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It was a cool afternoon in early September, and Thanksgiving was in the air in Alison Roman’s Brooklyn apartment.

There were bowls full of shallots, onions and garlic on her kitchen table. Squashes lined her countertops. (No sweet potatoes, though; Ms. Roman isn’t a fan.) Forty-two pints ’ worth of turkey stock sat in her fridge. Even her bathtub had been turned into a makeshift cooler for the turkey.

Among the bounty, the production team behind the NYT Cooking YouTube channel traversed the small apartment in their socks (it’s a no-shoe household), checking sound and lighting and making other preparations to begin filming.