Keep It Simple: Part 3

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Sure, Sandra Lee is a little scary (have you all been enjoying the Food Network references?), but she's got some pretty terrific ideas about maximizing your time in the kitchen. My final words of sage Thanksgiving advice? When in doubt,

Fake it.

Frozen, uncooked dinner rolls. Pillsbury pie crusts. Canned pumpkin. Cranberry sauce. Most people agree that rolls, pie and some kind of cranberry to spread on turkey sandwiches after the big feast are required at your Thanksgiving table, but you don't have to make them all from scratch. If you pate brisee is inconsistent or makes you want to pull out your hair, you'll be glad you can just roll out that pre-made, perfectly even crust. If you'd prefer not to spend hours cooking down impossibly hard cranberries, Whole Foods has a delicious cranberry relish that no one will complain about. Don't make yourself crazy trying to make something from scratch if you've never seen all the ingredients assembled in one place together before. Enjoy yourself-it's your Thanksgiving, too, after all!

Photo c/o Martha Stewart Living.

19 comments:

  1. its the best when you can find shortcuts for thanksgiving.

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  2. Love this piece of advice and totally back you up. Last but not least I love your blog makeout, the new header and all. Hope it's not just the Mobile device I'm writing from lol.
    Have a very happy Thanksgiving
    Talk soon
    xxx

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  3. This is hillarious and so true, fake it when you have to!!
    xoxo
    Happy Thanksgiving

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  4. HA!! EXCELLENT ADVICE! Though I love the struggle, drama and mess involved working from (almost) scratch. ;) Hope your holiday is wonderful!

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  5. i totally agree that making anything from scratch in the kitchen just doesn't work for me! I think people appreciate more when I just fake it

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  6. Oh honey, I'm the queen of faking! :)

    Thanks for your hair horror comment, I totally understand it being embarrassingly important!

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  7. Great idea! Who says you have to tell anyway.

    Except I always do. I have a big mouth. But if it's stuffed with turkey I might be fine.

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  8. heres hoping you have a stress free turkey day!

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  9. This is great advice, I made dinner for 34 of our friends once and I baked all the pies with frozen crust... they saved my life and mental health! I agree with this!

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  10. Sandra has great ideas if you're in a hurry or trying to save some $. I always channel her when I feel bad about not making 100% of a meal.

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  11. haha i agree, semi-home made is the way i go!! nothing wrong with that!

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  12. Haha, that is so cute but in my opinion nothing can beat home cooking, you can just taste the love and effort put into it.

    Xoxo
    Sarah

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  13. Have a lovely Thanksgiving Lena :)
    And this happens to be my motto in life - fake it until you make it!

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  14. Oh God love this! :) Hehe chicken <3 I'll follow you!

    http://modafobik.blogspot.com/

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  15. Lovely Lena how are you? I heart this "make it simple" way of life. I find it perfect! Enjoy and take care..and pass by me,I miss you!
    Love.
    Laura@RicevereconStile

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  16. Totally. My grandmother (who was an amazing cook), used to say: Life's too short to make your own pie crust. She would approve of this entry!

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  17. I went to a Thanksgiving feast with my usual baked apples and pecan and pumpkin pie,(Pillsbury pie crust of course,) carried safely in the trunk of the car inside an empty dresser drawer and when I arrived the host had the most voluptuous "ginger berry pie. The cross hatches of top crust were at least 2 " wide the gorgeous pie filling -blackberry blue berry and strawberry oozing out between each of the four hatches I was so impressed... She bought it from a new bakery business down the block. I was totally faked out and thinking I had been up staged. It was delicious. I had been. by the bakery!!

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