A Very Helpful Thanksgiving Guide

Once more the New York Times  Food section has a helpful Thanksgiving guide for tomorrow and even the days afterwards. It's a good issue to have, especially if you need help with the bird or the leftovers.There's also a great article on how to set the table, with help from designers and just ordinary families.  Take a look and take from it what you can.

One of the best pieces is about how to set a lovely, meaningful table. One of the most interesting is from Peter Shire, a painter, sculptor and furniture designer in Los Angeles. His table is graced with cactus shaped candle holders or cact-o-labras, The tablecloth is a brightly cherry red and white striped Mexican oil cloth supporting  handmade plates and gelato bowls. Other hosts such as Agustin Hernandez of Portland, Oregon has beautifully handmade doilies in all different colors on his table. Abbye Churchill, another artist, out of Brooklyn, New York also has her own hand crafted woven place mats from cotton handspun from dead stock textile waste and hand crafted ceramics. The most elegant settings come from Dr. Guna Raj of Dallas and Kerry Moody of New Orleans. Dr. Raj's table is the showpiece.It was shipped to Chicago where she lived in 1983, this wedding gift is inlaid with semiprecious stones by descendants of the artisans who built the Taj Mahal. Of course it also has her wedding china, from Noritake too. Mr. Moody has elegant antiques on his table, from belle epoque damask napkins to 1790's silverware. The Syrian immigrant family, the Rawas Family of Richmond California decorate their table simply with a lace tablecloth and a lovely tea/coffee set.

Of course there are articles about food. One of the most interesting is the Butterball Hotline one, written by Kim Severson. She visited the center where America has been calling since 1981. From November 1st until Christmas , fifty Butterball experts answer questions through live calls, emails, and live chats about everything turkey. One of the men first hired in 2013, Bill Nolan talked a newly widowed man through his first Thanksgiving cooking alone. He spent half an hour coaching the man, the day before the holiday  recounting the story with tears in his eyes. If you do need help you can reach Butterball through the hotline, website and even Alexa! (The New York Times has something similar and you can call in and possibly get advice from Melissa Clark!!) Another article features the ubiquitous Thanksgiving must have Jello. Julia Moskin wrote this interesting article about the history of gelatins in the US - we have Tom Jefferson to thank for them. There's also a recipe for a cherry lemon cream mold that features the likely or unlikely pairing of Jello and sour cream. Consider it a retro dish. Then there are the leftovers. Melissa Clark's column, A Good Appetite, is devoted to what to do on Friday. You can make turkey barbecue sandwiches or stuff pita with the meat. Add cucumbers, and tahini for a Middle Eastern vibe and halved cherry tomatoes for color. Then there's the turkey Cubano, a riff on the classic Cuban ham sandwich , complete with Swiss cheese and deli ham or prosciutto. Mayo, mustard and melted butter along with pepperoncino peppers round it out.

This Food section is a the perfect one to keep. You can get ideas for tomorrow's and even Christmas's tables, along with Jello and leftover ideas. It's a good guide for this holiday season and beyond.