This time last year, my first cookbook, Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner, hit the virtual shelves. I usually write about backing up your computer, preventing spam, and similarly techie topics, but since I love to cook, I thought it would be neat to apply the Take Control format to a food-related subject. The book takes [...]

When it comes to whipped cream—one of my all-time favorite edible substances—I’ve always been a purist. Freshly whipped cream (sweetened with a bit of sugar, and with maybe just a hint of vanilla) tastes best to me, and I’ve never considered the process of sticking a mixer into a bowl of cold cream to be [...]

Over the past couple of months, we’ve had numerous posts on The Geeky Gourmet having to do with Thanksgiving—partly because it’s just the right season, and partly to help promote my book Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner. For the convenience those of you who have come to the site mainly searching for Thanksgiving advice, I’d [...]

Over the years, Cook’s Illustrated has repeatedly heaped praise upon the Thermapen, a digital thermometer known for its speed, accuracy, generous probe length, and convenient folding design. Recent episodes of Good Eats have shown Alton Brown using the same thermometer, so clearly it is a device to be reckoned with. Every serious cook should have [...]

Are you ready? According to our recent poll, more than half of the households surveyed are already preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. Someone is putting together a menu and a shopping list and digging out equipment such as roasting pans and turkey basters. Another 25% of the respondents will be busy getting it together this weekend. [...]

When cooking for a crowd—especially if the meal involves lots of different baked dishes, as it typically does at Thanksgiving—those of use with just one oven often run into a problem. There’s just not enough space in there for a turkey, an extra casserole of stuffing, some candied sweet potatoes, and perhaps that pie you [...]

Back in September I wrote about the Food Loop, a handy silicone thingy you can use to tie your turkey drumsticks together before roasting (among many other uses). But I noted that you’d still have to close up the cavity that holds the stuffing somehow—a rather tedious job that usually involves a lacing kit. Turns out [...]

I’ve done countless interviews for radio shows, newspapers, and podcasts, as well as live presentations of various kinds. But tomorrow, I’ll appear in my first TV interview—on a live broadcast, no less! As I mentioned last week, Take Control Books is donating $1 from every copy of Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner sold in November to [...]

Decisions, decisions. Do you brine your bird (as recommended in Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner)? Do you rub the bird with butter or olive oil before popping it into the oven? Do you season your stuffing with traditional herbs, or simply put a sprig of fresh rosemary into an unstuffed turkey? The fellows over at Seasonshot.com [...]

If you’ve been thinking about purchasing a copy of Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner, there’s no better time than this week. First, you can take advantage of the Take Control Third Anniversary Sale and get the electronic version of the book at half price (just $5!) through next Monday, November 13 if you use this [...]

I’m delighted to announce that you can now purchase a lovely printed version of Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner. Thanks to our friends at Qoop, we’re now offering the print-on-demand edition—7 x 9 inches, with a Wire-O binding to lie flat on your kitchen counter and a laminated, color cover. The pages inside can be [...]

Because we worked hard to get Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner published in plenty of time for Thanksgiving in Canada, and included Canadian-friendly metric measurements, I take a keen interest in how Canadians will be celebrating the holiday today. To be sure, Canada doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving on the same scale as the United States, and [...]