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The best way to reheat turkey is in a 350°F oven. Place the turkey pieces in a baking dish and drizzle with a few tablespoons of stock and/or butter. Cover the dish with foil and heat in the oven at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
Alternatively, you can microwave the sliced turkey (cover with a damp paper towel) in a microwave-safe dish at 50% power in 1-minute intervals.
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Meghan Splawn
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While we can likely all agree that stuffing is a must on the Thanksgiving table, deciding what kind of stuffing is where things get dicey. Top Chef champion Kristen Kish’s family is not unlike our own — divided between white bread devotees and classic cornbread stuffing lovers. The solution was simple, but one I hadn’t seen before: Instead of settling for one, the Kish family landed on a two-bread compromise. Would this be the secret to the best-ever stuffing recipe? I went into the kitchen to find out.
Get the recipe: Kish Family’s Two-Bread Stuffing
Begin by leaving hearty white sandwich bread out overnight to stale. The next day, sauté finely chopped onions and celery until soft. Add fresh sage and grated garlic to the pan and cook just until fragrant. Transfer the softened vegetables to a mixing bowl and toss with torn pieces of cornbread and staled white bread. Add chopped fresh parsley, salt, and pepper, then stir until well-mixed. Slowly add chicken stock until the breads are evenly moistened. Transfer the mixture into baking dish(es), and bake until heated through and lightly browned on top.
This stuffing recipe is simple to prepare and delivers on all of the holiday flavor I want from stuffing. The variety of textures that come from combining coarse cornbread and chewy white bread, as well as baking it until the top crisps and the interior is tender and moist, is unparalleled.
I used prepared sweetened cornbread from my grocery store’s bakery department, but you could easily make your own savory or sweet cornbread in advance. While any white bread will do, I used a hearty white sandwich bread and left it out overnight on a wire rack to stale slightly. Kish tears, rather than cuts, the bread so that the bread is craggy and browns nicely. While some the cornbread remains intact in large chunks, expect other bits to crumble, which helps to distribute the cornmeal texture and flavor evenly throughout the stuffing. Yellow onions, celery, sage, and parsley add flavor and texture to the dish, and since they’re all finely chopped, the stuffing holds together nicely (even without an egg) and doesn’t fall apart on your fork.
The sole drawback, if you can call it one, is that this recipe makes a lot of stuffing — enough to fill a pair of 9×13-inch baking dishes. This year, when most of us are expecting a smaller crowd around the holiday table, this recipe simply makes too much. Thankfully, it’s easy to halve the recipe to fill a single baking dish. Alternatively, make the full recipe and split it among nearby family or friends to serve with their holiday meals.
Rating: 9/10
Have you ever made the Kish family’s Two-Bread Stuffing recipe? Tell us what you thought!
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Patty Catalano
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After testing several different methods, we found that both carbonated water and a mix of water, oil, and baking powder were the best egg substitutes. These two methods both delivered decent results during testing and created baked goods that were airy and fluffy in texture.
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Julissa Roberts
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Grocery stores aren’t a tornado of chaos because shoppers follow behavioral norms without even realizing it, but that order doesn’t always translate to the Costco shopping experience. As a loyal Costco member (I just celebrated my 13th membership anniversary), I expect hustle and bustle when warehouse shopping. I’ve also noticed that there are unwritten rules specific to Costco that — if followed — can make for a more pleasant shopping experience for everyone.
Beyond the food court hacks and shopping cart etiquette, key insiders follow the dos and don’ts of Costco’s checkout process. Here are 10 things to know about checking out at Costco, whether you’re a first-timer or have been a longtime member, like me.
Shopping Costco without a cart limits you to only purchasing what you can hold; it can also cause congestion in the checkout area. The folks running the register work in tandem and use shopping carts to clear the area quickly. Do your part and use a cart for even small shopping trips.
Costco staffs two employees at every register — one to aid in unloading and reloading the carts and another to scan items. After unloading all but the largest and heaviest items, the employee will take your cart on their side of the checkout lane, while you stay on the opposite side to pay. If you’re in doubt, there are signs at the end of each register belt directing members and carts to their respective sides.
Large or heavy items are usually left in the cart for checkout. Make sure they are organized with the barcode facing up, as this helps the cashier quickly scan items without searching every side of the package.
Costco made national news recently when it started cracking down on membership sharing. Just know (before you approach the checkout line) that you may slow down the line or even be turned away if you attempt to pass off a membership card that isn’t your own.
Costco cashiers work at a quickfire pace. One way you can keep things moving is to turn the checkout divider upside down so that it can hold your membership card. The cashier must scan that card before starting any new order, so have it ready to go before unloading your cart. Don’t forget that you have to scan your membership card at self-checkout stations too.
One of the perks of shopping at Costco is the free sample stations scattered throughout the store. Those tasty bites are always served in a paper cup, with a napkin or disposable silverware. Be courteous of your fellow shoppers and empty your cart of any trash into one of the many bins located throughout the store to keep the cart and checkout area clean.
Before ringing up your cart of goodies, remember that not all major credit cards are accepted at Costco. The warehouse only accepts one major credit card: Visa. You can use mobile payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay), cash, Costco Shop Cards, EBT, many debit cards with a PIN, and personal, business, or traveler’s checks.
After checking out, you’ll enter the most congested area of the warehouse. Members leaving the checkout lanes with full carts, the food court, membership desk, and exit are all located in the same narrow space. Avoid stopping your cart right outside the registers to double check your receipt or reorganize your wallet. Pull over in a spot away from the heavily trafficked area before pausing.
The food court’s tables are often placed in the most congested area of the store — between the checkout lines and the exit doors. If you’re stopping to eat with a cartload of paid-for goods, parallel park your cart against your table so that other members can exit the warehouse efficiently.
Costco employees are stationed at the entrance and exits to check your membership card on the way in and your receipt on the way out. Employees look over the receipts of every member exiting the warehouse to check for cashier errors (specifically double scans) and confirm receipt of big-ticket items. Have your receipt out and ready before approaching the doors to avoid unnecessary delays.
Got any other checkout dos and don’ts for Costco? Leave them in the comments.
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Patty Catalano
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“About three years ago I saved up and bought a Thermapen for about $100 because the reviews were excellent. I have used it ever since, and love it. I wanted another, less-expensive one for travel, so I took a chance, and got this one. As soon as I got it, I wanted to test the speed and accuracy. I tried it, side by side, on some bread just coming out of the oven. They showed the same temp within a second of each other. I tried it again this morning on boiling water for my tea. Exactly the same temp in exactly the same amount of time. I don’t know if it will hold up long-term, but I’m really happy.”
“The product is plastic, so my first thought was that it was a cheap product. To my surprise, this thermometer works like the ThermaPen — at a fraction of the cost. It is handy and gives the temperature close enough to instantly for my satisfaction. The probe pops out with the push of a button. There is a simple on/off button to save on battery life, which uses a standard AAA (included) and not an expensive button type. Great addition to my kitchen.”
“I waited to write a review because I wanted to really test it before drawing any conclusions. I’ve used this on pork roasts, a turkey, a couple of baked chickens, and candy. I compared the temps on this device with those from an older, differently branded thermometer, and they are nearly identical. I’d say it’s as accurate as any other similarly priced thermometer and a bit better than my old, more expensive one. It’s easy to clean, small for storage, and comes with a hook for hanging, which make it a great kitchen tool. I would definitely buy it again and would happily recommend it to anyone looking for a food thermometer.”
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Lauren Masur
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To open a bottle of champagne, remove the foil from the top by pulling off the tab on the side (this is usually a red string). Remove the foil from the on top of the cork. Untwist the wire covering from around the cork and discard. Use a kitchen towel to carefully move the cork back and forth slightly with one hand and use the other to hold the bottle of champagne in place. Repeat this motion until the cork comes out of the top.
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Emma Christensen
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Growing up, my family only ate dinner together on holidays. We bonded in plenty of other ways — playing spades, frequenting yard sales, and watching classic sitcoms — but eating meals at the table was not one of them. So, of course, I became completely obsessed with family dinners as an adult. I think it was the novelty, or maybe I felt like I was tapping into my Brady Bunch roots (I grew up in a blended family of six kids, three boys and three girls). Whatever the reason, I became quite serious about dinner (just ask my college roommate!) — but there was just one problem.
As a person whose knowledge of family dinner was acquired through television (kidding, mostly), I understood that candles and/or flowers were a required part of the experience. Since I’m not a fan of fresh flowers, candles became a constant at my table, and still are — which means that candle wax perpetually dots the wood surface. Ugh.
