How To Solve the Most Common Thanksgiving Dinner Disasters

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Don't panic! There's practically no Turkey Day fiasco that can't be fixed. Really.

To complete this How-To you will need:

Aluminum foil
A sieve
Flour or cornstarch
Chicken broth
Casserole dish
A cheese grater
Butter
Cheese
Cans of whipped cream, or heavy cream for whipping
Salt
Soy sauce
Fortified wine, port, or bourbon
Chicken stock

Step 1: Thaw a frozen bird

Forgot to thaw your turkey? Put it, still wrapped, in the sink or tub and cover it with cold water. Replace the water every half hour. It will take about 30 minutes per pound to thaw completely.

Tip: If you thawed the bird but forgot to put it in the oven in time for dinner, simply cut it into pieces, rub them with oil, pan-fry them until the skin is crisp, and then bake them at 350º for about an hour.

Step 2: Speed up the cooking

Speed up a slow-cooking bird by turning up the oven to 450º (but no higher). Cover with foil to avoid burning the skin. Uncover the bird 10 minutes before taking it out of the oven.

Tip: Don't worry if you forgot to take the giblet packet out of the turkey; today's packaging is heat-proof and won't harm your bird.

Step 3: Fix the gravy

Smooth lumpy gravy by putting it through a sieve. Thicken too-thin gravy by dissolving a teaspoon of cornstarch or flour into a few tablespoons of cold water, then slowly adding it to the simmering gravy. Thin out too-thick gravy with some water or chicken broth.

Tip: Spice up bland gravy with salt, soy sauce, pepper, chicken stock, and/or a dash of fortified wine, port, or bourbon.

Step 4: Moisten the meat

Moisten dry turkey by putting slices into a casserole dish, covering them with two cups of chicken broth that you brought to a boil with some pan drippings, covering the dish with foil, and baking it for about 10 minutes.

Step 5: Rescue burnt rolls

Rescue slightly burnt dinner rolls by scraping off the black parts with a cheese grater.

Step 6: Save soggy stuffing

Save soggy stuffing by spreading it on a greased cookie sheet, separating it with a fork, and baking it, uncovered, at 325º for about 15 minutes.

Step 7: Transform gluey mashed potatoes

Salvage gluey mashed potatoes by transferring them to a casserole dish, topping them with butter and grated cheese, and heating.

Step 8: Preserve the pie

Solve practically any pie or cheesecake mishap by spooning the "good" parts of the dessert into parfait glasses, alternating with layers of whipped cream.

Step 9: Keep whipped cream around

Speaking of whipped cream, keep a can or two on hand to artfully cover unsightly desserts or stretch any small ones. Your guests will never know the difference.

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[karinablack]

Where's the step on drunken relatives? :(

[legoboy95]

lol love the pie part lol

[rockstar7809]

If all of these events happened to me, My disaster fixer.....

Put your coats on were going to Ihop....... :p

[Vampirebat22]

really? Does everything have to be so overly dramatic? Not even MY thanksgivings are that bad...

[TheOceanspray99]

@karinablack lock them in a closet.

[riddick0846]

the answer to all the howto videos in the world is as follows: Very Carefully...

[jg29064]

THIS GUY IS REALLY FUNNY!

[irok127]

@stuurhuis69 actually i think in this one they are telling u how to make it more thick

[stuurhuis69]

Durrrr in howcasts new video about lumpy gravy they say you have to use flour in hot water and make it dissolve really well, but in this video they use cold water and barely make it dissolve. What do?? D:

[xoxFashiionxox]

why the hell are his nipples so red?!

[farmerdude5]

The whole point is you wouldn't see it.