Heather says: My first encounter with a fried turkey had to have been around 1997. I was visiting the family of my then boyfriend down in Jacksonville, FL. The family was big and friendly, but I was extremely shy, so I lurked outside with the dad who was in charge of frying the turkey. Circumstances …
Heather says: Let’s play catch up: Is your dining room table free from junk? Have you invited & confirmed guests Have you written the menu? Do you have all the recipes doubled or halved based on your need? Have you figured out which serving dishes & utensils are needed? Have you kept up with the …
Heather says: I won’t lie. My hands down favorite way to cook turkey is to head outside and plop that bad boy into peanut oil. However, that’s not an option for many of you. Since turkey is running at $0.69 lbs and my 6 year old has a hollow leg, I call that a bargain …
Heather says: There’s no heavy lifting today, only some more planning. How are you serving your meal? Is it family style around the table or are you setting up a buffet where everyone helps themselves? Now it’s time to take a look at your menu and take an inventory of your serving dishes. Next to …
Heather says: This autumn side dish is nearly as easy as the sweet version. Use herbs that best complement other elements of the meal. Consider using thyme instead of rosemary or stick with black pepper if neither seem to complement the main course. Ingredients: Butternut squash, halved & seeded water Turkey stock or chicken stock …
Heather says: Let’s make sure everyone is on the same page. We’ve found the dining room table, made a guest list (and invited them, right?), we have a soft menu plan, and if you’ve never even roasted a chicken that’s on the to-do list, right? Also, if you’re anything like me, you may need to …
Heather says: Inside the bird, it’s called stuffing, outside it’s called dressing. Sometimes families or regions will call one the other. It doesn’t matter here. This recipe is for a savory Thanksgiving Apple, Cranberry, Sage Dressing that contains sweet apple, tangy dried cranberry, and crunchy almonds. The original recipe called for sausage, but I use sausage …
Heather says: Yay! Another pen and paper exercise or maybe if you’re wired weird and serving a bunch of people it’ll be a Google spreadsheet. I’m still being teased for that, if you must know. Today’s exercise is not the final menu. This one has three versions, your ideal Thanksgiving dinner, the one that would …
Heather says: Thanksgiving will be here in just over three weeks. If you have company coming, now is not the time to launch any big home improvement type projects. I’m not talking about necessary repair, if you have a hole in your roof, by all means get it fixed. If you’ve never played host over …
Heather says: Today there are two things to do. First, if you’re hosting it’s time to decide: who, when, and where. Even if you have family obligations on Thanksgiving itself, many people would enjoy a gathering on the following Saturday or Sunday. Sit down with pen and paper and decide where and what time dinner …