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Hello there Reader, Thanksgiving doesn't have to leave you cursing like a sailor. (Although, if you ever heard Mama Leite muttering in Portuguese while wrestling a 22-pound turkey into submission, you might think otherwise.) As someone who's hosted more holiday dinners than my youthful countenance would suggest―some of which ended with me hiding in the basement, clutching a bottle of wine, and questioning my life choices―I've learned a thing or two about keeping my sanity intact. The One will back me up on this, especially after That One Year We Shall Never Speak Of Again when I nearly burned down the house. But I digress. What I've learned is mastering Thanksgiving is all about strategy. And, unlike how I usually cook―which The One likens to a tornado in an apron―this requires that dreaded word: planning. Allow me to share with you my hard-won five-day plan that'll keep you from ending up in the fetal position behind the washing machine. (Not that I know anything about that.) My Free Foolproof Five-Day Countdown
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Hi Reader, I have a theory.Labor Day is the last Monday of the year that isn't really a Monday.Tomorrow the schedule comes back. The calls, the deadlines, and the emails I have not been answering since Friday. And with it, the question I'll be answering every single evening until roughly June: What on earth am I making for dinner?Not every dinner needs to be a mic drop.Some of the best dinners in this house have started with an open pantry door. A box of pasta, a can of tuna, and the words...
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Hi Reader, Every September, I tell myself I'm going to be calm.I'll plan ahead. I'll make lists. I'll chop onions before I need them. I'll even remember where I put the good serving platter instead of tearing through cabinets like I'm auditioning for a cooking-themed version of Mission: Impossible.It never quite happens that way.Instead, I find myself standing in the kitchen with sticky fingers from honey, apples rolling across the counter, and three timers going off in what sounds...