the thanksgiving playbook

for the day when you might not feel like cooking, but must.

It’s November and I’m not wasting any time: let’s talk about Thanksgiving. I think it’s really fun (and stress reducing!) to map out your Thanksgiving menu over the course of the month, so I wanted you to have this playbook in your back pocket as you start planning over the next several weeks. I also know that a lot of you will be hosting or attending a Friendsgiving feast soon, and wanted you to go into the month with some recipe ideas for that too.

I’ve had years when I wanted to cook the entire meal by scratch, I’ve had years when we ate at a restaurant, and I’ve had years when I’ve picked up a catered Thanksgiving meal from a local market or Whole Foods. All of these options are good options! But I’m here to make hosting (or being an involved guest at!) Thanksgiving as fun and easy as possible.

What’s your plan this year — are you hosting or will you be a guest?

If you are hosting, I invite you to edit your menu down a bit instead of cooking one million side dishes and having an absolute panic attack over it just because you think you have to. Not only will it make your day more enjoyable, it will truly make for a better dining experience since you’ll be able to fit more than a single bite of each dish on your plate! In my opinion, this is the formula for a perfect Thanksgiving menu: