1. Grocery shop before the rest of the world
The supermarket on Thanksgiving morning sounds like a special kind of hell that I don’t think anyone is interested in experiencing. The best way to avoid it is to know what you’re cooking weeks ahead of time and shop accordingly! That can of pumpkin is good to sit unopened in your cupboard for literal years, and most of your veggies and potatoes can hold up for the few days you need to get situated.
2. Practice!
No matter how confident you are in your cooking skills, cooking for a crowd is a different beast. You may prepare Brussels sprouts as a side for your average weekday dinner, but it can be a bit of a culture shock to double, triple or even quadruple recipes that you’re used to only making for one or two. It doesn’t hurt to practice the recipes you know will make it to your Thanksgiving dinner table ahead of time — even if that means eating stuffing for breakfast, lunch and dinner all week.
3. Make a schedule
You would hate for the mashed potatoes to be sitting out for hours while the turkey finishes up in the oven. The idea is to have everything ready relatively around the same time — this way, when it hits the table, everything is still steaming, warm and inviting. Make yourself a list — or a chart, or whatever visual your brain prefers — that details every dish on your menu, with accompanying prep, cook and (if necessary) rest times. You’ll be able to see which dishes should be prepared first, how much oven space you’ll have at any given time, and then you can plan to coordinate everything to culminate at your desired dinner time. It’s not an exact science, but this way you’ll hopefully be left without the green beans festering on their trivet for too long.
4. Don’t skip early prep
Do you want to be making a pie filling the night before your house is filled with extended family? No — more likely you want to be relaxing, preparing for the chaos to ensue. But if there are aspects of your menu that require some downtime (or that you just can do 24 hours in advance), like a dough that needs to be chilled…do it. Future you will thank yourself.
5. Know your turkey
I, personally, didn’t have any concept of how big of a turkey you need to feed a certain number of people. But light research shows that you can expect to serve about ¾ to 1 pound of turkey per person at your dinner table. Be sure to find a bird that fits the bill! Oh, and on that note, make sure you let it defrost (in the refrigerator!) for long enough.
