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A Thanksgiving road map

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Last Thanksgiving, just as a jubilant Santa Claus walked down 34th Street on TV, I noticed something alarming in the kitchen of my childhood home. The oven I had preheated for my filling was in fact not heated.

My father, flashlight in hand and flanked by a gaggle of panicked observers, crouched on the floor, removed the oven drawer and began troubleshooting.

My mother and I took stock of our uncooked dishes. The turkey was safe: so was my family frying our holiday bird for decades, a popular but controversial method. But the fate of my stuffing, my mother’s sweet potato casserole and… Corn breadand the rather unnecessary glazed ham My brother asked to put it all on the line every year like an inflated Snoopy parade balloon.

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At 1:38 p.m., while the guests were supposed to arrive at four, we called it: the oven was toast. We quickly came up with a plan to divide the remaining cookware among all our other appliances. The stove still worked, which saved us a panicked course correction down the road fried green beans, gravy and wild rice. My parents’ new toaster oven miraculously fits a cast iron skillet, so in went the cornbread, followed by the sweet potato casserole. We treated the Weber gas grill like an oven, keeping a close eye on the thermometer in the lid as the stuffing and ham baked inside.

That chaotic day helped put NYT Cooking’s on notice Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving, an interactive planner that breaks the holidays into four big decisions: how to cook the turkey, what side dishes to make, what to prepare ahead of time, and how to end the meal. The guide will direct you to the perfect recipes based on the size of your party and your favorite flavors.

There is value in it prepare as much as possible advance. Doing this will not only cover you in case your main piece of equipment breaks down; Working in advance is good for your mental health, which deserves protection during a holiday that can be emotionally taxing. In the rest of this newsletter I give my recommendations for what you can do in the coming days.

Tomorrow: If you haven’t already used chicken or vegetable stock to enhance your stuffing, gravies, and soup (assuming that’s your thing), now is the time to do so. You don’t have to worry about gravy on the day itself either. Claire Saffitz’s white wine gravy and Eric Kim’s vegetarian umami gravyfortified with nutritional yeast, both are excellent candidates for a make-ahead.

Later in the evening, roast some sweet potatoes, scoop out the flesh and prepare pie filling or a casserole (although you should wait to top a casserole with nuts, brown sugar, or marshmallows until just before baking).

Monday: Assemble, cook and cool creamy casseroles such as scalloped potatoes, which will hold their structure, thanks to their high fat content. It’s also a great time to make Cranberrysaucewhich benefits from a few days in the refrigerator.

Tuesday: It’s time to tackle vegetable preparation. Pre-blanch green beans stewscut off your Brussels sprouts glaze with ciderand peel the butternut squash and prepare it for glazing with ginger beer. And don’t forget your filling bread leave on a baking sheet overnight to allow the bread to dry sufficiently before storing in an airtight container.

Wednesday: Take care of delicate tasks that you might otherwise put off until the big day, like washing and drying leafy herbs and salad greens, and whipping up salad dressing. You can also make yours mashed potatoes, then cool them and put them in the refrigerator. “As mashed potatoes cool, the starches firm up,” my colleague Genevieve Ko writes in her recipe, “and when gently warmed, they relax into a puree with an even silkier texture.”

  • The board of directors of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company, pushed Sam Altman outthe high-profile CEO, accusing him of not being “consistently candid.”

  • Donald Trump can remain in Colorado’s 2024 Republican primaries, a judge has ruled: reject an attempt to block him from January 6.

  • Israel said it had found weapons at a school in Gaza and would allow fuel into the enclave to run desalination and sewage treatment plants.

  • More companies, including Apple and Disney, suspended advertising on X after Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, endorsed a post accusing Jews of “hatred of white people.”

  • A Republican from the House of Representatives launched a new push to expel Rep. George Santos from Congress after an ethics report accused him of campaign fraud.

  • Rosalynn Carter admitted to hospice care with her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, at their home in Georgia. She is 96 and has dementia.

📺 “Squid Game: The Challenge” (Wednesday) An anti-capitalist satire involving playground competitions for deadly stakes might not seem like an obvious fit for reality television, but Netflix has made the “Squid Game” phenomenon a reality. In this new 10-episode series, 456 sweatsuit-clad contestants compete for a $4.5 million prize, playing games like Red Light, Green Light. A small consolation: in a bold departure from the series, the losers don’t actually die.

🎬 “Wish” (Wednesday) If you wish on a star, the song says, your dreams will come true. And if you’re longing for an animated movie for the kids to watch once the tryptophan haze of Thanksgiving wears off, congratulations. This new Disney musical, narrated by Oscar winner Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine (wait, can Chris Pine sing?), is a story about a dreamer who opposes a wizard king. Alan Tudyk plays a goat.

“It Never Fails”: Five chefs and food-obsessed locals debate the 25 essential dishes to eat in Mexico City.

Girl meets dog: For some without partners, pet ownership helps fill a romantic void.

As we approach the holidays, it’s time to consider gifts for the lucky recipients on your list. Start here, featuring the ultimate gift guide from the New York Times and Wirecutter editors, which you can easily sort by category and price. The nearly 400 gifts range from unnecessary but amazing (tomato candle, anyone?) to exceptionally luxurious, including a beautifully built record player. And if you’re eager to get started, Wirecutter has a list of the best early Black Friday deals. — Jason Chen

Minnesota Vikings vs. Denver Broncos: This is a matchup between two teams on hot streaks. Both started the season 1-4, but remained undefeated last month.

The Broncos defense has been their strength. They held the Super Bowl champion Chiefs to fewer than 20 points twice. But tomorrow, the Broncos will face a tough offense led by an exciting new starting quarterback: Josh Dobbs. Dobbs, 28, has spent most of his career as a backup or practice player; He’s also an aerospace engineer who interned at NASA. After the Vikings lost their quarterback, Kirk Cousins, to injury, they picked up Dobbs. He quickly led the team to two wins. 8:20 PM Eastern tomorrow on NBC.

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