THAT’S right! If like us you’ve had enough of the turkey, even Carmen Brown’s delicious jerk turkey, skip right to dessert: do it with a smile on your face with the smug knowledge that not even the Pilgrims ate half the fare that’s on today’s table. That’s right, there was no sugar, hence no cranberry sauce, and not even pumpkin pie was sliced.

So relax this Thanksgiving with family on the Rock for the long weekend, or if you’re joining family overseas, take charge of the dessert table. Here’s how: Sweet Temptations pastry whiz Nicole Shirley enjoys creating Thanksgiving desserts. “Thanksgiving meals are traditionally heavy courses similar to our Christmas dinner,” she explains. So light, flaky pastries are clearly better options. There should be no rush to move from lunch/dinner to dessert. Set a separate table and allow guests to enjoy the sweet plates at their leisure with coffee, tea or lots of water.

Shirley, in keeping with tradition, chose favourite American pies like: key lime pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate mud pie, apple pie and pecan pie. “Pie-baking is not as complex as most people think,” she suggests. She might be right; but Thursday Food would rather leave the baking to her. But just in case you’re in the baking mood, here goes: