There is no way around it people..that time of year when the "Oh My Goshy, I have to cook Thanksgiving Dinner" deer in the headlights moment descends upon you!
Fear not, I'll save you!!! Or do my darnedest to try and help you put things in order to have a stress free and enjoyable day.
This is the way I go about tackling a "job" and don't kid yourselves, cooking for a lot of people, family or not, is a catering job!
Step 1: Plan your menu.
Step 2: Decide which items on that menu you want to make and which you can farm out to guests who want to contribute.
Step 3: Write prep list and grocery list.
Step 4: Start picking up items in grocery store now, that are on sale, that can be stored and used as the day approaches.
Step 5: Get an idea in your head how much oven space you will have and decide which items can be made the day before and what needs to be done on Thanksgiving Day.
Step 6: Be calm, have a glass of wine, read a book..you are 3 weeks away from Thanksgiving and you are already ahead of the game!!!
The following is a sample menu of a Thanksgiving Dinner that many of us make, every year. I will follow the steps and give you an idea how this whole thing works!!!
Step 1:
MENU: (This is for 12-15 guests, adjust as number of guests go up or down)
Roast Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Mac and Cheese (ok, my Mom never made mac and cheese for T-Giving, but kids are different now and if you want the little darlings to eat at all...make it!)
Corn
Green Bean Casserole
Cole Slaw
Cranberry Sauce
Dessert
Depending on your family traditions, the menu will vary, but these are the basics that I will be serving at the Stretch's Thanksgiving Dinner this year.
STEP 2:
Dishing out the duties...
If you make the best green bean casserole ever and Aunt Kate makes the sweet potatoes like nobody else can..let Aunt Kate make the Sweet Potatoes. It will save you time and oven space. She arrives on T-giving Day and the potatoes are warm and ready to go. You save yourself time, Aunt Kate has helped and everybody goes to the table happy!
If there are guests who don't cook, let them bring the Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce (is there really anything better??? Really?) and the coleslaw. These items are easily found in a grocery store and then everyone "gets a trophy" because they feel they have contributed.
There is no reason to make yourself crazy by being Super Cook and doing everything yourself. I have found, in my experience, that people want to contribute, love it when they are told what to bring in advance and it takes time and pressure off of you to be able to enjoy the day.
STEP 3:
The following is my grocery list for the menu, some of these items can be purchased in advance, some you will purchase as the day gets closer.
-Turkey (20 to 24 pounds) ** if using a fresh turkey..now is the time to order it.
-Celery
-Carrots
-Onions
-Garlic
-Fresh Sage
-Chicken Broth
-Bread Mix for Stuffing (if you make your own bread mix, start drying now to be ready in a few weeks, it won't hurt it)
-Sausage *if you like sausage in your stuffing, you don't have to!!
-Butter
-Yukon Gold, White or Large Red Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes
-Milk
-Sweet Potatoes
-Marshmallows
-Cinnamon
-Brown Sugar
-Macaroni
-Mild Cheddar and Yellow Mild Cheddar Cheese
-Frozen, Canned or Fresh Corn (if you can find decent fresh corn, shuck it, cut it off the cob and cook it, whatever!)
-Green Beans, fresh or frozen, depends on what you are more comfortable using
-Cream of Mushroom Soup (the way Mom used to make)
-French's Frizzled Onions
-Soy Sauce
-
-Cole Slaw
-Cranberry Sauce (if you are using the canned variety...mmm Ocean Spray Cranberry Jelly)
-Pies, Cookies or the things you need to make them which is so far out of my league..I will leave it to you!)
Now, the list is done, the menu is done..what you are going to make and what you farmed out to others is decided.
If you are not doing sweet potatoes or the green beans, put a check mark on your list with the name of the provider, and remind them a week before that they are "on your list, don't forget!"
This is the time, when you are out shopping for your regular life, to start picking up items to store until the cooking fiesta begins!!!
Many stores have sales on the popular Thanksgiving items now. If you have a big enough freezer and can store a turkey, by all means get it now!!! The prices will go up as the day gets closer, it is the biggest item on your menu and it will keep your stress level low, knowing you are a step ahead of the masses!
You will need chicken broth for the gravy, buy it now! Cranberry sauce, butter, the marshmallows for the sweet potatoes...you get the idea.
To not have to go to the grocery store for a million things 3 days before Thanksgiving is worth its weight in gold!!!!
Heck, you can make the Mac and Cheese now and put it in the freezer...check it off the list...done!!!!
Each time you purchase an item on your list, cross it off. There is no better feeling or sense of accomplishment than when you can cross something off your list.
Gives you peace of mind and again, you are ahead of the game!!!
This concludes Lesson 1 of Thanksgiving Planning! As the day gets closer, I will give you the next steps..kind of like Mission Impossible but I promise your computer will not self destruct after reading!!!!
Good Luck! Feel free to ask for help, I am here!!!
Barbara
P.S. In the interest of full disclosure..Doris eats canned pumpkin every day, when he is not eating pea soup or an everything bagel!!!
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