TEST KITCHEN TIPS

time-savers USE THE BONES

Take a little extra time to make turkey stock from your Thanksgiving turkey carcass, then freeze it in an airtight container. You can use it to make an extra-flavourful gravy come Christmastime. Find our recipe at canadianliving.com/turkeystock. — Jennifer Bartoli Rick shows off the apple pie he baked with Annabelle!

KITCHEN CRUSH

I love those stock-base pastes that come in a jar. They take up virtually no room in your pantry or fridge, you can mix the exact amount you need and they keep for ages in your fridge! — AW

SMART PREP

At Thanksgiving, I prep as much as I can in advance: I cube the bread for my stuffing and freeze it in resealable freezer bags. The night before, I prepare and cook the other ingredients for the stuffing. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, I simply mix everything together and bake! — Leah Kuhne

5PIECRUST BEST PRACTICES GUEST EDITORth

1 Use half butter, half lard. The butter is there for flavour, while the lard keeps the dough supple and prevents the crust from shrinking. All-butter pastry (although extremely tasty!) is much harder to work with and prone to shrinking. 2 Once you cut the fat into your flour, chill the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before adding the liquid. Keeping everything ice cold increases the flakiness of the crust.

3 Don’t handle the dough too much. All it needs is a few kneads, just until it forms a loose, ragged ball. 4 When rolling out dough, never roll over the edge, otherwise it will become thin, tapered and cracked. Rotate the dough and bulges along the edge will disappear as you roll. 5 Bake your pie on the bottom rack of the oven in a glass pie plate so you can see when the bottom is golden brown. The crust takes the longest to cook, and there’s nothing more unappetizing than a soggy, underbaked piecrust. — Annabelle Waugh, Food director

Watch guest editor Rick Mercer and Annabelle make apple pie at canadianliving.com/applepie.