Sandra Lee’s Thanksgiving Fixes

Thanksgiving meltdowns are no fun – just ask Sandra Lee. She’s here to solve cooking mishaps and holiday drama.

What’s the most common cooking mistake?

“Not giving yourself enough prep time,” the Semi-Homemade Cooking host, 43, tells me. “What else do people do? They make their gravy too lumpy, which is easy – you can strain it. Or they make their gravy too thick, which is easy – you can always put broth in it. Or they make their potatoes too thin – that’s easy, you put more potatoes in it. I always keep a bag of steaming mashed on the side. If the turkey’s undercooked, you slice it, and put it in there and bake it in just a couple minutes. Re-slice it, and stick it back in.”

She adds, “There’s not one thing if it’s broken that can’t be fixed when it comes to Thanksgiving – and in minutes.”

Dealing with family drama isn’t an issue for Ms. Lee, who has been dating Andrew Cuomo, the son of New York governor Mario Cuomo, since 2007.

“None of us want it,” she says. “I think there’s enough drama out there in the world that I think the last thing you want is with your own family. If there’s kid drama, those are kids. That’s normal. ‘Susie ate my mashed potatoes,’ or who knows. That’s not part of our lives.”

Everything can be smoothed over with a slice of pie.

“Pumpkin pie is my favorite pie, period,” she tells me. “It’s comfort food. In fact, I have a big piece of it next to my night stand. When I go home tonight, I’m going to eat the rest of it. It’s true.”