Last week, I posted some great tips from the experts at Williams-Sonoma on how to cook the perfect holiday turkey. In part two of three, I'll be sharing a few of the secrets I learned about making side dishes, like mashed potatoes and stuffing. Tips for preparing stuffing:

• For bread, Williams-Sonoma has great seasoned focaccia stuffing from La Brea Bakery (better than regular ol' bagged bread).
• Technique class guide, Christopher, shares that using leeks is a great alternative to onions for stuffing.
• Turkey must get to 165 °, but the stuffing has to be cooked at 180°. If you do stuff the turkey, try lining the turkey cavity with cheesecloth, then stuff, so you don't run into any hygiene issues.

Tips for preparing mashed potatoes:

• In the photo above, technique class guide, Jackie, demonstrates the easiest way to make mashed potatoes -- use the All-Clad multipot with mesh insert. You just boil the potatoes, then remove the insert and dump out the water from the pot when the potatoes are cooked. This is genius for those of us (ahem, me) who struggle with attempting to dump water out of a heavy pot while trying to keep the potatoes inside.
• To keep mashed potatoes warm while the rest of your food is cooking, put them in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water.
• If making mashed potatoes the day before, only use half the amount of milk or butter when mashing. Heat them up the next day before your meal, adding the other half of butter.

Check in tomorrow to see Christopher and Jackie's tips for making yummy Thanksgiving desserts. xo, Lauren