Preparing in Advance: Thanksgiving Timeline

October 30, 2015October 12, 2015 Rachel Sherwood

(When you prepare in advance, you can be relaxed and enjoy your time before your guests arrive for the Thanksgiving meal)

So, here is how one person makes all this food work, and still enjoys the party. Almost every part of the Thanksgiving Menu has elements that can be prepared in advance or completely finished before the big meal, allowing me to prepare homemade food, keep my sanity and have a clean kitchen as guests arrive. The only parts of this meal that had to be cooked on Thanksgiving day were the turkey, gravy and carrots. Everything else was prepped beforehand and just had to be heated or placed on a serving tray. You may look at this and think that is way too much work. By spreading it out into manageable pieces over a few days, I don’t feel rushed or worried about missing something or getting it all done in time. You may even ask: “Well, is the food still good and fresh if I make it in advance?” That is where planning the proper menu comes into place, which includes choosing items that hold well or actually get better if made ahead. Also, anything made from scratch is going to be fresher, better quality and less expensive than purchased or catered items. Purchased items are usually made in big batches and stored in advance as well, sometimes even with preservatives to keep them “fresh” for you. So, if you want to do it yourself and make it a success, here is how to make it a stress-free Thanksgiving.

(With a little advance planning all prep dishes can be clean and put away only leaving the few last minute items. It keeps the kitchen looking nice before guests arrive)

For timing large meals like Thanksgiving, I always like to work backwards, giving myself an hour of extra time before guests arrive, then thinking of what I will need creating a Thanksgiving timeline. This allows me to spread the prep work out over a few days so I can do a little each day if needed or prep for an entire day depending on my schedule. You must be realistic in your estimated timing for this to work. We live in the age of multitasking, and this does not usually help us focus, so for each item give yourself an extra 5-10 minutes of grace period.

We also had a few guests spend the evening with us, so I planned a small brunch for the morning after as well. For my homemade Thanksgiving meal, this is what my Preparing in Advance: Thanksgiving Timeline looked liked.

Saturday/Sunday: (4-5 days before)

(Thanksgiving dishes pulled and labeled, making serving easy)

Prep the Dishes: Pull out, organize and wash if necessary all dishes and serving items. Using post-it notes to tag items takes the guess work out of what is to be used for what later on. This also gives aid to your helpers as you can easily say, “Please, get me the 2 bowls for stuffing”, and they will be able to grab the correct ones. If you need extra items, purchase them now. I will also place the dishes on the table where they will be served to make sure everything fits and is easy to access.

(Placing dishes in advance makes sure you have enough serving pieces and space)

Make favors: I like to do something a little extra special and out of the ordinary. Planning in advance makes this extra treat simple and fun for all. I wrapped scented candles with fall accents and included a little thank you card to send guests on their way with a little something to remember the evening and let the good time carry through the season.

(Thanksgiving Favors)

(A Thanksgiving favor placed in a basket by the door lets me thank each guest and give a little something special to remember the day)

Prep Guest Rooms: With people staying with us, I made sure that all rooms were clean, had a bottle of water by the bed and fresh towels ready, so I was not pulling together these little extras later while preparing food and entertaining other guests.

Monday: (3 days before)

(Bar area for food and beverage)

Prep the Bar: I was doing cocktails and appetizers at the bar, but we had a lot of people. I needed to put an additional dining table in this space as well. I re-arranged the furniture to make a separate eating space for a dinner table and the cocktails appetizer lounge space. Don’t be afraid to move things around and make them work for you. Folding tables make for easy extra dining. Move large furniture into an unused room if necessary.

(Bar area for dining)

(Bar area for drinks and appetizers)

Side Note:

If you are familiar with my other entertaining success secrets you may be questioning why I am going against my number 1 party planning success tip of not putting main “attraction points” like food and beverage together.

