Last year, we devoted a lot of blog space to Thanksgiving, by Sam Sifton. And since weโre editors and writers, supposedly on the pulse of what the lastest, greatest, trendiest everything is, we should probably be featuring this yearโs of-the-moment holiday cookbook. But hereโs the thing: โtrendyโ and โof-the-momentโ are not words that should EVER EVER EVER be in the same sentence as โThanksgiving,โ and we stand by our claim that Sam Siftonโs timeless, authoritative, delicious guide to our countryโs greatest holiday is The Only Thanksgiving Recipe Collection You Will Ever Need. (Outside of your grandmotherโs recipe box, of course โ we donโt want to get anyone in trouble here). As such, we launch our โCountdown to Thanksgiving Seriesโ with a bountiful giveaway: In the next 48 hours, five readers are eligible to win a free copy of Siftonโs Thanksgiving, and five more are eligible to have a free copy sent to whoever is cooking/hosting the feastโฆ as a little pre-holiday pump-up and thank-you-in-advance. Thatโs TEN COPIES WE ARE GIVING AWAY. All you have to do is leave a comment below (we wouldnโt complain if this comment included a Thanksgiving tip) and tell me which one you are: #Host or #Guest.
Update: All winners have been notified. Congrats Josh, Betsy, Candice, Eva, Molly, Susan, Colleen F, L, Divya, Memegirl and to everyone else thanks for playing!
Related: Sam Siftonโs 1o Laws of Thanksgiving.
Weโre guests, as we live in Illinois and the rest of my family is in Michigan, thus, we travel to them. Still, I love to cook and am always eager to help my mom in the kitchen!
Iโm the host. We host just about every year, and I always make 2-3 gallons of turkey stock for gravy and whatnot the weekend before the big day. Thanksgiving always reminds me what a good team my husband and I are!
We grill our turkey after brining & spatchcocking it. Tastes delicious, the carcass makes a delicious soup, and it frees up the oven. #host
I am a guest this year and my tip is to always have a killer dessert.. whether youโve prepared it or have asked a guest to bring it!
Iโm the guest but as my parents age my sisters and I take on a larger role in food preparation. My Mom starts setting the table on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and then preps food day by day until we all arrive for the big feast! We all bring wine because my Dad buys Two Buck Chuck (not that thereโs anything wrong with that!) which gives us all a headache! My Mom (a retired art teacher) typically has a craft table for the kids. To round out the day, the garage has a large โMomโ table filled with items she hopes my sisters and I will take with us as sheโs perpetually โdownsizingโ. These are all traditions that carry from year to year-Two Buck Chuck included! Sherri
Really enjoyed hosting a couple years ago. Would love to do so again, but have insecurities about inviting peopleโฆ
The thing Iโm trying to teach myself is to find a pause in the preparation to really greet my guests, even if it canโt be the very moment they walk in the door. Funny how we can get so caught up in preparing for a gathering that we forget to enjoy the people who are gathering.
#host for second time! My tip is to make sides ahead of time and have hubby fry the turkey, which frees up oven space and cooks in way less time, so you have less stress and more time to hang with friends & fam ๐
# host. My tip is to fry the turkey! Frees up oven space, cooks in 45 minutes, always moist and delicious. (Yes, we live in the South.)
And subtip: if you are frying the turkey, first put your turkey in the fryer. Pour water over the turkey until the turkey is just, but fully, submerged. Remove turkey. Mark where your water line is after the turkey has been removed. Now you know exactly how much oil you need. Pour out water, dry everything thoroughly (including turkey), and youโre ready to go.
#guest Although my mom officially hosts, I get to help cook/bake/clean! Not so much a tip as a tradition: in our family, everyone has a favorite (be it a drink, dessert, side, etc) that we try to include for Thanksgiving. Itโs a little way to let everyone know how much we love them. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! I love spending time with my family and giving thanks for all of our blessings. Plus, thereโs the food ๐
Iโm the host and have been for almost every one of my 24 years of married life. Some years Iโve hosted 20, but this year, weโll just have 4 gathered around the table. But the menu is always basically the sameโฆitโs just the amounts that change and sometimes a veggie or two.
I am always a guest at my momโs but hope to host some day. I ask my mom what she needs me to do or bring and try not to get in her wayโฆ.
I am the host, and this year will mark our first Thanksgiving without Mom. I am now the matriarch of the family and will try my best to create the loving, delicious and celebratory meal that Mom and I used to make together.
Hosting! I like the control I have but I wish we had a larger space. My tip is do as much as you can ahead of time! And if a guest canโt cook, assign them something foolproof, like wine!
Iโm a guest this year, and all I have to bring is a blueberry pie. Not traditional, but itโs the favorite dessert of one of the guests, whose birthday happens to fall on Thanksgiving this year.
Guest this year. I would sincerely love to have someone cleaning up behind me as I cook. So I am taking it in hand to be the kind of guest I would like to have at my feast.
guest at my in laws. bringing the pumpkin pie!
I am a guest as is tradition for our families Thanksgiving. I would love some ideas for a future attempt ๐
Iโm a Friendsgiving hostess and a Thanksgiving guest.
Most important rule: You can never have too much food or drink. Overprepare!
I am the #host for the second time this year.
Cooking for a bunch of work friends (more like family) that also canโt make it home for the holidays like myself.
Weโre all relatively new to the kitchen, so fingers crossed we can pull this off!
Guest. My tip is try to be the guest you would like to host. Offer ahead of time to make something specific, following the hostโs recipe if she/he wants, and be flexible about everything from dishes to the time of the meal.
Hosting this year, in our new home, and planning to cook it all from scratch. Gosh, Iโve wanted to read this book sine I heard Sam on NPR last year! I have no tips to offer, but hoping to learn plenty from this book!
Host this year, but we always do a Thanksgiving feast as a family as we love this meal.
Iโm a host AND a guest. I try to clean as I go and also spend the week before getting things ready. My checklist keeps me from feeling too overwhelmed on the day of (wine helps too!)
Guest this year! Braving the trip from NC to Pittsburgh!
This book looks like a classic! A must for everyone one!
Guest at my Momโs house, I bring the pie!