Meet The Team / Emily Farris

Every once in a while, only something sweet, cold and bubbly will quench your thirst. Even those who say they don't drink soft drinks (this writer included) crave one on the rare occasion, whether it's at the movies, a sporting event, a fast-food restaurant (for shame!) or mixed with an adult beverage.

These eight bottled beverages, ranging in color, flavor and size, are from Flickr user sevenworlds16 who sampled each as part of a pop taste test. The default winner: the very red Cherry Limeade.

• After stints in San Francisco and Las Vegas, Omaha native Chef Travis Brink, returns to his old stomping grounds and takes over the kitchen at Omaha's French Café & Bistro.
• Mashed potatoes are meant to be made with cream and butter -- and no substitutes!
• Calls made to those turkey hotlines are just as strange as you might imagine.
• La Buvette Wine & Grocery has always been known as a place to drink, but now it's a place to eat (well) as well.
• A new 12,000-square-foot wine, beer, spirits and gourmet grocery store will open in Omaha right before Christmas.

Assuming you've been eating nothing but turkey for the last four days (we have!), these giant ravioli from Da Augusto in Rome, Italy probably look pretty appetizing right now. Even if you haven't been subsisting on Thanksgiving leftovers, freshly made pasta is nearly impossible to resist.

And don't worry, they're not stuffed with turkey. Filled with ricotta and spinach, and topped with marinara sauce and grated Parmesan cheese, they're about as far from Thanksgiving cuisine as one can get.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Cranberry sauce is the most ubiquitous Thanksgiving condiment -- perhaps even more so than gravy. Whether it's conditioning or tradition (or force feeding from our parents at a young age), it seems to go perfectly with everything on a late November plate. And though a glob of it straight out of a can is hilarious to look at, it pales in comparison to homemade cranberry sauce, which happens to be ridiculously easy to make.

This version from Flickr user rachel is coconut&lime is a little more time-consuming than most, but only because there are pomegranate arils (seeds) in the sauce.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Each Tuesday until Turkey Day, we're bringing you preparation tips to ensure your Thanksgiving is as smooth as your gravy (should be). If you've been following our advice, everything should be under control. But with just two days to go, here's a final check list before the big day.