Here’s a buffet of tips, tricks, recipes, and ideas to make for a Thanksgiving that’s wonderful, and that doesn’t eat up too much of your time and money.
The $100 Thanksgiving menu for eight. This story from the Boston Globe makes the case for not going overboard in terms of cash or effort, which seems especially sensible in today’s world. Also, check out the related story, giving the rundown of prices for various turkeys, which generally run from as little as 89¢ a pound (for a basic turkey bought at a supermarket, where there are lots of price wars) to upwards of $3.99 a pound (organic birds from a store like Whole Foods).
101 head starts on the day. From the NY Times, a list of stuff you can cook and prep ahead of time, so the big day itself is less hectic, with fewer things for you to do.
Score a deal on a gourmet turkey. A top-of-the-line, organic, pasture-raised bird can cost as much as $11 a pound with shipping. These tips from SmartMoney can bring down the cost considerably: Basically, find a local farm or hit your nearest Whole Foods.
14 ways to save from BillEater.com. Among other tips: Bake your pies is much cheaper (and potentially tastier, depending on your skills) than the store-bought characters, consider going potluck, and finesse a free turkey out of your grocery store.
Have a cruelty-free Thanksgiving. This LA Times blog post cites the Adopt-A-Turkey Project, meant to save birds from the chopping block. As a substitute, the blog suggests a limited-edition vegan gravy-flavored soda. Folks: It’s great if you want to save turkeys. But if you’re inviting people over for Thanksgiving, you’ve got to warn them that gravy-flavored soda will be the closest thing they get to turkey. Not giving them a warning would be really cruel.
Teach your kids about “Two Bad Pilgrims.” A new picture book, reviewed in the linked News Tribune story, shows the adventures of two real children who came over on the Mayflower, and who didn’t exactly behave like the Puritans as we think of them. Example: The boys nearly blow up the ship while playing with gunpowder.
Go the full Pilgrim. The always-hilarious guinea pig writer A.J. Jacobs serves an authentic Thanksgiving meal—meaning one like the Pilgrims actually ate, not the modern-day version—in his New York City apartment. No forks allowed, and boiled eel. Yum.
10 things you didn’t know about Thanksgiving. Great fodder for trivial conversations with relatives you barely know. “Say, did you know that Thanksgiving leftovers inspired the creation of the first TV dinner?” On second thought, maybe these factoids could make the day more awkward.
Perfect Thanksgiving gravy. From the Food Network. It’s all about the gravy, right? Good gravy can cover up anything that didn’t turn out exactly right. Except, perhaps, boiled eel.
