Cooking a turkey to perfection is often a daunting task. It doesn't have to be intimidating though, with the help of a few tools you can easily roast a moist, flavorful, and delicious turkey! Without a roasting pan or rack, meat thermometer, and baster, you may run into some complications. To ensure that we all cook the most amazing turkey, let's head off to market in search of the necessary turkey tools. Don't forget a carving knife or serving fork and be sure to include any special extras you discover along the way. Save your finds in Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag, Turkey Tools.

For a detailed explanation of how to bookmark please refer to geeksugar's article.

For a list of places that I like to shop online, read more

Many people get headaches when consuming red wine. Until recently the headaches were believed to be from red wine's sulfites, however research shows it is actually a group of chemicals known as biogenic amines. — Tasting Room

Last year, while flipping through Blueprint magazine, I came across a beautifully styled drink called The Big Apple. The recipe sounded fantastic — whiskey, apple cider, vermouth — but the reason to drink it was even better. According to Blueprint, it makes the perfect "transitional" sipper and I couldn't agree more. It's definitely too cold for margaritas, and I personally can't do eggnog until Thanksgiving. Over the next two weeks I plan on enjoying a few of these Big Apples. Want to join me? Get the recipe, just read more

My mother's birthday was last week, so I set out to make her the perfect birthday cake. I suggested a layer cake filled with dulce de leche and she delightfully obliged. When searching for a specific recipe, I couldn't find one that matched the cake in my mind, so naturally it ended up being my own creation. The end result was better than I could have imagined!

The melt in your mouth vanilla-almond cake layers were light and fluffy. The caramel colored dulce de leche filling was thick and rich. The buttery caramel frosting was smooth and creamy. The three parts came together perfectly to create a divine birthday cake that even impressed the pastry chef of the restaurant where we dined! To see the recipe, read more

I never really had a hard time with gravy until last year when it would not thicken. You can imagine the panic attack I had when I explained to my guests why the gravy was as runny as water. To ensure that this doesn't happen again, I've read every piece ever written about gravy. Here are some of the tips I've learned for making it great:

• Think about proportions. Start by figuring out how much gravy you want. Generally you'll need about 1/2-cup per person. For 4 cups of gravy, you will need 4 cups of stock.
• You will also need fat to make the gravy. For 4 cups of gravy, you'll need about 6 tbsp. of fat.
• Use the pan juices when making the gravy. Put the pan on the burner and collect up the fatty goodness. These are full of delicious flavors.



• Deglaze the pan with wine to ensure the flavorful browned bits are removed from the bottom of the turkey roasting pan.
• Flour or cornstarch is necessary to make a roux.
• Make sure the stock/broth is hot when you add it to the mixture.
• Use a wire whisk to make the gravy.
• The gravy must reach the maximum heating point— begin to boil — before it will start to thicken.

Got a great tip I forgot? Please share it with us!

Source

Today is Veterans Day, and if you're looking for a great way to honor the veterans in your life, then whip up a batch of these Chocolate Sable Red Remembrance Poppies. — Bron Marshall

I absolutely adore a thin crust pizza. I love the ultracrisp crunch and the sound it makes when you bite into it. However, making a super-thin pizza at home is often a difficult task. So what do you do if you're in the mood for a homemade, ultracrisp pizza? Why you fry it of course! Mark Bittman has written about a pan-fried pizza — I'm sure it's going to be this year's No-Knead Bread — and I can't wait to try it. Here's more on his technique:

"Take pizza dough and shape it — small disks are best — then fry it in enough olive oil to crisp the bottom. Then flip it.

If the toppings are hot (as, for example, tomato sauce might be) or the quantities small (a bit of grated cheese rather than a pile), all you need to do from this point is drop them on top, then brown the bottom of the second side."

There's a video at the New York Time's website; be sure to check it out and then give the recipe a try it at home. I know I'm going to!

Photo by Evan Sung for The New York Times