How To Do Random Things

So by now you have contemplated the Thanksgiving menu, figured out where all the food will be cooked, and received a head count.  The head count doesn’t really matter anyway, because you have probably planned to prepare enough food to feed the neighborhood, right?  In all honesty, I try to make too much food.  That way I can have leftovers for days and enjoy the food even more because it will only take 2 minutes per plate in the microwave to feed the family for the next week.

In order to prepare this bounty of wonderful food, you still have to do a little more planning.    Let’s take our list of menu items and actually head to the kitchen.  Get out those family recipes and go over each item.  Take time to actually go to the cabinet and check for EVERY ingredient.  A few years ago my mother in law forgot to do this and she was sure she had stuffing in the cabinet.  So there I am on Christmas day, looking for the missing bags of stuffing and there is none.  Did 7-11 carry stuffing?  Nope.  So I had to improvise.  I went back to my house and got 2 boxes of Stove Top.  That is an experience I do not want to repeat.

As you search the corners of your cabinet, start your shopping lists.  On one list, write down the needed non-perishables that you can purchase now – spices, STUFFING, dessert ingredients etc.  Then use the other list for the fresh items to pick up a few days before Thanksgiving.  Here is a quick suggestion, avoid last minute shopping on Wednesday.  Go out late Monday night or early in the morning.  We are trying to be stress free this holiday, not make it worse!

Don’t forget about the turkey!  Most of them are frozen and need time to thaw.  Plan on allowing 24 hours to thaw in the refrigerator for each 5 pounds of frozen turkey.  So a 20 pound frozen turkey will take 4 days to thaw – and maybe a little more.  I am not even going to tell you how to quickly thaw a frozen turkey because you are reading this and planning ahead, right?  There will be no last minute freaking out because you have organized a beautiful, balanced holiday meal but forgot about the turkey.

Once all your shopping is done or almost done, start gathering your dishes and special platters.  Polish the silver and dust off the candlesticks.  In the past years, we have found it is so much easier to set up a buffet with all the platters and casseroles laid out.  Passing dishes all around was mentally draining!  Once food was on our plate we wanted to eat, not play ‘pass the potatoes’!  Serving buffet style will allow you to set up placement of dishes in advance.  You can even go ahead and make little labels so helpers know right where to put hot dishes at the last minute.    

If you have children in the house, assign them the job of decorating the table.  We have had many years of pine cones and dried leaves strewn across the table. 

Whatever your plan is for the holidays, I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable meal!