People tend to gather where there is food, beverage, or an activity. When these are put near each other, people tend to settle in and not move, thus making it hard to get around and access items. However, with this event and all these people, I chose this option for the 2 hour period of time. I could have put things in the kitchen, but I wanted to keep that space clear of things and people for the time when I needed to finish the turkey and get everything on the table. You need to take into account your space, re-arrange furniture if needed, but make it work for you. It was important for me to have my dining areas set up and looking good, but I didn’t want people sitting there until it was actually time for dinner. I wanted to keep my kitchen clean for me to do the last minute prep, so this was my best option. Separate your food, beverage and activity areas to keep people moving and mingling throughout the party if you can.

Make cheesecake, pecan pie and pumpkin pie: These desserts all hold well, a 3 day shelf life was just fine and got a big chunk of the baking done early.

Tuesday: (2 days before)

Apple Pie: fruit pies don’t always hold as well baked and besides I dirtied all my baking gear yesterday with the other desserts. Today I started fresh and finished off the desserts.

Set The Tables:

I had two tables to set to accommodate all the guests. Remember to make this work for you, not everything has to match. Setting table in advance makes sure you have enough serve ware and space for everyone.

(Thanksgiving tables set in advance)

I kept my centerpieces simple. With Thanksgiving, there is lots of food on the table, so I used small pears, mini pumpkins and seeded eucalyptus to add a little color and texture to the table without taking up too much space, not needing to worry about expensive flowers wilting.

(using food as an elegant centerpiece is inexpensive, easy, colorful and nice to enjoy after the party)

Make Brine For Turkey

(Brine for Thanksgiving Turkey)

I like to brine my turkey for extra insurance. Brine is basically a flavored salt water solution. The salt in the brine helps flavor the turkey and hold moisture, resulting in tender, well-seasoned meat. Brine does use a lot of salt, but the process only raises the sodium level about 1/8 teaspoon per serving. That is about what guests would sprinkle on themselves anyway, so why not make a juicer, tastier bird to begin with, right?

Basic Brine For Turkey

2 gallons cold water, divided
2 cups kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
crushed garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, allspice, peppercorns, bay leaf

12-14 pound turkey

Heat one gallon of water with the salt, sugar and desired herbs and spices in a large soup pot. Keep heating and stirring until sugar and salt have dissolved. Remove it from heat and add remaining cool water. Allow the brine to cool fully before adding turkey to prevent food-born illness. Let the Turkey soak in the brine for 8 to 24 hours.

When ready to cook, remove turkey from brine quickly, rinse with cold water and pat dry. Cook as desired.

I used a food-safe bucket I got at the local hardware store for $5 to store it in.

Other Prep

Peal, chop and blanch carrots to store in a zip top plastic bag
Prep brunch, for example, bake an easy breakfast casserole for the morning
Prepare dessert sauces
Vacuum the house
Clean out the front hall closets and make space for coats and shoes

Wednesday (1 day before)

Make Mashed Potatoes: Potatoes are not hard, but they always seem to be messy for me. I like to get them done and all cleaned up the day before. To make service easy and cut down on dishes, I store what I can in foil pans ready to go in the oven next day and get tossed out when finished.

(Advance prep for mashed potatoes, ready to go in the oven for Thanksgiving dinner)

Prep the salad or any other sides: Make dressing for the kale salad: wash clean kale and other accompaniments. Store it in zip lock bags to cut down on dishes.

Prep the Asparagus: Find things to delegate or ask for help with if you can. These asparagus are the most time-consuming items of the entire meal, so I enlisted my husband Joey as my wrapper. Do note that with his assistance I needed more prosciutto as he was snacking while working. Sometimes it is hard to find good help.

(Delegate when you can: my husband Joey helped wrap the asparagus)

Prep the Gravy: Good homemade gravy has flavors that build upon each other. Don’t toss out your turkey neck or any inside guts that may come with your bird. These are great for adding rich depth of flavor to your gravy. Even if adding to store-bought packet gravy, this will make all the difference. Sear the turkey neck; then add some aromatics like onions, celery and carrots. Season with salt and pepper, maybe adding a few herbs like bay leaf, rosemary or sage if you have them of hand. Allow the vegetables to sweat out and get soft; add a little water to hardly cover the ingredients. Let this simmer for 2 hours. Then strain out the neck and vegetables, reserving the liquid. Add this liquid to your drippings and gravy mix the next day. You will love it!

