Kissell - Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of family togetherness, good food, and all-around positive vibesfor most of us. For the cook, however, its often a time of stress and grumpiness! Putting together a feast like this is an unusual feat even for experienced cooks. If youve never done it before, it can be terrifying. Many things can go wrong, but you can avoid or solve virtually every problem if you plan well and have the right tools and information within reach.

Im a foodie from way back, but I make my living writing about computers. In technical writing, my goal is to break down complex and confusing computer tasks into simple, easy-to-follow steps. In this book, I do the same with Thanksgiving dinner, breaking down complex and confusing cooking tasks into simple, easy-to-follow steps.

Anyone who wants to prepare Thanksgiving dinner from scratch can benefit from these instructions. This may be the first time youve cooked Thanksgiving dinner, or perhaps youve tried cooking one in the past with dubious results. You might be a working parent, a guy who usually leaves major cooking to the women, or simply someone whos better at cooking than planning (and needs help with logistics). Whatever the case, I can help you put together the entire meal from start to finish with minimal stress, so you can enjoy the holiday!

For a great Thanksgiving feast, you want all the basic dishes to be prepared well, taste good, and be ready at the right time. You can pull this off if you stick with my recipes and timeline as much as possible. There are a million ways to cook each of these dishes, and what you see here may not be the way your mom or your favorite celebrity chef does it. But after extensive testing of recipes and procedures in this book, I can assure you that if you follow them, youll get good results.

Whats on the menu? Its a classic, traditional American and Canadian Thanksgiving dinner:

Ive included a few other options, such as a vegetarian main dish (see ), but in general, I stick to the basics. By the way, this meal is not low in fat, carbs, or salt. Sorry, dieters!

Although youll be preparing almost everything from scratchusing fresh, whole ingredients where feasibleI understand that due to time, money, or space constraints, you may have to compromise here and there. So Ive included a series of Cutting Corners sidebars with simpler approaches you can use if you get into trouble. On the other hand, if youre feeling more ambitious and want to get fancier, you may be interested in the Upgrading sidebars (for a few of the dishes), which tell you how to add extra flavor, texture, and finesse.

This book contains detailed instructions, but for your convenience, a separate Print Me file includes compact versions of all the recipes, the schedule, and the shopping list. You may already have the file; if not, download it from http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/resources/0042/TCoThanksgivingDinnerPrintMe.pdf .

Before I set you loose, I want to tell you what assumptions I made when writing this book. I assume:

You have at least basic kitchen skills (such as chopping vegetables and melting butter without burning it).

You have an average-sized kitchen with a reasonably large oven.

Youll have at least one helper. (See if not.)

Youll be cooking for eight to twelve people. (See if not.)

Youll purchase ingredients and supplies well in advance. (See if not.)

Youll do some cooking and prep work the day before.

Youll read this whole book before you do any cooking, prepping, or even purchasing of ingredients!

Last but not least, I assume that cooking Thanksgiving dinner can and should be fun! With these instructions under your belt, youll be ready to relax and enjoy cooking and eating on Thanksgiving.