Cooking for a crowd is not easy. Cooking for a crowd on Thanksgiving can be downright stressful. I’ve got a ton of Thanksgiving Day horror stories from burning the bird to accidently adding sugar instead of salt into the mashed potatoes. It took a lot of practice to know which tools really can make your day a little easier. I highly recommend these 9 tools for a well-run Thanksgiving Day feast.

1. Turkey or Roast Lifters – My first thanksgiving was going along pretty smoothly. It was only for a few people so it was manageable. I was super excited when I pulled the turkey out of the oven. It looked perfect. Seriously. It looked like it could have been on the cover of a magazine. My dad then brought me back to reality. He said, ‘so, how are we going to get this thing from the pan to the plate?’ Crap. I had no idea. Parts of that turkey ended up on the kitchen floor. I could have really used a pair of roast lifters.
   
2. Pie Crust Cutters – I always end up making at least 3 or 4 pies for thanksgiving. I take pride in my pies. Not only should they taste great, but they need to look good. I’ve tried cutting out my own designs but’s a chore when you have to make so many pies.
   
3. Brining Bags – If you’re not bringing your turkey you don’t know what you’re missing. Brining tenderizes the meat and makes it super juicy. My best birds have all been brined.
   
4. Pastry Blender – Here’s another great tool for marathon pie baking. This tool makes combining butter and flour very easy. You can use a fork but a pastry blender will cut your blending time in half.
   
5. Pie Server – After spending so much time making beautiful pies it’s painful to watch someone try and cut the first piece with a spoon or knife. It always falls apart and makes a mess of what was just 60 seconds ago something so beautiful. A pie server usually has a serrated edge like a knife so it cuts cleanly and it’s the perfect shape to lift up the entire piece of pie.
   
6. Oven Rack – My oven comes with 2 racks, which is fine for the day to day cooking and baking. It is limiting when you have to make a turkey and all the trimmings. Adding these stackable racks can maximize your oven space and make cooking your sides a lot less complicated.
   
7. Knife Sharpener – Hosting thanksgiving usually means that you’re cooking for days. It involves lots of chopping. Before I begin the cooking marathon, I make sure that I have all my tools and they are in excellent condition. I always start this prep by sharpening my knives. It’s become my own thanksgiving tradition. Dull knives will just slow you down. Once you get in your cooking groove you’re not going to want to stop and sharpen your knife or go out and buy a sharpener because you weren’t prepared. Sharpening your own knives sounds intimidating but it’s really quite simple and takes just a few minutes per knife.
   
8. Triple Timer – Thanksgiving, all the trimmings and dessert means you are cooking multiple dishes at once. Every dish has a different cooking time and you’re standard timer just won’t cut it. A triple timer allows you to manage 3 dishes at one time. You can try just watching the clock but something is going to over cook, burn or go up in flames.
   
9. Gravy Separator – The way it works is that you pour the turkey drippings into the gravy separator and it will filter out the chunks and allow just the liquid into the cup. The fat will rise to the top and the juice stays on the bottom. Since the spout starts at the bottom of the cup, you can pour out just the juice. Gravy separators can also be used when making stocks which something I do frequently. For me, this is more than just a once a year tool but something that can be used on a regular basis. This is so much easier than trying to spoon the fat off of the drippings. The gravy is usually the last thing I make before sitting down to eat. At this point your guests have been patiently waiting for their thanksgiving meal and no one wants to wait for you to figure out the gravy.

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