I don’t normally post about cooking, but a number of friends found out that I’m hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year (I’ll be feeding 12, so a modest crowd) and asked me to share my plans.
First, I created a Pinterest board with recipes that looked good. I looked for color, fresh ingredients, and items I could make ahead. I also asked a few people to bring something.
Then, I created a shopping list. I asked the butcher at my grocery store when I could buy my turkey and not have to put it in the freezer. He told me to buy it Thursday, one week before Thanksgiving. So I did my shopping that day (with the exception of two brine ingredients which I picked up today while everyone was work/school).
Finally, last night I started on my prep schedule. Now, I’m not making everything on this list, but I included it all as if I were in case you want to borrow it. Most of these recipes are on the Pinterest board, with the exception of the pies, which others are bringing. (Borrowing, pinning, sharing is all fine!)
I am also steadily doing my housecleaning a few items a day (such as shampooing carpets!). I’m also trying out ideas for where to serve the food and seat everyone.
Do you host Thanksgiving? Do you go for traditional recipes or fresh twists on tradition? What’s your favorite dish to make or eat?
I love how organized your list is and I hope there is a follow-up post for how well it went. I’ve hosted a couple of Thanksgivings, and I regret my lack of early prep. This year, I’m playing the role of keep my mother calm, gravy maker, turkey doneness expert, and sensitive subject changer.
You are a force! I love this!
Like you, I do as much cooking as I can the day before Thanksgiving. It makes the actual holiday so much easier. We also eat later – around 4:00, ideally – so that helps make the day less hectic too. (Mama likes to sleep in when she can.)
I think you might have seen this already, but for posterity, here’s my Thanksgiving menu: http://www.lovewellblog.com/2012/11/a-symphonic-thanksgiving-dinner.html
Dear Joy,
Boy, are you ever organized and I thought I was usually pretty organized. I can take a lesson or two from you! This year, I thought I would order a whole dinner for 6-8 from a reputable restaurant and make everyone’s life much easier.
Boy, was I mistaken. The turkey had been fully cooked and was wrapped in plastic with the plastic netting around that. We were told we’d just have to heat everything up, but there were still big clumps of ice inside the turkey. I ended up cooking it for two hours, not much less than it would have taken if I had cooked it myself.
They had cornbread stuffing that was like a runny mush. I cooked it as suggested, but it was still too runny, so I added some Italian breadcrumbs to it to thicken it up. The pie looked like a frozen pie, just barely baked, so I heated it up. They also had some mashed sweet potatoes. In addition, they had traditional mashed potatoes and gravy. I do have to say that everyone liked the mashed potatoes they provided.
The vegetables that came with this family meal to go were thick, raw carrots slices two to three inches in diameter and fresh broccoli with two generous pats of butter. They said to saute it, which I tried, but everything wasn’t done, so I added water to it. The vegetables tasted good after they were done. The meal included two mini loaves of carrot raisin bread. Although that looked good, I didn’t eat any, because I wanted to eat the cranberry sweet potatoes that my daughter had made to go along with the meal.
When all was said and done, I had a wonderful time with my daughter and her family, forgetting about the fiasco in the kitchen only hours earlier trying to prepare the meal to go that was supposed to make life easier…a life lesson! Debra Seiling http://bible-passages.blogspot.com and http://christian-overeaters.blogspot.com