The Thanksgiving Day Dance


My Thanksgiving day cooking schedule is something I've tweaked and perfected over time. Its like a well choreographed dance; flowing and moving towards a great ending of...well... making us feel as stuffed as the Turkey. 😉 One of the best decisions I ever made was to start my prep work on the day before. This way I can enjoy my family more on Thanksgiving day itself.

So here is my order of prep and cooking...

Wednesday

 I start with my pies. I usually make a few pecan pies. I just double the batch and split the filling in half between the 2 pie crusts.

While the pies are in the oven I start on other deserts. This year I'm making Paula Deen's "Oooey Gooey Pumpkin Cake" and some of my fudge brownies.

All in all, this takes just a few hours from start to finish.

Once I am done with desserts I clean up and then I work on some prep for the actual meal.

I will...

  • Chop onions and celery for the stuffing
  • Tear the bread for stuffing into a bowl to dry out. 
  • Slice onions for the fried onions topping for the Green Bean Casserole
  • Chop any nuts needed for recipes and bag them into portions in Ziplock sandwich bags
  • I also decorate the table after Wednesday's dinner. Tradition at our home, is pizza the night before Thanksgiving and donuts the morning of in front of the TV watching the Macy's Day Parade so the table will not be disturbed.
  •  Last thing I do is lay out as many of my ingredients as possible for the next day, That way I'm ready to get going ASAP.
Thursday

  • I start with the turkey. I am very fortunate to have a double oven but for the first 20 years of our marriage I didn't. 
  • I designate jobs for the family. For example, Smokin doesn't mind peeling potatoes so he peels all the potatoes - both regular and sweet.
  • While he is doing that I fry up onions for the Green Bean Casserole and put together the stuffing.  The Stuffing, Casserole, and rolls are cooked at the same temperature so they can cook at the same time. While they cook I start the potato dishes.  
  • The last thing I do, while the Turkey rests, is the gravy (I make ALOT). 
I start the Turkey about 7am and everything else about 9am. We eat between 2:30-3pm

Like I said earlier, this is a schedule I've perfected over time. My main advice is to ...

  • Always start with the turkey. It takes the longest to cook plus it's The Star of the show! 
  • Look at your recipes to see the temperatures they cook at. Like I said my stuffing, rolls, and green bean casserole all cook at the same temperature
  • Don't just use a timer but set alarms on your cell phones, if possible. Rolls take 10-15 minutes to cook, while stuffing takes 25-30 minutes. Try to plan for them both coming out at the same time. That means to set an alarm for when the stuffing has 10-15 minutes left.
  •  Most important: make it a family affair. Designate jobs, laugh together, and make memories together. Traditions you can pass down is important to you and your children. We watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade while I cook. I did that with my Mom. Those are precious and priceless memories.
I hope you found this post helpful and you can use some of the information in it to help your Holiday go smoothly.  Just remember, perfection is unrealistic but give it your best and your day will be successful. 

God Bless you and yours!

Lar

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