It’s time for Page Two: News that might not make the front page for Tuesday, November 25, 2025.
Are you hosting a Thanksgiving dinner this week? If so, Peggy Provost is a great person to turn to for advice and inspiration.
Peggy nabbed her first food service job at a YMCA in Florida when she was 12 years old. Since then, she’s bussed dishes, washed dishes, and cooked and served in restaurants across the country.
She studied culinary arts and hospitality management. She once catered for the head of the Kansas City Chiefs. She worked as a chef at Glacier Bay National Park, and she’s worked at several big-name local restaurants in Anchorage.
So, naturally, the Page Two team turned to Peggy for her Thanksgiving hosting expertise. Here’s some of what we learned:
Spread out the work. You’ll have more fun if you’re not stuck in the kitchen all Thanksgiving Day while everyone else is laughing and playing games.
Cook as many of the sides as possible before The Day, or at least have them prepared ahead of time. For example, you can cut your potatoes the day before. Just cover them with water in the refrigerator so they don’t turn brown.
If you haven’t begun to defrost your turkey by now, you’ll need to do the drip method. The turkey goes under a dripping faucet.
When you cook the turkey, you want the skin to be crispy, but everything else to be moist. Peggy whips butter together with her favorite herbs and spices. She scoops this compound butter in her hands and stuffs it under the skin.
Baste the turkey every 45 minutes or so with a turkey baster.
It’s perfectly fine to delegate. Maybe all the host does is cook the turkey. Someone else prepares stuffing. Someone else cooks the potatoes.
And if you delegate, make detailed lists. You want to know ahead of time if you need stovetop space or oven space. And you’ll need to know where you’re going to serve each dish.
This experienced chef reminds us that food is not the most important part of Thanksgiving. It’s more important to have a good time.
To that end, Peggy confiscates everyone’s cell phones as they walk in the door. And she puts out games like Monopoly or Uno for everyone to play.
She also Googles silly party games. She says the best ones “break down everyone’s inhibitions and get them laughing.”
Oh yeah, and she has one strict rule: No one is allowed to talk about politics!
For those of you not cooking, there is a free Thanksgiving dinner at the Menard Center from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. All are welcome.
The Alaska Small Business Development Center reminds us: When Alaskans shop local this Small Business Saturday, they’re not just checking items off their holiday lists. They’re powering an economic engine that keeps 63 cents of every dollar circulating within Alaska communities. That’s compared to just 22 cents when shopping with national chains. So, shop local and don’t forget to get your Shop Palmer card stamped!
Page 2 will be taking Thanksgiving Day off, and we’ll be back on Friday with events for the weekend.
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Page Two articles are written by David Cheezem, Emily Forstner, and Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Tuesday, November 25, 2025.