You missed the pre-orders on pies—not to mention the turkey. There's still hope for the semi-homemade cooks of San Francisco. Here's your plan. Now run with it.

First, get yourself down to Cheese Plus in Russian Hill. Fresh pies from Katia's Russian Tea Room are coming in this afternoon in classic flavors such as pumpkin, apple, sweet potato and pecan. And while you're there, pick up some turkey-friendly wines recommended by Greg, the in-house wine guy, who suggests Harmonia Pinot from Oregon or a Gruet Rosé Brut from, of all places, New Mexico (hey, it makes good dinner conversation). Grab some charcuterie and of course, cheese, to place out before dinner and you're halfway there.

Then there's the turkey. On Thanksgiving Day, stop by Yats in the Mission District. Although the pre-orders for their New Orleans-authentic fried turkeys are not being taken anymore, they will have 50 birds available (first come, first serve) on Thursday. As a former Louisiana girl, who knows the beauty of a fried turkey, I'd advise you get down there at 8 am when they open.

Now, all you need to do is get your sides in order. In this case, refer to the local experts:

• Appleman's fried Brussels sprouts from the "old" SPQR (you cannot have too many fried things, to my mind).
• Mashed potatoes as told by Sunset editor Margo True for Chow's video series.
• And then Todd Humphries's chestnut-porcini stuffing and Paula LeDuc's dinner rolls can be found here.

For those of you that are craving Thanksgiving dinner before Thanksgiving even gets here, starting tomorrow, stop by Naked Lunch where chef Ian Begg will be serving the Plymouth Superbird sandwich.

And finally, should you want to throw the whole Thanksgiving towel in altogether, never fear: Annie's Bistro in Pac Heights is featuring Yats fried turkey on its Thanksgiving pre-fixe. Call 415-922-9669 for reservations.