Here’s what programs like Bewitched never show you: Samantha scraping candle wax off the table. (Though, now that I think about it, I suppose she just had to twitch her nose.) After scraping candle wax off my table for years, I finally bought a candle snuffer, thinking that would solve the problem. Wouldn’t eliminating the need to blow out the candles prevent wax from spewing across the table? It helped, but not enough.
Hundreds of candles later, I found the one solution that works every single time to get the wax off: I iron my table.
Here’s how it works: I place a napkin over the dried wax spots and set a warm iron on top of the napkin, just long enough for the melted wax to adhere to the fabric. The table is instantly cleared of wax, even in the tiny grooves of the surface, no scraping required.
I’ve never had any trouble with this method, but if you’re worried about wax in your washing machine, I’ve read that the iron trick works just as well with layered paper towels. You can also pop the cloth in the freezer and, once frozen, the wax should peel right off.
If you don’t own an iron (team steamer forever), you can use a hair dryer to melt the wax and then scrape it off with a credit card or a butter knife if you do so very gently. Since scraping was the task I was trying to avoid in the first place, I’m sticking with my iron.
Now that my kids are adolescents with busy activity schedules, dinners together don’t happen as frequently as I would like, but I don’t stress over it. Other than a mild obsession with family dinner, I turned out just fine. And when we do get to light candles together, I know that I won’t have to scrape (and potentially ruin) the table after dinner. And truth be told, ironing the wax away is almost as easy as a nose twitch.
Have you tried ironing your table? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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Meg Asby
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I have to admit something: I have cooked more soggy, burnt, and just overall mediocre baked sweet potato fries than I’d like to admit. After years of sub-par homemade sweet potato fries, I gave up. I resigned to purchasing frozen sweet potato fries for more consistent results. But those bags can get pricey, and it seemed a little silly that sweet potato fries, out of all things, was the dish I couldn’t manage to get right.
So I decided once and for all to figure out the best way to bake crispy sweet potato fries at home.
2/10
Prep: 35 minutes
Cook: 30-38 minutes
About this method: This method comes from Love and Lemons. A 30 minute soak encourages the surface starch to release to aid crisping. Baking the fries on a cooling rack at 450°F is meant to allow the hot air to circulate around the sweet potatoes. This creates a crispy fry without needing to flip them halfway through the baking time.
Results: I could see starch collected at the bottom of the soaking bowl, so I was hopeful from the start. Unfortunately, this method did not work. These fries were somehow both soggy and dry at the same time.
The hottest oven temperature used for all the methods, it dried out the sweet potatoes rather than making them crisp. The cooling rack also imprinted a grid pattern on the fries. Not a deal-breaker if it produced crispy fries. But the fries were limp. The sweet potatoes really need direct surface contact with the baking sheet to help them brown.
This method is the only one that didn’t toss the fries with cornstarch, which was a noticeable difference in the final results. They tasted more like a roasted vegetable side dish than a “fry.”
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Julia Choi-Rodriguez
About this method: Sally’s Baking Addiction takes a savory turn from cakes and cookies and shares her method for baked sweet potato fries. This method intrigued me. She skips the soak, instead just tossing the fries with cornstarch and then olive oil. The fries hit the oven at 400°F for 30 minutes, flipping halfway. At that point, the oven is turned off, but the fries are left to rest in the still-hot oven for 30 minutes. Resting in the hot oven instead of at room temperature is meant to maximize the crisp factor.
Results: These fries definitely weren’t soggy. They stood up straight when I held one up. But the extra-long exposure to the heat also dried them out. The texture was leathery. And despite flipping them halfway through the cooking time, one side was much darker. I attribute this to them resting on the hot baking sheet for the extra 30 minutes.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Julia Choi-Rodriguez
About this method: This super straightforward recipe comes from Cookie and Kate. The fries are tossed first with cornstarch, then with olive oil. They’re baked at 425°F for about 35 minutes, flipping halfway through. No soaking here — Kate claims the extra work doesn’t provide better results. Let the fries cool on a wire rack.
Results: I pulled these fries out of the oven at the shortest suggested cooking time, but even that was too long. These fries were the darkest of the bunch, really toeing the line of burnt. The fries weren’t limp at all, but I would categorize them as more chewy than crisp. I did like how straightforward they were to prep and cook. I would try these again, reducing the cooking time.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Julia Choi-Rodriguez
6/10
Prep: 35 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
About this method: Amy of Chew Out Loud soaks her sweet potato fries for at least 30 minutes. After drying them well, they’re tossed with oil first, and then the cornstarch and seasoning. They’re baked at 425°F for 15 minutes, flipped, and returned to the oven for an additional 7-10 minutes. Let them cool for two minutes to crisp before serving.