(Simmering turkey neck and aromatics, the base for a good gravy)

Prep Stuffing: It’s all the little things that add up and take more time than expected, so do as much preparing in advance as you can. I used my food processor to help me cut all the celery and onions needed for the stuffing quickly, Sautéed them in butter and mixed with stuffing, holding everything in foil pans for easy cooking and cleaning the next day. I chose not to stuff my turkey as it was in brine, and sometimes brined turkeys can make the stuffing too salty. Not stuffing the turkey also helps it cook faster and ensures less risk of food-born illness.

(Food processors make the prep work of all the chopping faster)

Make filling and stuff mushrooms: As I mentioned before in Thanksgiving Appetizers post (link to article), I didn’t have a recipe for these mushrooms. I made them up using what I had on hand: extra celery and onions from the stuffing mix, some rice as the base, and garlic and herbs to season. I stuffed them beforehand and got them ready to bake the next day.

(Gluten Free Stuffed Mushrooms)

Wash and put turkey in the cooled brine from the day before: Speaking of washing the turkey, I do want to take one moment to talk about keeping the place clean and sanitized. The last thing you want is people getting sick. Be sure after handling raw poultry to clean the counter tops, sinks and handles fully. I love the products below for their effective and safe cleaning ability. Bleach is great, but I don’t like bleach near my food; as for me, the chemicals are just too harsh. A healthy dose of warm soapy water and equal part of the spray of white vinegar and water will do the trick as well.

(Some of my favorite efficient and less toxic cleaning agents perfect for the kitchen)

Clean bathrooms and spot clean any other main places that guests will be in.

Thursday:

The day of the event should be reserved just for the finishing touches.

(Thanksgiving Turkey ready for the grill and sous vide)

Here is my Thanksgiving Day Timeline:

10:00 Rinse turkey and pat it dry for cooking. Start sous vide turkey in morning

10:30 Prep candied yams in a pan. Assemble kale salad, whip cream for desserts

11:00 Assemble olive bar and assorted meat and cheese plate. Make popcorn

12:30 Start grill fire for Turkey (15lbs bird done at 3:15 to eat at 4pm)

1:00 Take stuffing and potatoes out of the refrigerator to warm up. Turn ovens on to 400Set up appetizer buffet

1:15 Bake mushrooms and Asparagus. Hold it on warm plates when finished

1:30 Spot clean kitchen, take a few photos, pour a nice glass of wine and admire the job well done before guests arrive

1:40 Drop oven temp to 325 and 375

2:00 Greet guests and put potatoes and stuffing in the 325 oven. Enjoy appetizers

2:30 Heat oil to finish Sous Vide Turkey

3:00 Flash fry sous vide turkey, rest and slice it

Put candied yams in the oven, bake it at 375 for 40 min

Stir and check stuffing and potatoes to make sure they are heating well, adjust temp if needed

Check grilled turkey – it should be almost done – remove it and allow to rest

3:15 Put carrots in the oven to roast

3:30 Put sides in serving dishes, cover them and bring to the table

3:45 Invite guests to make their way to the table. Slice turkey

3:50 Put marshmallows on yams and broil, watch these so they don’t burn

3:55 Bring yams to table and gather remaining guests to enjoy the meal

4:00 Dinner is served

When finished eating, start a load in the dishwasher, package leftovers and slowly get out the desserts.

