Thanksgiving is around the corner, so it's time to head to the grocery store and start food shopping for all your must-have cooking ingredients. Start thinking about the types of dishes you'll be making this year and create a detailed shopping list. It's best to beat the crowds and shop as early as possible. To help you kick-start your Thanksgiving menu, here are three recipes that will spice up an otherwise traditional meal:

Caramelized shallot mashed red-skinned potatoes:

I make mashed potatoes all the time, so for Thanksgiving, I like to make them a little more special by stirring in caramelized shallots.

For the caramelized shallots:

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

10 Shallots, thinly sliced

1∕4 Teaspoon kosher salt

1∕ 4 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the potatoes:

4 Pounds unpeeled red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

3

We all have one dish that says Thanksgiving. For some it's canned cranberry sauce. For others it's sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows. For me it's my mom's chicken liver pate. Or maybe it's her oyster dressing. Without either of those dishes, Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving. With that in mind, I asked thirty of my favorite chefs what dish they couldn't live without. I learned a few things: chefs love stuffing, they don't love turkey, and, of course, their mom makes the best pumpkin pie in the world. One chef even gave props to his mother-in-law. That must be some seriously good dessert. Take a look at their top dishes and let us know yours too.

Not Cooking? Check out the Top 10 Restaurants Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner Near Your City.

José Andres, Chef, The Bazaar, Los Angeles
"Stuffing, Catalan-style, which has pork sausage, prunes, dried apricots, pine nuts, and dried figs"

Michael Symon, Chef, Lola, Cleveland
"Gotta have roasted dates with pancetta and almonds, and the

Relax and dig in! Are you ready to party? The next six weeks will be filled with fun and food, plus a few diet hurdles. Revel without worry with these simple strategies.

By Andrea Bartz

Your fear: "I'm doomed to gain weight."

Panic backfires on your backside. "If you convince yourself you're going to pack on pounds, you'll give up and binge or stress-eat," says Heather K. Jones, R.D., coauthor of What's Your Diet Type? (Hatherleigh Press). Besides, the average American gains only 1 pound between Thanksgiving and New Year's, a study in The New England Journal of Medicine finds. Creating a plan of action will ease anxiety. Establish an easy rule to keep from going overboard, such as "I'll have a 150-calorie treat a day" or "I'll add 10 minutes to every workout," says Judith Beck, Ph.D., of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research in Philadelphia.

Check out the rest of our holiday eating handbook for more great diet tips!

Your fear: "I overeat at

The turning of leaves and crispness in the air signal that autumn is officially upon us. With the advent of fall comes many holidays and opportunities to celebrate that for which we are thankful--our families, the food on our table, and our general well-being. Thanksgiving is a holiday as American as the apple pie sometimes served during it (for those who aren't big fans of the pumpkin variety), but did you know that it's not a holiday exclusive to the United States? We didn't either. Well, ok, we had a suspicion; we did some research and are here to share with you how people give thanks around the world.

Our good neighbors to the north, Canada, celebrate the Thanksgiving most resembling our own, right down to the turkey and pumpkin pie. The main differences between the two holidays are that Canada didn't officially start celebrating their day until 1957 and they hold their festivities on the second Monday of October.

Across the globe, Croatia celebrates what they call the

Insert your meat thermometer into the turkey thigh and avoid touching the bone for the clearest read.These may not seem like the most exciting tools on the kitchen shelf, but meat thermometers are the secret to keeping turkeys and roasts nice and juicy. Whether you're a cook who only uses it at Thanksgiving, or a master roaster who likes a play-by-play temperature reading, see our top five picks. Pretty hot, if you ask us.

For the family that only busts out the meat thermometer on Thanksgiving:
1) Polder 12454 In-Oven Meat Thermometer
$9, polder.com
UPSIDE Thermometer remains in meat during cooking; easy to use; great for checking temperatures of large items like turkey. (Hey, when is the turkey done? Find out cook times and more here.)
DOWNSIDE Leaves large holes in smaller meats.

For the college student with lots of roommates:
2) CDN ProAccurate Quick Tip Thermometer (DTQ450)
$18, amazon.com
UPSIDE Waterproof; easy to use.
DOWNSIDE Requires battery.

For coffee drinkers who prefer freshly ground beans:
3) Comark T220A 1" Pocket Dial

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Preparing for Thanksgiving is like getting ready for a big game. You can't successfully execute without a solid game plan.

So huddle up!

OK, enough with the bad sports analogies. Let's get started.

Week before Thanksgiving

• Order your turkey/s---figure about 1-1.5 pounds per person, but if you like leftovers as much as my family, you'll buy an entire extra turkey
• Start thinking about your menu. Technically, you don't have to commit until your grocery store trip, but it helps to have time to brainstorm and not feel rushed
• Give guests ideas for dishes they can bring

Week of Thanksgiving

• Take inventory---make sure you have the items you need in your pantry (spices, canned items, etc.) and pots, pans and other utensils
• Clean out your fridge to make room
• Buy all the non-perishable ingredients you'll need. Unless you enjoy the fighting with old ladies over the last can of pumpkin filling or hauling and unloading 200 pounds of groceries the day of.

Pilgrim Hat Brownies

1 box brownie mix

Water, eggs and oil called for in mix

1 container chocolate frosting

Mini Reece's Peanut Butter Cups

Twizzlers Nibs Black Licorice Bits

Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows)

Follow directions on brownie mix box. Spoon brownie batter into muffin tins (makes 24). Bake brownies and let cool. Turn brownies upside down. Spoon about a teaspoon of frosting onto the center of each brownie and top with a peanut butter cup. Make chocolate glaze. Place brownies on a cooling rack and place waxed paper or foil underneath to catch drips. Spoon glaze over each brownie to cover completely. Place a licorice bit flat side out to look like a hat buckle. Let set up for several hours.

Chocolate Glaze

Half a 12 oz bag of Semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup cream

Place chips in a bowl. Heat cream until hot, but not boiling. Pour hot cream over chocolate chips and whisk to combine.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

1 box spice cake

Though many people have never eaten deep-fried turkey, those in the Bayou have known for ages that this is a marvelous way to prepare a moist, flavorful bird. So if you're looking to deep fry a turkey for a Thanksgiving dinner or any other occasion, just follow these step-by-step instructions that make learning to deep fry turkey almost as easy as making gravy.

Step 1
Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey cavity and rinse the inside and outside of the bird.

Step 2
Dry the turkey well, inside and out, with paper towels.

Step 3
Fold the wings of the turkey behind the bird's shoulders and then remove the hock lock. Place turkey on a large wire rack.

Step 4
Place a 10- to 12-gallon stockpot on a 12-inch propane gas burner with at least 100,000 BTUs and fill with
vegetable oil. Light fire and heat oil to 390 degrees F.

Step 5
Lower the well-dried turkey, breast first, into a deep-frying basket. Put on oven mitts and gently lower the basket into the oil.

Step 6
Lift up the