Blog Posts by Maggie Nemser, Shine staff

Is it just me or do we all need to re-learn how to cook this huge bird again every Thanksgiving? I asked Alex Guarnaschelli, host of The Food Network's The Cooking Loft, and executive chef at Butter Restaurant in NYC to break down the basics so we can finally learn how to really cook a turkey. Thanks to Alex, maybe we can now commit this one to memory or at least have it saved on our desktops for next year. Oh and don't let the number of steps scare you - we're walking you step-by-step through this one!

Let's start her FAQs:

How big does the turkey need to be?

A good rule of thumb is 1½ pounds of turkey (factor and exclude the weight of the carcass) per person. What kind of turkey? Like a lot of poultry these days, there are quite a variety of turkeys (all raised in different ways, fed different foods) to choose from. I love Heritage brand the most but those types of birds are raised in such a way that the meat is leaner and can be slightly tough. I also love a good ol' supermarket

The funny guys at Thrillist made me lose my appetite this week when they featured this "unique" roll that's being served (with a straight face) at a sushi joint in LA.

This Thanksgiving sushi special, topped with gravy, is action-packed with roasted turkey, rice, dill, chives, avocado, sprouts and cucumbers and even comes with the traditional Thanksgiving sides.

Understanding that we're clearly not in Tokyo anymore, Toto, does the turkey roll sound delicious or disgusting to you?



Related links on Shine:
Sushi etiquette for dummies
The best of the web: Thanksgiving menus

Are you baking cookies, cakes or brownies for the holidays? Is there a lasagna that keeps the invitations coming or a soup that makes your family swoon? If you're stumped, here are 14 great homemade cookies for all tastes and if you want to play it super safe and not leave any person taste preferences to chance, I'd go with the chocolate chip cookie recipe from Cooks Illustrated or Martha Stewart's classic and "perfect" pumpkin pie.

What's your homemade special recipe that's great for gifts?

Related Links on Shine:

Are these the best chocolate chip cookies in the world?
Apple almond cookies

A friend recently started calling me Mag-a-muffin so I decided that it was probably a good time to slam the cabinet on my muffin addiction. To start my anti-muffin movement on a high note, I popped into a cute breakfast place this morning for a delicious omelet.

After waiting a significantly long time for eggs, I started wondering what was going on and when my omelet finally arrived I immediately knew the cause of the holdup. I was shocked. It was literally the largest omelet that I've ever seen. While from a taste perspective it was super legit, fresh market mushrooms, fried goat cheese and roasted tomatoes, all perfectly distributed, I couldn't help but wonder why on earth it was a family size. I eyed the monstrosity with awe; it felt wasteful and over the top. When I asked the waiter how many eggs were used in the making of my monster and he told me that they always use seven. Seven eggs? I think that anywhere in the three to five neighborhood is normal, but seven seems like an egg

Every Thanksgiving, I proudly tell my mother that I've really cut down on my Diet Coke intake. You see, I know it makes her happy to hear and I'm being honest because I haven't cracked one since I left my apartment, about 8 hours ago.

We all have things that we won't eat or drink in the presence of our family, without receiving massive lectures. There are also the foods or drinks that are not allowed in our home (sugar cereal, anyone?) or accessible in our towns. So now is the time to indulge, (in moderation, of course) before we ship off for a few days of cold turkey.

Here's what I will miss desperately while I'm home for the holidays. What will you crave?

1. Diet Coke
2. Red Mango frozen yogurt with Cinnamon Toast Crunch & yogurt chip toppings
3. My boyfriend's perfect market salad
4. Sandwiches that I build
5. A honey raisin muffin from my local coffee shop
6. Anything that isn't stew, lasagna, a casserole or fare that even remotely resembles a potluck

Related links on Shine

It's Thanksgiving time; do you know where your issues are? Every Thanksgiving seems to bring out the best and worst in us.

It's that intense night of the year when you introduce your boyfriend to your family. It's the time when you have a heart-to-heart with your sis, in the cold backyard, that fills your heart and blows your precious Skype sessions out of the water. It's the year your uncle reminds you that you're still a wimp because you passed on the 10-mile family hike, uphill. There's something about sweet, sweet Thanksgiving that always manages to heighten our emotions and bring issues (or those we've resolved) right to the surface.

Sometimes you're in a place in life when you're walking on sunshine and nothing can penetrate your happy mojo. Then there are the years when things don't go down like a spoon full of sugar. You know the years I'm talking about - the ones where you're not quite as strong as your former resilient self - the self with the long beautiful

My friend called me the other day lamenting his lunch choice of a Quiznos sub. He felt heavy and wished that he instead went for a Subway sandwich. I felt his pain, but there's a time and a place to do the Quiz. There's something to be said for their stick-to-your-ribs sandy, but I do love how Subway fills you up without weighing you down.

What do you think? Subway or Quiznos?

If you're sick of your significant other's signature mac and cheese or simply want to give an aspiring chef a new hot cookbook, here are five of the best beginner cookbooks for the new chef. They make great holiday gifts and are all under 25 bucks.





For the dude's dude who wants to improve his microwaving "skills"
A Man, A Can, A Plan, (Amazon, starting at $9.39)


















For the semi-able cook who wants to learn to how make everything (literally)
The 1997 Joy of Cooking (Amazon, starting at $25)


















For the little pumpkin who's never cooked a day in his or her life
Paula Deen's My First Cookbook (Yahoo! Shopping, (starting at $9.52)














For the gourmand with a dash of attention deficit
Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (Yahoo! Shopping, starting at $9.49)















For the truly new cook who can barely boil water, but wants to get the basics down immediately
How to Boil Water: Life Beyond Takeout (Yahoo! Shopping, starting at $11.47)









Related links on Shine:
Presents for your kid's teacher
Books your