Monday, November 25, 2013

Thanksgiving!


Thanksgiving is so close! Are you hosting? Are you excited? Do you still not know your menu? Are you just going to put something in the F@*%ing oven and call it a day?

From experience, my Thanksgivings have benefited from some dorky planning. This is the time to embrace your inner nerd and make a list, schedule, or go crazy with an excel spreadsheet.

If you are still trying to set your menu now, The New York Times has this helpful interactive guide and recipes for menu planning. They boil it down to this:


turkey + gravy + cranberry sauce + stuffing + something orange + green & snappy vegetables + pies =THANKSGIVING


And in case you need some more ideas (Lauren, I'm looking at you),  here are some favorite recipes I have made/found/altered in the past:

As for the schedule, these are the things I usually ask myself:
  • How long will things take to prep?
  • How long will things take to cook?
  • How many things can fit in the oven with the bird?
  • At what temperature do those things need to cook?
  • What can be made on the stove-top instead of the oven? (r.e. You can make mashed potatoes, and then keep them warm with a double boiler)
  • Hot dishes should be ready at the same time
  • What dishes can I make that can be room-temp?
  • The bird will need to rest for at least 30 minutes
  • While the bird is resting, the oven is totally free... is there a casserole or gratin I want to make ahead and heat up while the bird is resting, or do I want to roast some veggies instead?

Evidence - Former Thanksgiving cooking and prep schedule:

Whatever you do, Happy Thanksgiving!



1 comment:

  1. Sonya, you'll be very disappointed that I didn't even do thanksgiving! My sister and I went to a strange dinner at a meditation centre instead, where we both thought that the dessert baked cinnamon apples were potatoes. It seemed weird that they were serving potatoes, rice and veggies (including potatoes). We only discovered they were apples after dishing them up and eating them together with rice and peas at a table with strangers. The funny looks we were getting made sense...but we just had to pretend that we always mix up our mains and desserts on one plate!

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