Thanksgiving dinner takes a lot of preparing and cooking, but before you can do all of that, you need to do some math. The first thing you need to do is know how many people are coming over. The next thing is to figure out how big of a turkey to get, and that can be a little tricky. Fortunately, Food & Wine senior editor Breana Killeen has run the numbers and done the calculations. Factoring in how much people typically eat and accounting for leftovers, she recommends 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds of turkey per guest. After the bird cooks, that'll leave each eater with about eight to nine ounces of meat. If you’re having 10 people over, get a 15-pound bird.
Speaking of Thanksgiving and the holidays..
It’s baking season … Pillsbury has just released it’s Holiday Baking Habits of 2024 report, revealing the baking habits of people all over the country. When it comes to holiday baking, the report reveals that Kansas bakers are the most passionate, raking up over 18 hours of baking during the holiday season. Tennessee has the most confident holiday bakers, rating themselves a 7.4 out of 10 on their holiday baking skills. 40% of Americans plan to give baked goods as gifts this year, with those in Montana (52%) most likely to spread cheer with a homemade holiday treat.
Here are the 2024 Holiday Baking Awards:
- Biggest cookie decorators – Kentucky
- Biggest eggnog drinkers – Vermont
- Biggest gingerbread house builders – Utah
- Most likely to go to a bake sale – Minnesota
- Roast the most chestnuts – Massachusetts
- Most likely to bake for a shelter or charity – New Jersey
- Thinks they can taste holiday magic the most – Hawaii and Illinois
- Thinks cookies in the shape of holiday trees taste better than circular – California
- Most likely to take cookies to a neighbor – Utah
- Says eating holiday treats makes them feel more festive – Iowa and Minnesota
- Most dedicated bakers – Kansas
- Most confident bakers – Tennessee
- Most humble bakers – California and Wisconsin
- Gift baked goods this holiday season – Montana
- Most excited to receive baked goods as gifts – Virginia
- Most likely to play holiday music while baking – South Carolina
- Most likely to dance while baking – Texas
- Most likely to swear by a secret ingredient – Georgia and Mississippi
- Most likely to say they’ve passed off store-bought treats as homemade – Georgia
- Most likely to describe their kitchens as chaos – West Virginia