together this year, and family time is especially important after the pandemic kept us all apart for so long.
This is what I have on my menu so far based on what my family likes:
- turkey
- stuffing
- mashed potatoes
- gravy
- cranberry sauce
- cornbread
- corn
- bacon wrapped asparagus
- pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream
- one more side (green beans, squash, mushrooms, or sweet potato)
Please share your tried and true tips for cooking a moist turkey, as well as recipes for your favorite side dishes! But I will not be cooking cranberry sauce or the pumpkin pie. 
pomelo / 5621 posts
Brine your turkey, makes a huge difference.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@ALV91711: i was planning to as i’ve heard that’s the secret, but i’m a brining virgin!
pomelo / 5621 posts
@Mrs. Bee: we’ve done it a couple times and by we I mean DH
apricot / 400 posts
I would recommend making green beans because otherwise most of your dishes will be orange/brown. The green will bring a nice, bright pop to your table. We like blanching them and then sauteeing some sliced almonds in butter and then throwing in the green beans to mix everything together. Have fun!
coffee bean / 27 posts
We use Alton Brown recipe( brine ) and it turns out perfectly. Every year we watch the video:).
guest
You can make your mashed potatoes hours in advance! I always use mostly Yukon golds with a few Russets thrown in. I also always heat up the milk and butter In the microwave so they are not cold from the fridge. Make the mashed potatoes as you normally would, and once you’re happy with how they taste (and this is part sounds crazy), wrap the pot you made them in in a dish towel, cover it with a lid, and take it to your bed. Tuck the pot with the hot mashed potatoes in and cover it with some pillows and blankets. It will stay perfectly hot and fresh for hours, and really takes the pressure off (and freeze up a burner on the stove!) the last-minute rush as you are carving the turkey.