Well, folks: we did it!  You’ve been cheering us along—Kevin and I—as we prepared to host our first Thanksgiving, so I figured it was only fair that we gave you a glimpse of how the whole thing went down.  Kevin and I have put together a list of lessons learned—a how-to, of sorts, for first time Thanksgiving hosts.   And so, we bring you a list of five tips for first-time hosts, along with Kevin’s and my take on each tip.

Tip # 1: Keep in Mind that Giblets are a Two-Person Job.

Kevin: When I heard that we were getting a special all-natural heritage bird I was obviously all for it.  Natural, local, let’s do it.  When I heard the price I figured this bird was all-inclusive, whatever that meant.  We picked it up at the Evanston Farmer’s Market and were a bit surprised when we were given a rock hard frozen 10 pound mass.  Wait a second.  We could have gotten a frozen butterball for $3.99.  Anyway, we got over that initial disappointment and thawed the bird and it was finally time to clean it.  Now, Kristin is pretty self-sufficient in the kitchen.  I usually am only allowed near the dishes and the finished goods, which is just fine by me.  But I was finally called into duty, because this heritage bird was indeed all-inclusive.  And by all-inclusive I mean heart, kidneys, livers (how many livers does a turkey have? 6?), neckbone, etc.  About 2 hours later it was all completely gutted and snipped, including a final surprise: the gobbler, saggy and heritage-d.

Kristin: You need one person (Kevin) to slip the bird out of its packaging, peer inside the cavity and report his findings to the other person (Kristin).  You need one person (Kevin) to gingerly pull out each of the giblets, which in our case were not conveniently located in a tidy bag but instead floating free inside the turkey’s cavity; meanwhile the other person (Kristin) holds open a giant garbage bag, providing moral support as the giblet-remover (again, this is Kevin) drops one organ after another into the bag.  In our case, the giblet remover (I’m pretty sure you’ve got this by now: Kevin) did his best to identify the parts as they dropped into the bag, each landing with a heavier thud than the last.  Shamefully, reader, our giblets then went directly into the dumpster out back in the alley (thanks to Kevin) and a calming glass of wine was poured (thanks to Kristin).  I know, I know that the giblets could have made their way into various Thanksgiving dishes.  Maybe by the time we host a second time, we’ll be brave enough to actually use the giblets.  And maybe we’ll figure out how to make their removal a one-person (Kevin) job.

Tip #2: If anyone offers to bring something, just say yes.

Kevin: Namely when that something is “wine.”  My Dad had been plotting out his wine flights for weeks and arrived with a bounty.  From champagne, to white, to red, to a dessert wine, we were locked and loaded.  We like to tease my Dad when he occasionally goes overboard on his wine tasting.  But on Thanksgiving I got into the spirit, pretending to taste notes and nod my head vigorously.  Oh, chocolate!  How dare they?  I mean, that’s really good!

Kristin: Kevin’s grandma transported several quarts of her famous Thanksgiving pumpkin soup, poured into re-purposed plastic containers, to our house, where it re-warmed and started the meal on a deeply delicious, warmly autumnal note.  Kevin’s mom brought her artichoke dip and a kugel that was enriched with cream cheese and flecked with cranberries.  The former is an old family favorite and, if Thursday’s reactions were any indication, the latter will become a new family favorite.  I didn’t have any of these items on our original menu, but each of them made the meal.  And, between Kevin’s dad and Kevin’s sister’s boyfriend, both wine afficiandos who arrived with armloads of bottles, none of us went thirsty, which is also a very good thing.

Tip #3: Cool Your Jets.

Kevin: I’m pretty sure this tip was picked exclusively for Kristin.  But even I needed to take some T.O.’s throughout this process.  In the grocery store I found myself huffing and puffing at the frenzied freestyle shoppers, those who angle their carts in the aisle, those who like to do the “stop and go and then stop,” those who bring their kids to sneeze-it on the produce.  (Really, we like kids.  No, really!)  I found myself getting fresh at one of the many stops to pick up napkins or plates or any of the other accents we needed for the big day.  Well, I probably should have been a little calmer.  And actually Kristin was pretty calm throughout the entire process, from organizing to cooking to serving there were no “uh oh” moments.

Kristin: Now, as you all are well aware, this was a bit of a trouble spot for me.  I was a little high-strung (ha! ok, fine A LOT high-strung) about the whole affair, what with my schedules and lists and test turkeys and fully set table 24 hours in advance of the meal.  But, in its own way, that worked for me.  Come Thursday, I was completely ready and actually pretty calm about the whole thing.  No, really, I was.  Just ask Kevin.

Tip #4: Expect the Unexpected.

