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My Secret To Managing My Thanksgiving Cooking

November 20th, 2006 · 2 Comments

I cook the entire meal the day before.  Really, I do.  I learned that I could enjoy the holiday so much more this way if I was not cooking, baking, mixing, or cleaning in the kitchen.  I can spend time with family and have a relaxing holiday myself.  On Thanksgiving Day, I simply reheat all the food that was prepared the day before.  I serve the dinner on paper plates (strong ones) so I do not have dishes to wash. 

The day before Thanksgiving, I get the turkey cooking in the morning.  Then, throughout the day I cook all the side dishes including the mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and the stuffing.  While these items are cooking, I make my apple pie crust and cook the filling on the stove separately.  The pie I will actually assemble on Thanksgiving morning, and bake it while I am heating up the items for the dinner.  Yes, this all requires a lot of multi-tasking but I have perfected the technique over the years and have it down to a science.  After cooking, all items are cooled and then placed into re-heatable containers in the refrigerator, ready to be re-heated for the Thanksgiving meal. 

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2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Susan Fitzharris // Nov 20, 2006 at 7:43 pm

    This is a great idea but I have always thought that the food might taste cold or not fresh. Do you have any hints about reheating so that I don’t overdo it? I am getting really excited about the prospect of having time to visit and enjoy the meal without my usual frantic craziness.

  • 2 NotMadeOfMoney // Nov 20, 2006 at 8:50 pm

    Susan,
    I usually allow about 1 hour to get the food heated up. It doesn’t really take that long, but I’ve found that giving myself more time usually results in less overdone or burned food. The sliced turkey is the most difficult because it is rather easy to dry it out during re-heating. I put all the side dishes (brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, gravy) in pots on the stovetop at low heat. This is where the multi-tasking part comes into play because you have to juggle heating up while not burning anything. I re-heat the sliced turkey in the oven in a covered foil pan. Sometimes I add just a tiny bit of water into the bottom of the pan to help create a steam effect, which also keeps the turkey from becoming too dry. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!
    Dana

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