Thanksgiving: Best Guides Online

I had to stop into my local supermarket yesterday to pick up two bottles of Prosecco — and a pack of new kitchen sponges as that’s the kind of thrilling dichotomy that rules my life. Then I saw it: the huge bin of frozen turkeys. It’s that time of year again.

A select few know about my slightly disturbing fascination with supermarkets. What’s in food stores and what people choose to purchase intrigues me endlessly. So I casually eavesdrop on a conversations and peeked into a few carts. “I got this off a blog,” a woman near the brussel sprouts told her boyfriend. “The photo looks good. I hope it works. You never know.”

While I was walking around the store, a friend called asking for Thanksgiving advice and to ask what I was making — the fourth such call that I’ve fielded in two days. Two of them are Thanksgiving virgins making a full holiday spread for the first time this year.  I’m sending both of them the book Thanksgiving 101 by Rick Rodgers. It’s comprehensive and explains everything step-by-step from roasting a turkey to making pan gravy to stock. I think I’ve given this book to about a half-dozen people in two years.

I’ve been coming across a lot of interesting stories and resources online, so here’s a few in no particular order.

• Epicurious: Turkey Taste Test

  They tested six supermarket turkeys, roasted them and compared them for taste. I planned to do this exact thing this year, but my book deadline slipped so alas, it will have to wait.

• The New York Times: Thanksgiving, a User’s Guide

  Kind of tough to top the comprehensive nature of this collection which includes Melissa Clark demonstrating perfect pie crust and Mark Bittman on video chatting up side dishes.

• Real Simple: 100 Thanksgiving Recipes

  Clear, straightforward recipes in the spirit of the magazine that offers at least five different versions of traditional recipes.

• Country Living: 10 Thanksgiving menus

  A lot of novice cooks find it hard to conceptualize a menu, so I liked the way they organized their content by theme, such as “New England,” to “Southern” to “No stress.”

• 101 Cookbooks: Vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes

  For some people, it isn’t all about the turkey.

• The Kitchn: 12 Holiday cocktail recipes
  

  For some people, it isn’t all about the food.

• Food 52: Side dishes
  

  I’m contemplating at least half of these lovely updates on classic dishes.

• Eating Well: Healthy diabetic Thanksgiving recipes
  

  Given how many people suffer from diabetes, odds are that you’ll have at least one diabetic at the table.

• MyRecipes: The Holiday Pantry
  

  Not enough food writers focus on pantries. There’s nothing worse than realizing you’re out of nutmeg or butter at 10 p.m. the night before Thanksgiving

• Thanksgiving Tips from My Fearless Food Writer Friends

  Planning and putting together a big meal can be stressful. I consulted my food writing friends for a good, practical set of tips for cooks of all levels.

The one thing that I know that I’ll be making post holiday? Turkey gumbo. I make it every year after we’ve exhausted our appetite for turkey sandwiches and picked the carcass nearly clean. I agree to a point with a writer who made a case against going too crazy with trying to disguise that leftover meat  in Slate.

Have some good Thanksgiving recipes on your blog or a good go-to site? Feel free to leave in the comments.

[Updated November 2018]