Total Time:
13 hr 20 min
Prep:
15 min
Inactive:
12 hr
Cook:
1 hr 5 min
Yield:18 servings
Level:Easy


Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup salted butter, melted
3 whole eggs, beaten
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 whole unbaked pie crust
Whipped cream

Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce, recipe follows

Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce:
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
5 tablespoons real maple syrup
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon whiskey

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the white sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl. Pour the chopped pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell.

Pour the syrup mixture over the top. Bake the pie until it's no longer loose and jiggly, 1 hour 10 minutes, being careful not to burn pecans and crust. (Cover with foil for part of the baking time if it browns too quickly).

Allow to cool for several hours or overnight. Serve in thin slivers with freshly whipped cream. Serve with a drizzle of cold Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce.

Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce:
Pour the whipping cream into a saucepan. Add the maple syrup and corn syrup and stir over moderate heat until thickened and reduced by about 1/3, approximately 15 minutes. Stir in the whiskey. Refrigerate mixture until it is cold and thick. Drizzle over warm pecan pie.
tgiving
 
One day ahead:

Make pecan pie and sauce
Make sweet potato casserole, store uncooked in fridge till tomorrow
Make cranberry sauce

Set the table now so you won't have to worry about it later.

Buy your salad greens and perishable vegetables. Wash lettuce leaves now, dry well, and store by packing them in paper towels in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Calculate your cooking time (and cooking order) for tomorrow.
Figure out what can't be cooked along with the turkey in the oven, either in terms of temperature or space. Plan to cook those things before or after the turkey is done, or on the stovetop while it's cooking; better still, make them today.

Thanksgiving Day:

First off:
Prepare stuffing for the turkey (if you're stuffing the turkey) and/or the dressing to cook on the side.
Prepare your vegetables for cooking-clean, peel and chop. Cover the ready-to-go vegetables and put them in the refrigerator. Boil potatoes and mash them; they can be reheated just before serving.
Stuff the turkey and get it in the oven according to the schedule you calculated yesterday.

Then:
After the turkey is in the oven, you should have a little time to relax away from the kitchen.
Just before the turkey's done, begin cooking fresh vegetables, and get anything else that needs to go into the oven ready (stuffing, storebought rolls, etc.)

While the cooked turkey is resting:
Put a foil tent over the turkey. You now have about an hour to do the remaining cooking.
If you have a pan of stuffing/dressing on the side to bake, put it in now.
Warm whatever needs to be warmed, including mashed potatoes, rolls, soups and casseroles.
Make the gravy.
Put all the food on the table or buffet. Don't hesitate to press guests into service to put food in bowls, open wine bottles, fill glasses and dish up the cranberry sauce.
Get a plate and eat! Don't spend the meal running back and forth to the kitchen and end up missing out on the Thanksgiving feast you've created.