In which I improve your Thanksgiving dinner by force, starting with: Cranberry Sauce.

Real cranberry sauce is both delicious and embarrassingly easy to make. I have no clue why people buy canned.

Literally: Bag of cranberries. Sugar. Zest and juice of an orange. Boil. Cool.

Next up: pumpkin actually isn't all that good, and the canned stuff you call pumpkin is actually squash.

Make sweet potato pie instead. Puree the potato well and you can even match the custardy texture. And for the love of God, use spices.

Speaking of sweet potatoes, marshmallows on canned sweet potatoes is... weird. A little gross.

Bake potatoes until soft. This caramelizes them a little. Mash, brown sugar, lots of spice, top with a nutty crumb topping. God tier food.

Brine your turkey. Just do it. Two days in advance. Brine that shit.

Spatchcock it if you're handy with a knife. Dramatically improves evenness of cooking. Either way, elevate on a rack. Roast veggies at the same time; improves gravy.

Stop stuffing your turkey. It's unhygienic and soggy. Dressing is better. Skip the box stuff, use good quality bread, cubed and toasted, and fresh stock from roasted chicken parts. Onion, celery, butter, herbs, sausage optional but great.

Rolls are very easy to make and so much better than what you can get from the store. They're much less intensive than other breads, I highly encourage you to try making them yourself this year. So buttery and good.

Cheap russet potatoes are actually better for mashed potatoes than wax. Peel, boil from cold water (makes them cook more evenly). I like to roast garlic ahead of time to include in these with copious cream and butter. Good mashed potatoes are a fat delivery vehicle.

I have no cultural connection to green bean casserole and respect if this is a treasured dish for you but

I hate it

I do a basic bacon green bean saute every year and it is 10,000 better IMO

Gravy is literally everything IMO. Somebody makes dry something or other, you gravy that shit back to life.

The secret is really good stock. Chicken parts, onions with skin, garlic, carrots, celery. Roast well, get that caramelization. Then, boil to death with some herbs.

As @etaylor1000 pointed out, I nearly forgot pie crusts. Do not do this.

Fresh pie crust is delectable, frozen shells wish they could.

Use a food processor to make it easy, be sure your cubed butter and water are very cold, and make time for it to rest in the fridge.