On Thanksgiving Day, if life hands you a cracked or undercooked pie, you don't have to scrap dessert. Here, Food & Wine Senior Recipe Developer Grace Parisi shares recovery tactics for the most common holiday cooking predicaments.
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To fix lumpy gravy: Instead of wasting time with a whisk or a sieve, pour lumpy gravy into the blender and puree (but be careful that the gravy isn't too hot, or the blender could shatter). To avoid lumps in the future, fully blend flour with turkey drippings to make a roux before adding any stock.
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To rescue gluey potatoes: If you've overworked the potatoes to an unpleasant texture, go French. As in, add a lot of cream to make a creamy potato puree. Then put the puree in a casserole dish, sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top and bake it until browned.
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To save overcooked vegetables: You can camouflage mushy texture with deliberate creaminess and crunch. Drizzle the vegetables with a little cream in a casserole dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs and any grated cheese (especially one that's good for melting, like Gruyère), then pop the casserole dish under the broiler.
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To disguise cracked pumpkin pie: Whipped cream can save most dessert imperfections. Mound the cream on top, sprinkle it with candied ginger and it will look even more elegant than an undecorated pie.
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To salvage undercooked pie: Reheat the pie in the oven, then scoop the filling over ice cream and crumble the cooked pieces of pie crust on top for a deconstructed pie à la mode.