Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here!
As I write this post, I now have Thanksgiving dinner #38 under my belt, having made Thanksgiving dinner for a Friendsgiving yesterday. Actually, between the years that I cooked turkey and all the trimmings for Christmas as well as Thanksgiving, the times I cooked the meal at someone else’s house and times that I made one Thanksgiving for friends and another for me and for Mr. Stone Soup in the same year, I’m sure I’ve actually cooked closer to 100 Thanksgiving dinners at this point.
While I’m not a trained cook, my apprenticeship in the area of turkey and all the trimmings gives me some expertise in the area 😉 And as a master apprentice, I have learned some tips and tricks over the years. Today, I’m going to share my method of organizing the preparation and cooking that have allowed me to not only put together a turkey dinner for as many as 25 all on my own, but have also allowed me to actually enjoy the party.
Let me first say that my menu doesn’t change much from year to year. Since we only have most of the dishes I’m going to share today once, maybe twice, a year, we look forward to them, so there is no need to vary the menu.
However…
after making this menu about 100 times, this year, I was ready for a change and made hasselback potatoes instead of sweet potato casserole, and it was a big hit. Hasselback potatoes are a favorite of ours, and I’ve made them dozens of times over the years.
Tip #1: Don’t try to reinvent the wheel for Thanksgiving dinner.
Most folks enjoy the tried and true for the holidays and don’t mind eating the same menu year after year, because, as I said, you only eat it once or twice a year, so it’s something to look forward to and so why reinvent the wheel? And the beauty of not reinventing the wheel is that I can make most of my traditional recipes in my sleep, as I’m sure you can, too. But–if you feel that you need a change, make sure it’s a recipe that you’re comfortable with that won’t leave you breathlessly going back and forth to consult a cookbook for details on a new recipe. Subbing in hasselback potatoes this year was easy because I know the recipe by heart. Another option is to delegate the new item to a guest who can make it and bring it.
Tip #2: Do as much ahead of time as possible.
This is an obvious one, but one that I still think folks don’t take full advantage of. Here are some of the foods that can be made the day before:
I make the cornmeal dressing on Thanksgiving day, but I prep all the dry ingredients and chop the onions and celery the day before. On Thanksgiving day, all I have to do is add wet ingredients to the prepared ingredients. This is a big time-saver on the day!
Pull the wines you want to enjoy with dinner out the day before and set them up in the bar area ready to be uncorked for dinner.
Fully set your table with plates, cutlery, glassware and napkins the day before; and set up dessert plates, forks, cream and sugar service, spoons and coffee cups on a counter the day before. This small step is not only a big time-saver on the day, but a gorgeous, thoughtfully prepared and set table is always such a welcoming gesture to your guests!
Lastly–and I’m the worst at taking this advice–don’t be afraid to ask guests to bring a particular dish–most people are eager to help and actually appreciate being asked.
Tip #3: Set guest arrival time for about 5:00 pm.
I know this flies in the face of all-day dinner traditions of watching football and munching on snacks on the couch for hours before settling into the big meal. However, having guests arrive at 5:00 pm gives you the opportunity to actually get organized and not have to get up at an ungodly hour of the morning to get the turkey into the oven and try to get any day-of food ready. This year, I actually took a short nap before my guests arrived, which was amazing. And best of all, after four hours of convivial conversation and fine dining, folks will be ready to call it a night, giving you, as the host, time to get started on those dishes before getting into bed at the decent hour of 10:30 or 11:00.
That’s it for today–tune in tomorrow to see my recommendations for wine to go with the meal!
Until then,
Peace, love and good food,
Keri