To get your printable Thanksgiving Entertaining and Cooking Guide Checklist, click here. And here are links to the entire Thanksgiving Guide for easy access:

Thanksgiving Guide: How to Plan the Perfect Meal

Step 1: Inviting the Guests

Step 2: Planning the Thanksgiving Menu (Dinner)

Step 2 Continued: Planning the Thanksgiving Menu (Appetizers)

Step 2 Continued: Planning the Thanksgiving Menu (Dessert and the After Party)

Step 3: Preparing in Advance: Thanksgiving Timeline

Bonus: Thanksgiving Entertaining and Cooking Guide Checklist

Planning the Thanksgiving Menu (Dessert and After Party)

October 23, 2015October 21, 2015 Rachel Sherwood

Thanksgiving Guide: How to Plan the Perfect Meal

Step 2 Continued: Planning the Thanksgiving Menu (Dessert and After Party)

(Thanksgiving Pies)

No dinner party is complete without dessert. For Thanksgiving, dessert is typically pies. I think dessert is the easiest course as all of this can be made in advance. By using my R.S.V.P. cards guests chose exactly what they wanted, taking the guess work out. Guests chose the Apple, Pumpkin and Pecan pies as favorites. I had 2 gluten free guests and I don’t make gluten free piecrusts so I made one of each pie and a cheesecake with gluten free pecan crust so everyone had something. Just in case, I purchased a few pretty gluten free cookies and put them by the coffee for all to enjoy.

The After Party

Also, I am never the one to kick guests out, and I had a few family members staying the night. So, as guests lingered and mingled after dessert, the dinner drinks were still being poured. It is never wise to have people drinking without something to munch on. This is when you can go back to your appetizers. I combined the remaining pieces from the cheese and sausage trays and served that again with the popcorn as savory snacks for my guests who were still enjoying an after dinner beverage. This cleared out any leftovers I would have had and provided a satisfying evening snack.

To find more tips and success secrets to planning a Thanksgiving Menu, check out the Dinner and Appetizer posts.

Apple Pie

You can find the recipe here.

Pumpkin Pie

Filling:

¾ cup natural maple syrup
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 15 on can solid pack pumpkin
¾ cup whipping cream
¼ cup sour cream
3 large eggs

Using a whisk, mix the first 5 ingredients in a medium-large bowl until no lumps remain. Blend in the remaining ingredients until well combined. Pour the mixture into 9 inch piecrust and bake it at 350 degrees for 45-55 min until filling is set and no longer jiggles.

Crust: Makes 3 9 inch pie crusts. Extras can be frozen, or you can use pre-made crusts as well.

3 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
1 cup lard (or shortening if your prefer) cut into 1 in cubes
7-9 tbsp cold water

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut lard into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until it resembles a course meal. Slowly add the cold water a few tablespoon at the time, mixing until dough comes together. Remove the mixture from the bowl and knead it slightly on a floured surface to make the dough smooth. Divide dough into 3 equal sections. Roll it out on a floured surface to make pies or wrap and freeze for future use.

Pecan Pie

3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 stick (1/4 cup./ 4 tablespoons)butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups pecans coarsely chopped
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Place pie shell in a 9 inch pie pan.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and vanilla, mix well. Fold in pecans. Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes; knife inserted in center of pie comes out clean.

Easy Cheese Cake with Gluten Free Pecan Crust

Pecan Crust:

2 ½ cup pecans
¼ cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

In a food processor combine all the ingredients until it resembles course ground crumbles. Press the crust evenly into bottom and 1 inch up the side of a 10 in spring form pan. Chill it for 15 minutes in the freeze while you are preparing the filling.

Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8 ounce) packaged cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla until smooth. Scrape the side of the bowl and add eggs one at a time, mixing until fluffy. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Bake it at 325 for 1 hour or until the center is almost set. Cool it for 1 hour on a wire rack. Then put it to the fridge for 3 hours or overnight for easy slicing when serving.

Drizzle the cheese cake with melted peanut butter, chocolate or caramel sauce.

Here is the first part of Thanksgiving Guide: How to Plan the Perfect Meal

Step 1: Inviting the guests

Step 2: Planning The Thanksgiving Menu (Dinner)

Step 2 Continued: Planning The Thanksgiving Menu (Appetizers)

Step 2 Continued: Planning The Thanksgiving Menu (Dessert and the After Party)

Step 3: Preparing In Advance: Thanksgiving Timeline (Next Week)

Thanksgiving Appetizers

October 16, 2015September 28, 2015 Rachel Sherwood

Since Thanksgiving is such a big meal, you really don’t need appetizers. Yet, as I broke the meal into three parts to help accommodate a variety of guests’ needs and schedules by creating invitation of casual courses to include a cocktail hour.