Kevin: Because she’s Kristin, we had tested our bird cooking skills on the grill a few weeks prior to the big day.  And it had gone really well.  So on Thanksgiving day when our bird was on the grill there was little reason to check the temperature of the bird when there was supposedly still more than one hour left to go in our carefully-calculated roasting time.  But the skin was looking crispy so we checked it out anyway.  And not only was the bird done, it was slightly overdone. Oh boy.  The schedule was compromised.  Weeks of lists and schedules and details were suddenly out the window.  In the end we ran with it pretty well.  We foiled the bird, and threw the burners and oven on to get all the sides churned out as quickly as possible.  Fortunately we were able to pull it all together — though we did have to eat at 11 AM.

Kristin: Our turkey finished roasting nearly two hours before we expected it to be done.  As you can imagine, it was quite a curveball and it ended a lovely cocktail hour pretty  abruptly, at least for Kevin and me.  We shifted into a gear in the kitchen I didn’t previously knew we had, a blur of potato peels, gravy whisks and steaming green beans.   Everyone pitched in and the turkey, for its part, sat quietly in the corner beneath a layer of aluminum foil, patiently awaiting its accompaniments.  In the end, we ate at 3 o’clock, instead of 4 and no one knew the difference.

Tip #5: Before the meal, take a moment.

Kevin: In the end, Kristin pulled it off flawlessly (no duh).  With a big table of beautiful dishes and contributions from my entire family it was a great day to spend with everyone, especially with my two sisters who I don’t get to see all that often anymore.  For one day we got to all sit around, drink wine, eat delicious and unwieldy amounts of food, laugh and tell old family stories.  And nobody can go anywhere since its Thanksgiving.  We even busted out Taboo after dinner to make everyone earn their pie.  My Grandma came through with the play of the day, correctly shouting “Bungee Jumping” with a mere two clues (”Australia” and “New Zealand”) to guide her.  I have a great life, so it was good to say “thanks” to all the people who have made it that way, and have everyone around our table, if only for one day.

Kristin: Just before the meal, when everyone has passed through the buffet, filled their plates and returned to the table, just about to tuck into the annual feast, take a quick minute to realize that you totally did it.  It feels a little bit like magic—the food is there, family is there, and everything worked out, more or less, according to plan.  Be sure to take the minute before the meal begins because in a mere 30 minutes, it’ll all be over.

And, with that, here are the rest of the recipes from our Thanksgiving 2009:

Crème Frâiche Biscuits
Food & Wine

Yield: About 22 Biscuits

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 sticks (1/2 pound) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large bowl, whisk 4 cups of the flour with the baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter until it’s the size of peas. Make a well in the center.

In a small bowl, whisk the heavy cream with the crème fraîche and egg and pour into the well. Stir with a fork until evenly moistened. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead 2 or 3 times until it holds together.

Roll out the dough 1 inch thick. Using a 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out the biscuits as close together as possible. Gently press the scraps together and stamp out more biscuits. Transfer to baking sheets and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Bake the biscuits for 18 minutes, or until golden on top. Serve warm from the oven or at room temperature.

Green Beans & Caramelized Shallots
Bon Appetit

Yield: Serves 8 to 10

Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Food & Wine

Yield: Serves 8 to 10

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 1/4 pounds baby brussels sprouts or regular brussels sprouts that are halved lengthwise
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 cup Grade A pure maple syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup toasted walnuts

Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet until shimmering. Add the brussels sprouts and season with salt and pepper, then cook over high heat without stirring until they are browned, about 2 minutes. Add the unsalted butter and brown sugar and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the brown sugar is melted. Add the maple syrup and cook, stirring occasionally, until the brussels sprouts are just crisp-tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in the cider vinegar. Add the walnuts and cook until hot.  Transfer the brussels sprouts to a serving bowl.

Apple Cider Gravy
Bon Appetit

4 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 cups apple cider
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons Calvados (apple brandy) or other brandy
turkey drippings, fat skimmed and removed

Combine broth and apple cider in heavy large saucepan. Boil until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. Pour broth reduction into bowl. Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter in same saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour; stir 1 minute. Whisk in broth reduction, then cream, Calvados, and remaining herb mixture. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until gravy base is thickened and reduced to 2 3/4 cups, whisking often, about 20 minutes. Cool gravy base slightly. (Gravy base can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.)  Whisk in turkey drippings and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally.  Boil until the gravy has thickened and reduced.  Season to taste.

Boursin Mashed Potatoes

5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 container Boursin herbed cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter
milk, to consistency

Peel, quarter and rinse the potatoes.  Transfer the peeled potatoes and salt to a large stock pot and cover with cold water.  Bring the potatoes to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.  Drain the potatoes and transfer to a large bowl.  Add the Boursin cheese, sour cream and butter to the bowl of potatoes.  Using an immersion blender or a hand-mixer, mash the potatoes until smooth.  While mashing, add splashes of milk until the potatoes reach your desired consistency.