As you embark upon menu planning, whenever you approach a recipe, ask yourself this question from entertaining expert Ina Garten: “Will my friends have more fun if I make this thing and drive myself crazy?” (Spoiler: “The answer, of course, is no. Your friends will have more fun if you’re happy and having a good time with them.”) Read on for Garten’s highly practical holiday tips, plus a must-make dish from her newest cookbook. 

Just ask our food director Chris Morocco: Breaking down a turkey, compared to roasting it whole, means faster cooking, better browning, and crispier skin. But if his step-by-step guide and maple-shellacked masterpiece can’t convince your mom/brother/cousin to start a new tradition, so be it. Tell them they can take the lead on another turkey recipe—and the carving.

“To challenge the bird as the main event feels risky,” writes cookbook author Hetty Lui McKinnon. “But for my family, it was liberating.” Indeed, the easiest turkey is no turkey at all. With pumpkin strata, brown butter green beans, and soy caramel brussels sprouts, McKinnon’s vegetarian Thanksgiving isn’t just for vegetarians. If a bird is nonnegotiable, take a gander anyway—your new favorite vegetable dishes are right here.

You just spent all that time peeling potatoes for a fluffy, buttery mash—so don’t throw those hard-earned skins in the trash. This recipe from associate food editor Zaynab Issa repurposes them into a crispy-crunchy topping. Not a mash fan? Be sure to check out this dispatch from the test kitchen before roasting potato hunks.

Associate food editor Kendra Vaculin’s number one rule for the holiday: Make anything and everything in advance. Like cranberry sauce, which can hang out in the fridge for up to five days, and stuffing, which is notorious for hogging oven space. Most of this recipe, with jammy onions and lots of herbs, takes place on Wednesday. Then, come Thursday morning, you can pour yourself a cup of coffee and watch the parade.

Many gravy recipes encourage you to make turkey stock from scratch. But when, exactly, are you going to do that? Here’s a better idea: Take advantage of boxed stock and zhuzh it up with whatever’s around (say, a parm rind or spoonful of miso). Then whip up this shortcut gravy while the roast turkey is resting. A spoonful of chili crisp will make it taste like it took all day.

If making pie pastry sounds fun, by all means, do it. We just published our ultimate dough recipe, which will hold your hand every step of the way. But if making pie pastry stresses you out, the solution is simple. Don’t make it. There are many, many desserts that don’t involve a fussed-over flaky crust— like the 23 recipes below. Think: cinnamon crunch pie made with store-bought phyllo. Cut an extra big slice for us.