As the week careens into Thanksgiving, we were inspired and calmed by this article from the New York Times. The Thanksgiving feast is one of the highlights of the year, but it is difficult for the average home cook to put the turkey and side dishes on the table at the same time. One oven and four burners doesn’t go very far when you are roasting the turkey all day, boiling potatoes for mashed potatoes and cranberries for the cranberry sauce, steaming the green beans and baking the pumpkin pie. What’s a cook to do?

The best advice is to try and make as much stuff ahead of time as you can. The NYT has many great and easy recipes listed in this guide. Try them out and you’ll have plenty of time to get yourself ready and bask in your guests’ praise. Here’s a few of our favorite selections from “Things to Prepare Before the Turkey Goes in the Oven.”

• Cranberry-Orange Sauce
• Cranberry Polenta Cakes
• Zucchini Potato Pancakes
• Wild Rice Greek Salad
• Pears in Red Wine

Try some new recipes and get ready to relax and enjoy Thanksgiving!

Photo courtesy of bkwdayton on Flickr