by April Lisante

It’s even trickier if you are the host and you are waking up today in a panic because you sort of didn’t plan ahead. At all.

Is your 20-pound bird still rock solid in a pot in the fridge? Did you run out of time to make those pumpkin and pecan pies your father-in-law loves? Did you just flat out not go to the store yet and buy anything associated with the dinner?

If you said yes to any of the above, you are in luck. With my food column running the day before Thanksgiving this year, I decided to devote this space to all those last-minute Turkey Day renegades on the Hill.

Instead of providing recipes and turkey roasting tips, I tried to do even better. I talked with some of the Hill’s best purveyors of prepared foods located within shouting distance of your kitchen. If you need totally prepared turkey, sides, desserts, breads – anything to make your guests think you slaved away over the Viking for 24 hours – you have today, and in some cases even tomorrow, to get the goods.

All of the foods are fully cooked, so you’ll just have to heat and serve. But sometimes, that 15 minutes in the oven is all you need to get that “home-cooked” smell to permeate the house.

The Fresh Market at 8208 Germantown Ave. (215-248-9180) might just be your one-stop shop for all Thanksgiving accoutrements, from dinner to dessert. Open Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Thanksgiving day from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can start with their three- to five-pound fully cooked turkey breasts and just work your way through a meal with sweet or mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, greens beans, corn soufflé and stuffings. Their unique cranberry relish isn’t jellied, it is a finely chopped masterpiece of cranberries served cold.

“It’s a total knockout,” assures store manager John Rotoli. “It’s a little different from your typical cranberry sauce.”

And if you aren’t into the idea of turkey this year, they also have fully cooked seven- to 10-pound hams.

For dessert, they’ll have a stockpile of cakes and “You name it, every pie known to man,” Rotoli said.

Cranberry sauce at Shundeez Market

If you are looking for some hearty breads to serve with dinner, Baker Street Bread Co. on 8009 Germantown Ave. (267-336-7410) has some one-of-a-kind options. They will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Bakers will be stocking up shelves, but get there early for good inventory. The specials for Thanksgiving while they last will include a cranberry walnut bread, a pistachio and apricot bread, and perhaps the best of all: a stuffing bread.

Using the same bread, herbs and spices found in traditional Thanksgiving stuffing, or dressing, as Southerners like to call it, Baker Street came up with a stuffing bread you can tear apart and eat with the turkey, in lieu of stuffing. Genius.

Executive chef Bonnie Shuman is ready for the rush on Wednesday, when Weaver’s Way Chestnut Hill on 8424 Germantown Ave. (215-866-9150) opens from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. While supplies last, customers can find precooked turkey breasts and a host of sides in both the grab-and-go refrigerators and in the service case at the rear of the store. Weavers Way is closed on Thanksgiving.

Shuman is really excited this year about the store’s cranberry pear relish, made with orange zest, maple syrup and fresh ginger.

“It’s one of my favorite things we make here,” Shuman said.

You can also find mashed and sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts and turkey gravy in one pint or one quart containers. Finish off the Thanksgiving spree with a pie from the bakery; either apple, pumpkin, coconut custard or mixed berry.

The Market at the Fareway on 8221 Germantown Ave. is open Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but not on Thanksgiving Day. So if you want some of the Hill’s most eclectic holiday foods, get there today. This is another one-stop destination for everything you’ll need for dinner.

Shundeez is making a yummy cranberry sauce, and Neidermyer’s Poultry will have a fresh hormone and antibiotic-free bird for you to throw in the oven last minute. Ranck’s Deli is making turkey butter sculptures for the table, as well as the mashed potatoes to slather with butter. Barry’s Buns will feature a s’mores pie as well as half a dozen others including apple, pumpkin, sweet potato and dark chocolate pecan. Poppy’s Café will have pound cake, pies, bread and dinner rolls. If you want to make your own sides, Yu’s Produce has fresh green beans and sweet potatoes. That way, you can say something was homemade.

Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy the much easier kitchen cleanup!