Good morning, my fellow Americans. Over here we think it is the most wonderful time of the year… a day that we get to cook all day (and drink wine for an unusually large part of the day). But we acknowledge that many of you might not have already been awoken by your brother-in-law asking you to bring a wok, or have not been up for two hours assessing turkey brine and listening to the score of Hamilton. Fear not–this is a Thanksgiving blog for all Americans.  A blog to bring us all together (before you get into a screaming match with your relatives over dinner, anyway).

But all joking aside, this holiday is do-able. And that is whether you were so excited about it that you couldn’t sleep or you have been dreading cooking for two weeks. So we’ll try to give you a handful of pretty foolproof recipes that will get you through smoothly, along with a few tips here and there (mainly derived from what we’ve screwed up in the past).

**By the way, the recipes that you really screw up–they make for good stories for a lot longer than anyone remembers good or bad food.

First up, a quick note on planning. I refer you to  Martha Stewart’s excellent Thanksgiving Planner, which begins in early November and then begins in earnest four days before Thanksgiving.

This planner includes excellent tips like ordering centerpieces from the florist a month ahead (a timeline that we did not even meet for our wedding). It also recommends that you iron all cloth napkins and tablecloths at least two days before Thanksgiving. On this point, Martha and I disagree. I simply have the servants steam and iron the napkins at their discretion, but usually after putting the horses back in the stables and taking the hounds for their morning walk.

For the servantless among you (I told you we would be inclusive) I suggest either turning this planner into a nerdy drinking game or disregarding it entirely, so as to avoid panic attacks. Remember the part where this is a holiday? Yea.

Here is the real key to Thanksgiving:

Next up… a philosophical discussion on brining the turkey… and appetizers!