Meet The Team / Emily Farris

• Simple tips for a hassle-free Thanksgiving.
• Compound butters pack an amazing punch.
• A pre-roasting milk bath is a good alternative to salt-brining your holiday bird.
• But don't forget the gravy.
• Here's an American culinary tradition you've probably never heard of: tomato pudding.
• Cranberries are good for the adult kind of "sauce" too.
• Should you have a catastrophe on the big day, try one of these turkey hotlines.
• Add a Thai twist to turkey leftovers.

• Contrary to popular belief, Champagne prices are apparently dropping; here's how to buy.
• If beer is more your style, here are some suggestions for what to pair with your Thanksgiving dinner.
• And turkey basics from the USDA allow for more drink and less think next Thursday.
• A columnist offers three steps to "fool-proof" gravy.
• Local chefs share their favorite Thanksgiving recipes.
• The Pacific Northwest Cheese Project, a blog about local cheeses, is now a book.
• The Thomas Street Bistro runs more like a dinner party than a restaurant.

Whether you make it from scratch, from a can or you buy it from a store, no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a pumpkin pie.

This one, from Flickr user maggiejane, is a little bit store bought, a little bit from a can and a little bit homemade. On her blog, Pithy and Cleaver, she writes that while she uses a premade frozen pie crust, the filling is canned pumpkin mixed with eggs, sugar, molasses and spices like cinnamon, ginger and clove.

Sounds to us like a little bit of work for a whole lot of Thanksgiving flavor.

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

There are few dishes more American than macaroni and cheese. Forget that we credit the Italians for pasta and the French for "the good cheese" -- it's here in the United States where we bring the two together together in glorious, comforting harmony.

Rumor has it that Thomas Jefferson introduced the dish to the United States. And though a boxed version was made wildly popular by Kraft over many decades, home and professional chefs have taken back the comfort food, and now make gourmet versions like this one from blogger Ezra Pound Cake.

This take on classic macaroni and cheese, adapted from a recipe in "The Gift of Southern Cooking," is made with grated onion, sour cream, half-and-half, heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, eggs and cayenne pepper, as well as noodles and cheddar cheese. Fattening and flavorful -- just the way American comfort food should be.

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). And guess what? There are only two Tuesdays to go! If you've been following our advice, there's no need to freak out, but even if you haven't, there's still no need to freak out -- just, uh, expedite.

By this point, you should have gotten a head count, ordered your turkey, and planned your menu. You also should have asked your guests to bring something, purchased some non-perishables (or not not-too-perishables) and figured out how you're going to seat everyone at your tiny table. If you've already done all of those things, great! If not, there's still time, you might just need to rush. But first and foremost, order that bird!

So, with the majority of your shopping done and your house filled with mismatched chairs and borrowed stock pots, what is left to do?