Serving Wine with Your Turkey?

It's 3 days until Thanksgiving! For the next few days I will be posting a quick tip to make your holiday a little easier. Here's the fifth one:


If your guests prefer their wines on the sweet side, White Zinfandel is the all-purpose favorite to go with most of your turkey feast.


If red wines are normally your favorite, Pinot Noir is the perfect red wine for holiday feasting. More robust than white wine, Pinot Noir has very little tannin and will likely blend well with the entire holiday meal. Serve it slightly chilled.

If you and your guests prefer dry white wines, dry and Chardonnay is the favorite choice with turkey depending on the particular tastes of your family and guests. Sauvignon Blanc or a White Burgundy are also good all-around choices that pair well with everything.

Finally if sparkling wines are your favorite, may we suggest another white wine that's sure to put family and guests in a holiday mood. How about your favorite champagne?

Thanksgiving Tip #4

It's 4 days until Thanksgiving! For the next few days I will be posting a quick tip to make your holiday a little easier. Here's the fourth one:



At lunch today a friend told me how to soak your turkey ahead of time in a salt & sugar brine to make it come out golden brown and taste delicious.



Make the brine with 1 1/2 gallons of water to cover the turkey in the bucket, stockpot, or whatever is large enough to hole the bird. A larger container may require more water. Just remember the ratio -- 1 cup kosher salt (and 2/3 cup sugar) per gallon of water -- and increase accordingly. Don't worry if a bit of the turkey is not submerged. Just place the turkey, breast down, in the water, and let part of the back sit above the water. Sugar is optional, but she said it helps the bird brown beautifully.


Mix salt, optional sugar and 1 1/2 gallons of cold water in a clean bucket or stockpot large enough to hold the turkey. Add turkey; refrigerate 12-15 hours. Remove turkey from brine, rinse thoroughly under cool running water and pat dry.


Roast your turkey as you normally would. Let rest 30 minutes after taking out of the oven and slicing.

Thanksgiving Tip #3

It's 5 days until Thanksgiving! For the next few days I will be posting a quick tip to make your holiday a little easier. Here's the third one:

A pretty centerpiece adds a nice touch to any table. For a frugal Thanksgiving, you can make one at very little cost with things found in nature. Mini pumpkins, squash and other fall veggies can be arranged with some nuts to make a yummy centerpiece. If you want, you could find an inexpensive cornucopia at your local craft store and put these items in it.



Fall flowers also make wonderful centerpieces. If you grow your own, simply pick some in various colors and arrange them in a vase. You’ll have a beautiful, fragrant centerpiece at no cost whatsoever.

Thanksgiving Tip #2

It's 6 days until Thanksgiving! For the next few days I will be posting a quick tip to make your holiday a little easier. Here's the second one:

Unless you have a large freezer (and have already bought a turkey) you are probably going to buy your bird this week-end. When you are buying your turkey, plan on 1 – 1 ½ pounds of turkey per person. If you are not expecting a crowd, buy turkey parts such as legs, thighs or just a breast. This will save you have having too much leftover turkey that you may not be able to use. 

Remember to slow-thaw it in the refrigerator: it takes approximately 24 hours per each 4-5 pounds of frozen turkey in a 40º refrigerator.  A thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days before cooking.

Thanksgiving Tip #1

It's one week until Thanksgiving!  For the next week I will be posting a quick tip to make your holiday a little easier.  Here's the first one:

Prepare your favorite stuffing and bake it in your crockpot while the turkey occupies the oven. You can prep this the day before and refrigerate, it is so much easier than stuffing it into the turkey, the turkey will cook faster, food poisoning risk is decreased and the stuffing doesn't absorb all the extra fat dripping from the turkey.

Shopping for Thanksgiving

I guess I’d better start making my Thanksgiving grocery lists—and of course all three local grocery stores are making it very easy! May-be I should say “four” because Walmart even has a grocery flyer in the paper this morning.


Skagway has sour cream for 99¢. I’ll be getting a couple so I can make my veggie dip…The recipe is on the Veggies page of my site. They also have salted butter for $1.39. The produce department has celery for 50¢, 12-ounce packages of cranberries for $1.99, and a 10-pound bag of potatoes for $1.68. Thanksgiving just isn’t Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes! Yams are 59¢ a pound—I usually want both types of potatoes at my dinner.

If you don’t want to make your own pumpkin pie, Skagway’s bakery has them for $3.99 each. I’m glad I’ve waited to buy whipped topping—they have it for 58¢ (limit of 4 tubs). And, there’s spiral cut hams for $1.57 a pound. Often we have both a ham and a turkey—with lots of people, it gives everyone a choice.

HyVee has turkeys for 89¢ a pound. But, they also have the same coupon that was in last week’s ad: buy a ham (at $2.99 a pound) and get a free turkey! What a deal!

Speaking of coupons—HyVee has a whole page full of them this week: chocolate flavored baking chips for $1.38, marshmallows for 69¢, canned cranberry sauce for 79¢, 5 pound bag of flour for 99¢, and eggs for 99¢.

Are you making a green bean casserole this year? The HyVee brand of crispy onions (6-ounce pkg) is on sale for $2.18. And, of course they have all sorts of beans on sale: frozen Green Giant Steamers are $1 each, and canned veggies are 48¢.

Super Saver is also gearing up for Thankgiving—they have a spiral sliced ham for $1.48 a pound and instead of advertising their price on turkeys they have a big banner announcing their Turkey Insurance. This says their price on turkey will be at least 2¢ per pound under the lowest advertised price of their competitors (and it lists HyVee, Walmart, & Skagway). Just remember, this refers to the advertised price, not any in-store mark-downs; although, I doubt this will be a problem!

Again, if you don’t want to bake from scratch, Mrs. Smith’s pies are priced at $1.98, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls are $1.48 for an 8 ounce tube, and cool whip is 77¢.

Super Saver is having a 2-Day Sale—so you’ll probably see me there Saturday or Sunday. I need milk—it will be $1.77 for a gallon of Meadow Gold! Bananas will be 38¢ a pound, and Rotisserie chicken is just $3.98 (sure makes for a quick meal, with leftovers!), cloverleaf rolls for $1.88 (I bet I can freeze them and save for later), and chocolate flavored baking chips are just 98¢. Check out Chelsea’s easy chocolate chip cookie recipe on my site (it’s made with a cake mix!).

Walmart is advertising a complete Thanksgiving dinner for 8 for just $20….the fine print says it includes a 12 pound frozen turkey, three cans of vegetables, 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, two cans of cranberry sauce, one package of rolls, 2 packages of stuffing mix, and one pumpkin roll cake. So it’s not ready to eat—you still have to cook it. So that’s why it’s priced so much lower than the other stores’ turkey dinners (theirs’ are ready to eat!).

Walmart has fresh green beans for 98¢ a pound, StoveTop Stuffing twin pack is $1.50 (fine print says while supplies last….), and Green Giant canned veggies are just 50¢ each. The deli department has 25 ounce cheese & meat party trays for $7.98, but I’m not sure how big that would be…I’m sure I could make my own for much less….

Well, time to write up my list—perhaps I’ll see you while I’m out at the grocery stores. And remember to take your reuseable shopping bags!

Free Thanksgiving Cookbook

If you’re a big Martha Stewart fan or if you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner, you’ll want this free Martha Stewart Thanksgiving cookbook download.