Foolproof Thanksgiving Recipe #1: The Perfect Cheese Board Appetizer

Greet arriving guests with an impressive spread of cheese and cured meats, especially if you have overnight guests who will be sticking around your house for the day while you’re cooking up a storm. That way, you don’t have to worry about the headache of cleaning up and making another meal in addition to the Thanksgiving feast. My post here has all of the tips you need to put together a perfectly balanced, tasty cheese spread.

Foolproof Thanksgiving Recipe #2: Pepper Jack Creamed Corn

This recipe for pepper jack creamed corn is one of my all-time favorites. It adds a Southern spin to Thanksgiving. Originally from Hall’s Chophouse in Charleston, South Carolina, this recipe isn’t for the heart healthy, but with a creamy sauce of heavy cream and pepper jack cheese, this dish is seriously addictive.

Foolproof Thanksgiving Recipe #3: Creamed Spinach

What are vegetables without cream? It’s like a Southerner without a cause. That’s why creamed spinach is a foolproof Thanksgiving recipe if you’re looking for another vegetable dish. I make this classic Southern staple whenever we’re looking for comfort food. It’s still green, so it’s technically healthy, right?

Foolproof Thanksgiving Recipe #4: The Best Roasted Green Beans 

The comes a time in one’s cooking when you have to just close your eyes, take a taste and say, “Yup, this is it. These are the best they’ll ever be.” So said I when I first made these roasted green beans with Thai fish sauce splashed liberally about. The sugars in the fish sauce cause the green beans to caramelize in the oven, resulting in these slightly crunchy, slightly salty, 100% tender green beans. They’re so simple and quick to make that I’d throw these in on a baking sheet after the turkey comes out of the oven and is resting.

Foolproof Thanksgiving Recipe #5: Whisky Pecan Pie

Here’s one thing I’ve learned since living in England: pumpkin pie is totally an American thing. I never realized that Brits don’t do pumpkin pie, even though they’ve “seen it in movies about a million times.” Last year when I made pumpkin pie, I received a few polite compliments, but the locals went bonkers for this whisky pecan pie. Maybe your locals will, too. Either way, it’s deceptively easy to make.