Here is the first part of Thanksgiving Guide: How to Plan the Perfect Meal

Step 1: Inviting the guests

Step 2: Planning The Thanksgiving Menu (Dinner)

For appetizers I kept it all pretty simple, all things that can be made in advance, things that can be set at room temp if needed, and a mix of hearty and light snacks to go with drinks but not have people fill up too much before the meal.

Remember, with appetizers it is easy to get carried away with a bunch of “cute” options, but most of these cute options require last minute assembly and garnishing which takes time and energy. Keep your choices simple and crowd-pleasing. The idea is to give you time to mingle with guests – not rush around the kitchen more. Here is what I chose for easy appetizers.

Thanksgiving Appetizers

Assorted cheese tray with fruits
Assorted Olives and nuts
Assorted sausages with truffle pate and rustic crackers, mustard and preserves
Sausage stuffed mushrooms
Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus
White truffle Parmesan popcorn

The two time-consuming items were the stuffed mushrooms and Prosciutto asparagus, but both of these items could be assembled the day before and just needed to be put in the oven right before guests arrived. I also did not make too many of them as this was not a cocktail party; these were meant for each person to have one maybe two and snack on a few other items while they enjoyed a drink and conversation before dinner. When they were gone, they were gone. This also saved time from having to clean up and put away leftovers.

(One of my Assorted Appetizer Plates)

I rely on at least one “assorted platter” for every party I host mainly because even the very picky eater can find something safe to eat from it. These platters can always be made in advance, require no additional cooking and provide a variety of very pretty tasty items for people to choose from. All of these items were also gluten-free, so I didn’t have to worry or point out who could eat what -everyone could easily enjoy as they pleased. For your simple guide to no failure in cheese plates and delicious paring options, get your Cheese Plate Paring Guide here.

(Unbaked Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus, perfect made-ahead fancy appetizers)

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1-tablespoon sour cream
6 ounces, 12 very thin slices cut in half lengthwise
24 thin asparagus, washed and trimmed
Fresh ground pepper
Garlic powder

Combine the cream cheese and sour cream in a small bowl. Mix well until smooth. Spread a thin layer on the prosciutto lengths carefully, trying to keep the piece intact. Place the base of the asparagus at the end of the prosciutto and carefully roll it covering the stem. Place the wrapped asparagus on a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle it with fresh ground pepper and garlic powder. Place it under a hot broiler for 3-4 minutes rotating half way through, so prosciutto is lightly crispy.

Makes 24.

White Truffle Parmesan Popcorn

(White Truffle Parmesan Popcorn)

Pop regular popping corn as directed. Drizzle it with butter, white truffle oil, salt, pepper and fresh shredded Parmesan.

Sorry, no recipe for Stuffed Mushrooms, as I made this up on the fly using what I had on hand and did not write it down.

To find more tips and success secrets to planning the Thanksgiving menu, check out Desserts next week.

Planning the Thanksgiving Menu

October 9, 2015October 1, 2015 Rachel Sherwood

As I mentioned last week, I know it is the second week of October, but now is the time to start thinking about your holiday plans. Whether you are hosting, visiting or bringing a dish to share, now is the time to start getting organized so that everything goes off without a hitch and holiday stress never even enters the picture. Here is part two of the Thanksgiving Guide: How to Plan the Perfect Meal. Check out last week’s article on Who’s coming to dinner, to see how party invitations can make the meal easy and fun for all. This week we are getting into the food and planning the Thanksgiving dinner menu.

Step Two: Planning The Thanksgiving Menu (Dinner)

(For easy stress-free Thanksgiving dinner, choose items that can be made in advance)

Now planning the meal to fit everyone’s tastes is the next dilemma. Over the years I have found, at least with my family, that Thanksgiving above all other holidays and yearly celebrations is the meal that has the most traditional and expected foods. They may like the new ginger carrot soup or a unique twist on stuffing, but for the most part my family likes the same traditional mashed potatoes and gravy foods.

This year I was inviting a few friends to join us. I always love learning about new foods and traditions, so on the response card I sent I included a few suggestions for people to choose their top three favorite sides and types of pie. This gave me a chance to see what people wanted, if there were any diet restrictions I was unaware of, and plan a menu to appeal to the most tastes. This also came from my refusal to serve 8 different types of sides as I didn’t want all those leftovers, there is only so much space to cook in the kitchen, and I am an advocate of a balanced meal.

Having guests choose their top three favorites allows me to pick the most common items that appealed to the group. In previous Thanksgivings my mom would make it all mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn bread, butter rolls, and candied yams. That’s 6 sides that are all starches. I refused to the sugar carb overload and limited it to 3 starch options for my final meal. The winners were mashed potatoes, candied yams and traditional stuffing. At dinner, when someone asked about the corn bread, I simply said, “It didn’t make the cut. These were the top choices. You will have to vote for it next year”. Now that I had an idea of what people wanted, I got to work planning the Thanksgiving menu.

(Thanksgiving Response cards with meal choices)

With any dinner party, a carefully planned menu is the key to a relaxing evening or the one with last-minute stress. However, I have found that many people skip this step altogether just pulling together things that sound good or look good as an afterthought. Don’t do this. I know it takes a few moments to “plan” a menu but the few moments of planning will save you from several stressed moments in the future if done right.

The key to a stress-free dinner party is to plan a meal where the majority of the items can be prepared in advance. The larger the party, the more advance prep is needed. As a general rule, if my menu requires more than 2 things to be cooked or finished up last minute, it needs to be revised. The reason for this is that I am only one person feeding 20 plus. I can only do so much. Unless you have knowledgeable helpers that will actually help when needed, doing more than 2 things while getting all the rest of the food on the table is just too much for one person. The time spent in the kitchen starts to outweigh the time spent with guests and it’s not worth it. Remember, it is about the food indeed, but the whole reason you have people over is to spend time with them – not work in the kitchen.

Letting my guests help with my “check what you want” response cards made menu planning pretty simple. I took the top choices from selections and then rounded out with what I wanted and what worked for me. Guests chose mashed potatoes, candied yams and traditional stuffing and desserts: apple pie, pumpkin pie and pecan pie. This is how I rounded it out making accommodations for my two gluten-free guests as well.

Other strategies like hosting a Thanksgiving pot luck and having guests bring parts of the meal work well too as long as you are clear about who is bringing what and as long as guests show up on time with the dish, making for less prep work for the host and still creating a homemade meal.

My Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Grilled and Sous Vide* Turkey with Gravy
Mashed Potatoes and butter
Candied yams
Traditional stuffing
Pomegranate kale salad with spiced pecans
Brown butter sage roasted carrots
Grand Marnier Cranberry sauce

Note that no one actually requested any type of vegetable. They all chose starches, I wanted to serve a balanced meal so I put in the somewhat safe roasted carrots and the stretchy one to test new tastes and pallets. I was interested to see how the kale salad would go over. I chose kale mainly because it is very healthy, it’s pretty, and since it is a more fibrous green, it can be tossed together in advance. It actually gets better and softer with a little time,fitting into my prep in advance meal plan. To my surprise half of the guests did eat and enjoy the kale salad.

The Grand Marnier Cranberry sauce didn’t make the cut either, but my mother insisted on having it. So I said she was welcome to make it and bring it ready to serve for dinner if she wanted.

Stay in touch! Next week we dive further into the menu with the Thanksgiving Guide: How to Plan the Perfect Meal appetizers section.

