Cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce

Homemade cranberry sauce. Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

When you should start cooking: About a week before Thanksgiving.
Cranberry sauce will last up to a week and a half in the refrigerator, so it's the perfect dish to prepare in advance.
Plus, making cranberry sauce requires giving it several hours to cool down to achieve the right texture, as "the thickening process happens when [cranberry sauce] cools," according to Holzman.
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