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Don't Wet-Brine Your Turkey. Do Stir-Fry Your Sweet Potatoes.Slate's guide to online Thanksgiving advice.

By Sara DickermanPosted Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008, at 4:16 PM ET

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Bronzed, fluffy, toasted marshmallows are very photogenic, which is why I think so many publications still cling to one version or another of the hypersweet sweet potato casserole. (If I were going for sweet sweet potatoes, I'd skip all the way to dessert, as in this mile-high meringue pie proffered by Bon Appetit.) Perhaps for skeptics like me, Saveur offers a Solomon-like compromise—a casserole that's half marshmallowed and half topped with a crunchy cashew streusel. Meanwhile, Bittman rejects the candy-topped casserole altogether and offers up several other options, including stir-fried sweet potato shreds with sage and garlic.

For the most part, Thanksgiving focuses on lush autumnal ingredients, so I've never understood the appeal of summery green beans as part of the menu. Why not give a less mainstream veggie a chance to shine in its place? The parsnip's stock seems to be rising this year, as well it should. Though it may look like a milquetoast carrot, the parsnip's flavor is surprisingly complex—it can hold its own in a curried soup and adds depth and texture to creamed spinach. Speaking of green, the Brussels sprout is getting a lot of play this year, too. Rather than serving the minicabbage whole, food writers recommend shredding it into slaws or separating it into its cuplike leaves for a quick sauté. While these recipes look good, keep in mind such niceties take time. If you're pressed, you can make a lot of great dishes with halved Brussels sprouts, as this Chow recipe for braised sprouts suggests.

And, finally, there is dessert or, more accurately, pie. Even if I'm drawn to an uncrusted dessert like poached pears, or a ginger cake, I always give in to tradition and make a pie or two in the end. Cook's Illustrated, which verges on obsessive-compulsive when it comes to testing recipes, insists that pumpkin pie (subscription necessary) is actually best with some canned candied yams thrown in (and, while they're tinkering, with some vodka in the pie crust). But I'm most fascinated by this Frenchy tart from Saveur, which is riddled with boozy prunes. (Full disclosure: I will eat anything that is riddled with boozy prunes.) It would go nicely with a rustic apple tart like this one from Gourmet's archives or these tartlets with a base of almond cream beneath the apples. I also think the bracing taste of a Shaker lemon pie made from whole lemons would be welcome at the end of a long meal.

There is a balance to strike in preparing a Thanksgiving meal: It should be neither too complex nor too complicated. If you take on a turkey recipe that requires a lot of vigilance and manipulation—say this delicious-sounding but hands-on poached-then-smoked bird, you might want give yourself a break and stick to easy sides. On the other hand, Domino tries to simplify Thanksgiving a bit too much, promising that you can make an entire feast in one pan. It's a nice vision, but why not make dinner a little complicated at least once a year? Besides, I know at my house there would be mutiny if we skipped mashed potatoes and pie on turkey day.

How, then, to deal with the pressure? Careful delegation. In the Los Angeles Times, Russ Parsons explains how best to enlist friends and family to help: "Everybody wants to make the show-stopping centerpiece dish. But the plain fact is not everyone can be a star, and the host has to be the grown-up who tells them that." And if, in the end, it all goes to hell, the Oregonian has gathered together a list of all the Thanksgiving help lines—from Butterball to Land o' Lakes butter—each staffed with experts to talk you down from your kitchen crises.