* Sous vide is a technique to prepare food to the perfect doneness while retaining the foods’ nutrients and juices. The technique uses immersion circulation that works by moving water at a constant temperature in a pot. To cook sous vide, you first seal your food in a plastic bag using a vacuum sealer; then, submerge the bag into the heated water bath for a period of time. Because this does not get the skin crispy, we finished the turkey breast by deep fat flash frying it. The great thing about sous vide cooking is that because it is in a water bath of a particular temperature the item can never get overcooked, keeping it tender and juicy for hours if needed. This was also a recent birthday present I was excited to try out. To be honest, it worked wonderfully and I am sure it will come out future festivities.

Thanksgiving Guide: How to Plan the Perfect Meal

October 1, 2015October 1, 2015 Rachel Sherwood

What you need to know to make sure you and your guests have a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner

Who’s coming to dinner: The party invitation

Throughout the years there are several holidays and celebrations, each one bringing people together around food, but of all the celebrations I think Thanksgiving is the ultimate American Food Holiday. There are no material gifts, special services or rituals – just simply bringing those we love together, giving thanks for all we have and dining in a feast of delicious food.

With that said, I think the Thanksgiving meal is the most stressed-over meal of the year. There are so many moving parts, people to accommodate, timing is critical, oven space is a commodity. And how many times other than this holiday do people really cook an entire bird? – Never! This leaves too much to chance and plenty of areas for things to go horribly wrong.

Which is why I am writing this article for you in early October, not early November. There is a reason. A little bit of planning goes a long way to making a delicious and stress-free evening later that everyone will truly enjoy. The time you put in now will be rewarded as you will be sipping a glass of wine by the fire rather than yelling at your kids to pick up their toys and your husband to get the bird cooking.

We have all been there, or at least witnessed the stressed out host, the still frozen bird, the sweet potatoes that caught on fire or the pie that was dropped. After helping my mother for years and assisting clients host many parties, my husband and I hosted our first Thanksgiving in our new home last year. We had a houseful of guests, with 23 adults, 2 kids and 1 baby, and it went off wonderfully. Here is my Thanksgiving entertaining and cooking guide filled with hosting secrets on how to plan the perfect meal setting you up for holiday entertaining success.

I have broken this Thanksgiving guide into several pieces. So stay tuned each week! I will walk you through exactly what I did and how you can plan the perfect meal too.

Step One: Be clear on your guests and communicate well in advance

(When you know who is coming, it is easier to plan and make accommodations in advance)

We are all busy, and lately it seems like every other person has a specific diet need, restriction or plan, “I just won’t eat that” issue. This fact alone would deter a person from wanting to cook and gather people together. Here are some solutions.

Here is what I did. I love getting real mail, so I thought it would be fun to send actual invitations for Thanksgiving complete with a response card for easy menu planning.

(Thanksgiving invitations and response cards)

For some, Thanksgiving is hard as there are many people we want to see – friends, significant others and divided families – sometimes making for 2-6 stops in the day. As a host, you want to be as flexible and accommodating as possible to welcome your guests. However, what I have learned with large family gatherings is that no matter how hard I try, there is no pleasing everyone. Inevitably something will not work out for someone and that’s ok. Everyone gets to make his or her own choices and that is not part of my job. My job as a host is to provide a welcoming environment, some nice conversation and a delicious meal to those who attend. Since I am doing most of the work for the event, I take into account as many factors as I can to please others, and I do what fits for me.

Sending invitations early gives people a chance to plan and make decisions early in advance rather than scrambling to figure out details and fit it all in last minute, which is stressful for many. To make the most flexible accommodations with a large meal, I broke it up into courses with timeline guides: Appetizers and Cocktails at 2pm, Main Dinner at 4pm and Dessert at 6pm. This allows guests to come for as much or as little as they want and gives time so that they don’t arrive mid meal and you are scrambling for another place setting, more on this later. Some guests only came for appetizers, other just for dinner or dessert. It is important that guests R.S.V.P. or you follow up with them to get counts on how many people to expect so you can plan accordingly.

Stay turned for the rest of this series to set up the perfect Thanksgiving meal.