Being a fairly new bride, and a decent home cook, I have strived to prepare the “perfect” Thanksgiving feast every other year when we host my husband’s family. On the off years, I diligently take notes and try to learn from the masters of my family tree. With a few Thanksgiving dinners under my belt, every year does get a little easier. However, they all start out the same way—with all of my cookbooks on the kitchen table, and me pouring over them for days on end trying to find the best side dishes, not to mention an awesome turkey recipe. And since I never want my Thanksgivings to become predictable, I always try to come up with something new. This is made even more daunting when I consider my kitchen and what it can actually handle in one day’s worth of cooking. Last year I had enough, and mentioned to my one and only little sis that a Thanksgiving cookbook would solve a lot of my problems. It is hard enough to find time to clean the house and grocery shop, let alone to set aside time to leaf through my many cookbooks to find “the” perfect recipe for Thanksgiving. So, with my little sis’ charisma and my frustration, we are setting out to a) find and test out the best Thanksgiving recipes, and b) put them into a book which will hopefully make our holidays more enjoyable in the near future.

Peggy Paul—Little Sis:
When I moved to New York City five-ish years ago, I was far from prepared for the sacrifices of city living. I spent my first two years in a little Times Square apartment with no stove (http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/cooking-in-cramped-quarters/), then wisened up and moved to the greener pastures of Brooklyn, where I finally graduated to a real big-girl kitchen. Throughout it all, I cooked—to save money, to bond with my pals, and, most importantly, to prove that I could create good, healthy meals in even the most cramped spaces. Although I haven't yet hosted my own Thanksgiving feast, each year I use the holiday as a chance to find new riffs on old favorites, and--whenever I get the chance to cook in bigger kitchens--learn the secrets of the bigger tasks (namely the bird and, my nemesis, the soufflé). So when Gretchen proposed this project, I jumped at the chance. I mean, not to brag, but with Gretchen's planning skills, my creativity, and the cooking skills we both learned in Mom's kitchen, we make an awesome team. Watch out Thanksgiving, we'll conquer you yet!

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