Thanksgiving’s coming, and if you’re like me you try to get an invite somewhere else. But sometimes, yes, the cooking falls to you and yours.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing—but again, if you’re like me, it can be a stressful thing. There’s just so much to do on that day that it’s possible to be too worn out to fully enjoy it when the guests actually arrive.
But it’s the NY Times to the rescue, with 101 head starts on the day, dishes you can make ahead of time and serve with the obligatory turkey. The article is helpfully divided into sections for relishes and chutneys, soups, stuffing and grains, vegetables (a particular challenge for making ahead, I’ve found, and nicely handled by the Times), salads, breads and crackers, and the one that’s ordinarily no challenge at all and for which we usually need no help—dessert.
Thank you, NY Times. There, I’ve said it. You may not ever see those words emanate again from this source.
Previously a lifelong Democrat, born in New York and living in New England, surrounded by liberals on all sides, I've found myself slowly but surely 
November 19th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Yes, they looked like pretty good recipes. I also like them for their terseness. Any halfway decent cook can make up a tasty dish from those instructions. The terseness is reminiscent of 18th century American recipes.
I got into the NYT habit when as a high school freshman, part of a politics course involved reading the NYT. What killed the NYT for me was MoDowdy. That a journalist with such a lack of integrity was on the editorial page soured me on the whole newspaper.
In partial defense of tht NYT,Simon Romero has had a number of good articles on Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela. While he may have drunk some of the Chavez Kool-Aid early on, he has wised up.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Mark Bittman’s column has always been a joy, as the Minimalist he has focused on using a few good ingredients and the correct cooking techniques. Nothing fancy or daunting, just good basic cooking to bring out the best in a non-intimidating fashion.
His cookbooks are excellent as well.
He may be facing some kind of burnout, however, many blog posts and articles over the last year have been focusing on sustainable foods, climate change, vegan recipes, and the darker practices of large scale farming. Though given the Times’ financial situation, such writing may be career insurance, at least sub-consciously.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
May I suggest you prepare the main dish, Turkey with dressing and cranberry sauce or whatever. And ask your guests to bring a dish or two as well. That way nobody is too tired to enjoy the day and there should be plenty of leftovers.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
No jello?
November 19th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
roc scssrs: Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce will have to do. Maybe it could be melted and poured into cutesy molds.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
While I enjoy reading Bittman’s articles now and again, his PBS series with Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali put me off my feed. So phony, so obsequious.