Results: This was another fairly straightforward recipe, with the additional soaking step. Like before, I could see the starch collected at the bottom of the bowl. These fries were so close, but unfortunately did not quite hit the mark. They were limp, but I think this mainly had to do with the shorter cooking time. I think adding on additional cooking time would be an easy adjustment to make here.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Julia Choi-Rodriguez
8/10
Prep: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
About this method: Laura from The First Mess starts with shorter fries. The large sweet potatoes are cut in half through the equator first, then cut into 1/2-inch fries. They then go in a bowl of cold water for at least an hour to soak. After draining and drying well, they’re tossed with arrowroot or cornstarch. (Laura indicates that either will work. I stuck with cornstarch for consistency’s sake.) They’re laid out on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. The tops are then sprayed again with cooking spray. No salt yet — it draws out moisture while cooking. They’re baked at 425°F, for 50 minutes, flipping halfway through. They can be returned to the oven for additional cooking time if more browning is needed.
Results: I was skeptical of the shorter, almost stubby fries at first. I like the more elegant look of cutting the full length sweet potato into fries. But there was no denying it was a lot easier to cut things up when starting with half a potato and a flat, even surface. The hour-long soak also seemed like a long prep time, plus nearly an hour’s cooking time.
But these fries were super crisp. The shorter length provided more surface area to crisp up. They’re also great if you’re serving a crowd — they’re a one-bite fry that doesn’t require double dipping. And using cooking spray was easier and much less of a mess. The hour-long soak is definitely something you have to plan around, but they can soak up to overnight. It’d likely be easier to prep them earlier in the day, let them soak in the refrigerator, then resume when it’s closer to dinnertime.
My only major complaint was that 50 minutes was too long for my oven. These fries were too dark. They also tasted a bit under-seasoned. The salt didn’t adhere as well to the fries when they were seasoned after being removed to a plate. I’d definitely repeat this method but start checking the fries for doneness at 35 minutes. I’d also salt them immediately out of the oven, while the oil is still bubbling on the surface.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Julia Choi-Rodriguez
10/10
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30-35 minutes
About this method: This technique from A Couple Cooks calls for a quick 10 minute soak. The fries are drained, dried, tossed with oil, and then cornstarch. They’re baked for 15 minutes at 425°, flipped, then returned to the oven for another 16-19 minutes.
Results: These sweet potato fries were easy to make and legitimately crispy. They were still crispy after sitting around for 45 minutes. They ranked higher cold when tasted side-by-side with some of the lower ranking methods while they were still hot.
I wasn’t sure the 10 minute soak would do much, but I could see starch collected at the bottom of the bowl. There was definitely less starch present compared to those that soaked for 30 minutes or more, but it was there. If you have the extra time, soaking them for longer won’t hurt, but even the short turn in the tub makes a difference. My only tiny complaint here is that tossing the fries with oil and then cornstarch was a little trickier than tossing with cornstarch first. But with the results it provided, it wasn’t a huge deal.
Soaking sweet potato fries in cold water, even for just 10 minutes, before baking definitely makes a difference. To streamline things, prep and pop the bowl of fries in the fridge several hours before eating.
425°F seems to be the sweet spot for the oven temperature. Not too hot where they burn but hot enough to crisp and brown evenly.
Lastly, be sure to rotate the pans when cooking. Ovens have hot spots that sweet potatoes are particularly susceptible to. Rotating the pans helps avoid half a pan of overdone fries, and half a pan of soggy fries.
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Meleyna Nomura
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Making your Thanksgiving pies ahead of time can be a lifesaver when it’s crunch time in the moments leading up to the holiday dinner, but there’s a right and a wrong way to do it. Whether you’re making an apple pie or pumpkin pie, there’s a few things you can do to ensure they’re as delicious as possible on Thanksgiving day. Here’s exactly what you need to know to prep and store your holidays pie in advance.
Fruit pies, like apple or pear, can be made ahead and stored a few different ways. You can either freeze them unbaked or baked for up to three months. Here are the details:
Want to avoid the freezer all together? You can bake a fruit-based pie a few days in advance as long as it’s stored properly.
