A Cook and Her Books: Thankful


Pumpkins. Copper Hill, Tennessee. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

I wrote earlier this week that it's so much easier to be the guest versus the hostess at Thanksgiving. The pressure's off for me this year - I just need to bake a few pies and craft an appetizer and keep my girls busy. Doesn't sound too hard, does it?

And for once, I get to enjoy the cooking and not worry about the cleaning and decorating. In fact, I'm slowly getting the Christmas decorations down from the attic and scattered through the house. My house now has remnants of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in various corners. And I'm totally o.k. with this.

If you're taking it easy this holiday, you may enjoy a few of these tried-and-true recipes for Thanksgiving and throughout the year. I begin with roasted almonds, an easy munchie to set out as guests arrive. I rock them in a wok:

Roasted almonds. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

To accompany the turkey, homemade gravy. This is my standard gravy recipe, the one I use for mashed potatoes and roasted chicken throughout the year. Just add turkey drippings for a flavorful turkey gravy.

Gravy. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

And the many ways of cranberries. I love their tartness, their astringency. And that's why we usually have more than one form of cranberry on the Thanksgiving table.