Pie Dough and Gravy.

Pie talk first. Without question, the comments and emails I receive most often this time of year relate to pie dough. This week, upon finding a disk of pie dough in my vegetable bin, I found myself with my own question. It looked a little gray, but it smelled fine. It was at least 2 weeks old. Hmmm, I wondered. Is it OK to use?

Let's find out. I rolled it out:

Pinched and chilled it:

Then parbaked it:

Friends, it was as flaky and crisp and buttery as ever! Phew. All of my pie-dough-making and parbaking wisdom is included in this post, but to review, I think the keys to success include:

Making the dough ahead of time (which allows the flour to fully hydrate and the gluten to relax, making it easier to roll out. A relaxed dough is also less likely to shrink in the oven).
Chilling the shaped pie crust before baking.
Using more pie weights than you think. (I use 3.5 lbs of rice/beans per pie and pile them above the rim of the dough.)

A pie plate fitted with a pie crust, lined with parchment paper and filled with pie weights.

And finally, relying on visual cues (faint browning at the edges and bottom).

Foolproof Pie Dough

Make-Ahead Gravy

The other great source of Thanksgiving anxiety stems from making the gravy. Making gravy is not hard, but when you are trying to finish up various dishes or reheat others while the bird rests, having to make gravy on top of that is just a lot. My solution: make it ahead of time! This week, after making my stock, I made the gravy. On Thanksgiving, I'll transfer the gravy to a pot, simmer it slowly, and when the bird emerges from the oven, I'll fortify the stock with the pan drippings. This is a very simple recipe, but so rich and flavorful, too:

Make-Ahead Gravy

The Final Countdown!

A few weeks ago, I shared these two Google Docs, which you can copy and tailor to your liking to help you get organized for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving 2025

Review of the Week

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Foolproof Pie Dough

"Not to be dramatic, but this dough recipe changed my life! After a few disastrous attempts at homemade pie dough, I had resigned myself to premade frozen pie shells. After seeing this recipe on Instagram, I decided to try a homemade one last time, and I’m so grateful I did. What a breeze, and the results couldn’t be more delicious. Both the Apple Galette and Salted Maple Pie turned out wonderfully. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

— Cody