Dare to Cook—Thanksgiving: Ready to Serve in 5½ Hours

Chef Tom Small is back for this latest addition to the Dare to Cook instructional series, serving up a varied and mostly homemade festive Thanksgiving meal in real-time (with some fast-forward-editing for the more tedious tasks). Starting off with sweet dinner rolls from scratch, cornbread to be made into stuffing, and pie crusts for pecan and pumpkin desserts, Small shows viewers how to coordinate space, time, and organizational skills for: prepping veggies and fruit (including roasting grapes for a quinoa salad); whipping up apricot brandy butter and cranberry chutney; and making sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with browned butter, roasted root veggies, and a kale and apple-based twist on the classic Waldorf, among other sides (with, of course, gravy). The pièce de résistance is Small's unorthodox separation of an 18-pound turkey—with dark and white meat cooked individually—which he admits is not as “pretty” as the usual centerpiece but makes for a tastier bird. Also including a printed ingredients list, this hands-on guide could help alleviate some holiday stress. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)