The make-ahead rule for freezing custard or nut-based pies are a bit more strict. This includes pies like pumpkin, sweet potato, and pecan. Avoid freezing custard or nut-based pies unbaked because the uncooked egg filling can curdle when it’s thawed. These pies freeze successfully after they’ve been baked — but for no more than one month.
You can skip the freezer and bake your custard pie a couple of days in advance. Loosely covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, you can store your pie in the fridge for up to four days.
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Sheela Prakash
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While those inexpensive pumpkin carving kits you see at the grocery store may seem appealing (they promise everything you need — and when is the last time a plastic saw ever hurt anyone?), they’re actually not your best bet.
“I don’t use them,” says expert pumpkin carver Hugh McMahon, who heads a team that makes 300 jack-o’-lanterns a season (including portraits of Michael Jackson and Albert Einstein!). Not only do those chintzy orange knives break too easily, but they’ll also never give you very detailed results. They’re not always the sharpest, and you know what they say about using dull knives (they’re more dangerous than sharp ones!).
Instead, McMahon says there are only two tools you need to carve a pumpkin safely.
The best tool for cutting the eyes, mouth, and nose out of your jack-o’-lantern is something that’s probably already sitting in your kitchen: “I use a fruit and vegetable knife with a serrated edge,” says McMahon, who notes that his chosen knife is eight inches long. “You want one with a thin blade so you can turn it easily, which will give you a more precise shape.”
Just as when you’re cutting fruits and veggies to eat, a sharper knife is a safer knife. “You want to saw through the pumpkin with it,” says McMahon, explaining that the motion should be a slow back and forth — not a pushing one. This way, the knife has a better grip on the pumpkin and makes easier cuts, which means you’re less likely to have an accident. We like Victorinox Swiss Classic Paring Knife, which you’ll get plenty of use out of the rest of the year to slice through everything from tender tomatoes to hearty root veggies.
You know how those plastic pumpkin-carving kits always come with a scooper meant for scraping out the seeds? McMahon has a much better suggestion: “I go to the 99-cent store and get a soup ladle — and then I break off the handle,” he says. It’s deeper than those kit scoopers and it can hold a lot more pumpkin guts at once. Note: You don’t have to break the handle off; doing so just makes it easier to really get in there.
Bonus tip: McMahon actually likes to cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin (instead of the top, as is more traditional) and scoop from there. “Then you can hide the electric cord to a light, and it keeps the shape of the pumpkin better,” he says. Our editors love GIR’s inexpensive silicone ladle for soup season, and it’s sturdy enough to make scooping out all those delicious pumpkin seeds (and the corresponding pulp) a breeze.
You really don’t need any extra tools, but if you’re looking to create a super-intricate design this year, there are two other instruments that will come in handy for your carved creations.
The best way to take your carving skills up a notch is to invest in an X-ACTO knife (you can buy one at any art supply store) for detail work. McMahon says he uses these artist’s knives when he wants to cut into — but not all the way through — the pumpkin’s skin.
A word of warning, though: It is much easier to accidentally poke yourself with an X-ACTO knife than with a paring knife, so you’ll want to be extra careful. That said, a sharp paring knife could also be used.
Wire-end modeling tools are meant for sculptors — and you are kind of sculpting a jack-o’-lantern when you carve it. Most at-home carvers probably won’t need the level of precision that this tool gives you, but McMahon says he scrapes it against pumpkin skin to smooth it after he’s cut into it with an X-ACTO knife.
A note on safety: No matter which tools you’re using to make your jack-o’-lantern, you’ll want to clear off a large workspace and keep all of the instruments you’re using in one place, so you know where they are at all times. “What you don’t want is to be blindsided by a sharp point when grabbing something,” says McMahon. Because the only thing you should be cutting is your pumpkin.
What do you use to carve pumpkins?
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Robin Hilmantel
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Bobbing for apples at a Halloween party is so 2019 (hello, germs) — and it’s also a big, wet mess. Instead of getting water everywhere, opt for a beloved fall treat from childhood for kids and adults alike: caramel apples. For your next party, tap into your guests’ sense of nostalgia with a build-your-own caramel apple bar. From the supplies you’ll need to tips and tricks to prevent sticky messes, here’s how to do it — and be the host with the most this autumn:
In my years of hosting DIY caramel apple bars, these are a few best practices that can make this Halloween treat mess-free and more entertaining.
Did you try this for your Halloween party? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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Jennifer Billock
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