How to Pull Off an Epic Thanksgiving Without Losing Your $h!t!


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
to a Fuss-Free Thanksgiving

It's a five-day email series that tells you exactly what to do each day for the five days leading up to Thanksgiving:

Day 1 – Saturday Sanity-Saving Session
Get organized and prep essentials to set yourself up for a relaxed week.

Day 2 – Sunday's Strategy
Plan your menu, finalize your grocery list, and prep non-perishables.

Day 3 – Monday's Mash-tacular
Tackle make-ahead mashed potatoes and other sides to save time.

Day 4 – Tuesday's Vegetable Victory
Prepare vegetable dishes and salads to keep things fresh and simple.

Day 5 – Wednesday's Wisdom
Last-minute tips and tasks to ensure your Thanksgiving day goes off without a hitch.

Note: These are bonus emails in addition to what I usually send.

Ready to breeze through Thanksgiving prep? It's free—so grab your guide now!

Leite's Culinaria

Why, hello! Leite's Culinaria is the James Beard Award-winning site that helps home cooks and bakers put dinner on the table and laughs in the kitchen. Hungry for more? Join 40,000 food lovers and subscribe.

Read more from Leite's Culinaria

Hi Reader, I have cooked roast chickens enough to know one uncomfortable truth.There is no perfect roast chicken.I know. Practically kitchen blasphemy.For years I chased The One. I'd read another cookbook, tweak the oven temperature, salt earlier, salt later, flip the bird, don't flip the bird, baste religiously, never baste at all. Every famous chef seemed convinced they'd finally cracked the code, and there I was, dutifully buying yet another chicken in the name of research. It's a tough...

Hi Reader, There is one step between good corn and forgettable corn, and it happens before you turn on the stove.Everything else is negotiable. The butter. The Chile. The grill or the pot. The salad or the chowder.But the first choice, the one that decides whether the corn on the plate tastes like August or like a memory of it, is how you handle it in the ten minutes after you bring it home.I did not always know this. For years, I bought corn like a person buying flowers: enthusiastically, in...

Hi Reader, It's Monday evening. You didn't shop. The counter still has the last of the weekend's tomatoes, a zucchini that's seen better days, and a hunk of Parmesan that always looks smaller than you remember buying.You have everything you need.Pasta forgives. Salt the water, boil it hard, and let whatever's in front of you become dinner. A handful of herbs, one last eggplant, shrimp if you're feeling flush, or the ragù you froze in July.The kitchen fills with the sound of garlic in olive...