Pocket Friendly Recipes
From the readers
Ha! A whole turkey for Thanksgiving is overrated. I'm making that sheet pan every year from now on. Nothing's dry and it's so easy to make it's ridiculous.
★★★★★
Clair
Did a test run on those pecan pie bars. They were excellent. 10/10
★★★★★
G.C.
Wish it had more options for mains, but I suppose there are only so many ways you can cook a turkey. Tried two of the sides though, and they were really good.
★★★★
Matt Kaufman
As featured in
Pinwheel Sandwiches - page 11
Cranberry Jalapeño Dip - page 24
Biscuits and Gravy Casserole - page 30
Glazed Carrots - page 41
Sourdough Stuffing - page 59
Spatchcock Turkey - page 71
Sheet Pan Thanksgiving Dinner - page 73
Pecan Pie Bars - page 109
YOUR THANKSGIVING TABLE
If you're the one who cooks Thanksgiving, you already know how it goes. It all comes back to you — the turkey, the sides, the dessert, remembering that your sister-in-law doesn't eat meat. I've done enough of these now that I've stopped winging it, and this book is basically everything I've figured out, in one place, so you're not piecing it together the morning of.
Forty-nine recipes. The whole day, really — appetizers through dessert, plus breakfast for the cook who's up before everyone else.
The turkey
This is the part people dread, so I gave you three ways to do it.
A roasted turkey, the classic one, stuffed and rubbed with herbs. A spatchcock turkey that lies flat and cooks faster with crispier skin (my pick when I'm short on time). And a maple-glazed turkey breast for the years it's a smaller crowd and a whole bird feels like a lot.
Each one tells you the temperature to look for and how long to let it rest, because that's really the whole secret to a turkey that isn't dry.
Everything that goes around it
The sides are where I have the most fun. Mashed potatoes with browned butter and roasted garlic. Honey-glazed carrots. A broccoli salad with bacon and cranberries that never makes it to leftovers in my house. Cranberry sauce that takes ten minutes and will spoil you for the canned kind.
There's stuffing too! Sourdough, cornbread, the classic bread one, and little cranberry stuffing balls for when you want stuffing without giving it a whole dish. And if you've got a vegetarian at the table, the nut roast is a proper main for them, not a sad plate of sides.
Thankful for dessert, always
I went a little overboard here, but for all the right reasons, I promise! Pumpkin pie, of course, with little pastry leaves on top. Pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin roll, pumpkin bars, a pumpkin dump cake you make in one bowl.
For the pecan lovers there's a pecan pie cheesecake, a warm cobbler, and pecan pie bars. However your people feel about pumpkin versus pecan, there's something here for them.
How these are written
Real prep and cook times on every recipe, so you can plan backward from when people show up. Clear steps. Nothing fussy, nothing you have to go hunting for at three stores. These are the recipes I actually make for the people I love, and I'd be so happy to have them on your table this year.
Hi, I'm Mandy.
I learned how to cook on a budget from a lot of places. From my parents trying to make ends meet, from my friends when we were all figuring things out, from nights when I refused to go to the grocery store and had to get creative with what was left.
Those lessons shaped how I cook today. Simple, smart, and always satisfying.
I'm so glad you're here. Can't wait to cook together!