Instead, serve Cranberry Royales as an apéritif this holiday season, a combination of cranberry liqueur and any sparkling wine.

1. First pour the cranberry liqueur into a Champagne flute—an inch or more, depending on how sweet you like your cocktails.
2. Then fill the flute with sparkling wine.
3. Don’t stir, or else give half a gentle stir with a swizzle stick (stirring destroys the bubbles).

You can make your own cranberry liqueur with two weeks’ lead time: There are many recipes online. You’ll have it in time for Christmas!

• Find more cocktail ideas in our Cocktails & Spirits Section.

Serve Cranberry Royales before Thanksgiving
dinner. Photo courtesy SXC.

Lots of food needs lots of wine. Photo
courtesy iGourmet.com.

Since some people are inveterate white wine drinkers, the best option is to offer both red and white with the turkey. We’ve provided some suggestions from THE NIBBLE and the National Turkey Federation:

In addition to the familiar names below, three transplants from the Alsace region of France—Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Riesling, are widely grown in the U.S. and vinified for American palates. They’re reasonably priced, too. Your wine store clerk can guide you to great choices.

Suggestion: Why not serve several different wines and turn your Thanksgiving into a mini wine tasting, with votes on which wine goes best? Since guests often ask what they can bring, can assign a different wine to different guest.

• Chardonnay. A perennial crowd favorite; just don’t try to pair a highly-oaked Chardonnay with turkey. Ask the wine store clerk for a non-oaked or lightly-oaked wine.
• Gewürtztraminer. One of our favorites, this fruity, spicy wine complements smoked turkey and other bold flavors.
• Pinot Blanc. This lesser-known but charming dry white wine has broad appeal.
• Riesling. Not the classic sweeter-style Alsatian or German Rieslings that pair so well with foie gras, American Rieslings are dry-vinified.
• Sparkling Wines. These range from pricier Champagnes to inexpensive Cavas from Spain. Either way, most people love a glass of bubbly. You can serve a glass as an apéritif as well as at the table.

RED WINES WITH TURKEY

For roast turkey (or chicken), you want a red that doesn’t overwhelm the turkey—one without heavy tannins.

• Beaujolais. This French wine is a favorite among those who like lots of jammy fruit. While regular Beaujolais ages in barrels before its release, 10 days or so before every Thanksgiving, Beaujolais Nouveau—the unaged, fresh wine—arrives in the United States. It’s very light and fruity. Read more about it.
• Pinot Noir. Our personal favorite and the top choice for Thanksgiving wines, based on a survey by readers of Wine Spectator. This medium-bodied wine pairs well with white meat, dark meat, and all of the dishes.
• Zinfandel. Many wine connoisseurs serve this wine with their turkey—an American grape for the quintessential American holiday. It’s the most full-bodied and richest of the wines on our list.

WHAT WINE GOES WITH DESSERT?

See our chart on wine and dessert pairings.

Just blend regular mayonnaise with cranberry sauce in a 3:1 proportion. Some people like even more cranberry—experiment down to a 2:1 proportion.

• Find more condiment ideas in our Gourmet Condiments
  Section.

Mix some of the leftover cranberry sauce into
mayonnaise, and you’ve got a great sandwich
spread. Photo courtesy GranGala orange liqueur.

Whether you’re a seasoned cook who would like a refresher or it’s your first time preparing the big bird (sorry, Big Bird!), these tips will help you follow proper food safety guidelines for a safer Thanksgiving and a tastier bird:

• Buying The Turkey. Don’t let uncooked turkey sit at room temperature. Put the turkey in the cart last and get it home and refrigerated promptly. Bag the turkey separately and place it below other food in the refrigerator. For crisper skin, unwrap the turkey the night before roasting and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator.

A fresh, organic, free-range turkey from FreshDirect.com.

• Thawing The Turkey. Don’t attempt to thaw a frozen turkey quickly by leaving it to sit overnight on the kitchen counter—bacteria will grow. Either place the covered turkey in a shallow pan on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator (the safest method—but note that it takes approximately 3 days for a 20 pound turkey to fully defrost) or place the plastic-wrapped turkey in a pan of cold water, changing the water about every 30 minutes. Another option is to completely submerge the turkey under a stream of lukewarm (70°F) running water, but that’s not a good use of water.
• Avoiding Bacterial Contamination. To avoid bacterial contamination, never place the turkey (or any raw poultry) directly on the counter. Keep it on a platter or in a roaster. Clean and sanitize the counter and utensils after handling raw turkey. Don’t use turkey utensils for other purposes until they have been cleaned. Similarly, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw turkey, using plenty of warm water and soap.
• Roasting. Trussing also helps any bird roast more evenly. Then, coat the skin with olive oil or other vegetable oil, season with salt and pepper and tightly cover the breast with aluminum foil to prevent drying. About 45 minutes before the turkey should be done, remove the foil from the breast to allow it to brown. Don’t open the oven to baste; it isn’t needed, and the temperature fluctuation only increases cooking time and dries out the bird.
• Stuffing. Wait to stuff the turkey until right before putting it in the oven. Use only pre-cooked meats and vegetables in the stuffing mixture. Don’t pack the cavity; the turkey will cook more evenly if it is not densely stuffed. Cook overflow stuffing in a casserole dish—or cook all the stuffing in a separate casserole—it makes serving easier. Then, instead of stuffing, place some aromatic vegetables in the cavity (carrots, celery, garlic and/or onion) and tuck some fragrant herbs under the skin (we love rosemary). If cooked inside the bird, cook the stuffing until it reaches at least 165° F at the center. A Consider adding flavor by loosely filling the cavity with work nicely — or by carefully tucking fresh herbs underneath the breast skin. For the stuffing lovers, cook the dressing in a casserole dish on the side.
• Is It Ready? At 350°F, a defrosted turkey should take about 20 minutes per pound, and a fresh turkey 10-15 minutes per pound. Use a meat thermometer to check the turkey for doneness, even if the turkey has a pop-up timer. When the temperature reaches 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh away from the bone (that deep spot between the leg and the breast), the turkey should be done. Remove it from the oven, tent it with foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes before carving to preserve the juices.
• Carving Knife. Is your carving knife sharp? Dull knives cause accidents. There’s still time to sharpen those blades before the big day.
• Turkey Leftovers. For food safety, refrigerate any leftovers immediately. Large portions should be separated into smaller containers and covered loosely to speed cooling.

A tip from THE NIBBLE: For a moister, juicier turkey, consider brining. We’ll try to post instructions; or else, they’re easy to find online.

Need More Help With Your Turkey? Foster Farms, producers of both fresh and frozen turkeys, has its Foster Farms Turkey Helpline experts on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, now through November 30, including Thanksgiving Day. They can be reached at 1.800.255.7227.

Tundra from First Alert: your first defense
against kitchen fires.

Here’s an important tip from The National Consumers League: Keep an oven mitt and a large pot lid next to the stove. If a small fire starts in a pan, turn off the burner. Wear the oven mitt while carefully sliding the lid over the pan to smother the flame.

Never pour water on a grease fire and never use a fire extinguisher on a pan fire—it can spray or shoot burning grease around the kitchen and end up spreading the fire.

Also make sure you have a kitchen fire extinguisher nearby. When our fire started, we lost valuable minutes trying to figure out how to work the fire extinguisher. That’s why we were thrilled to discover the Tundra—a push-button aerosol can that anyone, from children to the elderly, can handle. We’ll never be without it again.

• Read our review of the Tundra push-button fire extinguisher.