We once made a frantic trip to Popeye's fried chicken on Thanksgiving morning to buy gravy because ours wasn't up to par. Not this year! The Times has a comprehensive guide to making gravy ahead of time, plus some new side dishes...
1. "Gravy is like the salt of the Thanksgiving table." We're bookmarking this one. Why not make gravy ahead of time and freeze it, rather than sweat it out at the last minute?
2. Six new side dishes. How about Sourdough Dressing with Truffle Butter and Candied Chestnuts? That and five other delicious options.
3. Turning leftover mashed potatoes into pan-fried salmon cakes. You may want to set aside some Thanksgiving mashed potatoes just to make this recipe.
4. Sweet potatoes, hold the marshmallows. Bittman is firmly in the no-marshmallow camp, and he offers four recipes, like a savory sweet potato tart and stir-fried sweet potatoes with brown butter and sage. Mmm.
5. A tribute to a heritage turkey pioneer. Brian Anselmo died when he was only 28, but his work training farmers about breeding heritage turkeys is continuing.
Related: More Thanksgiving from The Times: Thanksgiving Staples You Can Make Ahead
(Image: Sabra Krock for The New York Times)
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I love the idea of making the gravy ahead - that was the scariest part for me last year, doing it for the first time. Do you think you can still eat the turkey legs that you use for the gravy?
Ok, the popeye's story is hilarious.
The secret to gravy is to use concentrated chicken stock, like Better Than Bouillon, and to whisk cornstarch into a little bit of water before you put it in. Don't dump it in dry - you'll get lumps!
Deglaze the pan with some wine, dump in the stock and the cornstarch mix, and heat it until it thickens. Not enough flavor? Add another spoonful of concentrated stock. Add cream if you're feeling daring. Voila. Gravy.
PS--Be brave! Don't skim off the fat!
I made the grated sweet potatoes with browned butter last night. Good, but I think I browned the butter a little too much. Also, had to used dried sage rather than fresh. It did make me realize how good "hash brown" sweet potatoes are though - that never occured to me before!