With Thanksgiving fast approaching, the focus is usually on the food: making sure that you have the tools that you'll need for the big feast is often a second thought. You can get ready in advance to prepare your meal without a hitch—here are some handy items for each course that will make your special dinner a cinch.
Turkey
The centerpiece for your entire meal, the turkey is the one thing that you just can't get wrong. A digital remote thermometer will ensure that the bird is cooked to the correct temperature, even if you are not in the kitchen the whole time. You set the desired temperature and it sounds an alarm when it is reached. This dual baster and injector helps to not only keep the skin and outer parts of the turkey moist, but allows you to inject flavorings deep into the meat as well. Once the turkey is cooked, a turkey lift helps to get the bird to the serving platter without hassle, and a great electric knife makes carving a breeze.
Utilize these tools to their full potential with recipes from our Turkey Collection.
Side Dishes
The hardest part about preparing side dishes is finding enough space in the oven. One way to attack this problem is by using a multi-tier oven rack, which allows you to cook three side dishes alongside your turkey or roast. You can also use a slow cooker to free up oven space or to keep something warm if you prepare it early. We like this version because it is easy to tote around without making a mess, which is especially nice if you're preparing a side dish at home and traveling with it. To keep gravy warm without having to keep it on the oven, use a thermal gravy boat.
Now that you've freed up some room in the oven, check out our Vegetable and Potato recipe collections to figure out what to do with that extra space.
Desserts
Besides slicing onions, pie-making might be the activity that's most likely to get people sobbing in frustration in the kitchen, thanks in part to crust troubles and the massive quantity of time spent peeling and slicing fruit. Help ease the pain with tools like an apple paring, slicing, and coring machine that speeds up the apple pie process (and helps with potatoes as well!). A pie crust bag makes the task of evenly rolling out crusts a simple job, and keeps dough from sticking to counter surfaces. Ceramic pie weights help crusts to cook evenly without bubbles, and this version comes in a nice glass container that's excellent for storage. For a truly beautiful pie, use these pie top cutters for decorations, and a collapsible pie cutter has removable parts that allow for six or eight even slices of pie, and keeps any leftover slices in place. Take advantage of your new mastery of this dessert with these tools by perusing our Pie and Dessert recipes--Sarah Bode-Clark
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