(Thank)fully prepared this holiday
Cooking some dishes in advance can make holiday more enjoyable
It isn’t likely Luis Montesinos would prepare Thanksgiving dinner without his sweet-potato casserole.
“It’s one of those things … I always think of Ron Popeil: You can set it and forget it,” he said, evoking the classic pitchman who’s the father of the infomercial.
And that’s the advantage of making some dishes for the Thanksgiving meal ahead of time: “I can work on everything else,” said Montesinos, head chef at Jaleo at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
“Thanksgiving should be fun,” said Tucker Shaw, editor in chief of Cook’s Country and America’s Test Kitchen, which published “The Complete MakeAhead Cookbook,” ($29.95). “You should be able to have a good time. That’s not to
THANKS
say cooking isn’t fun, but you might as well have it done with so you can have a glass of wine and not worry about burning the turkey — so you can have two glasses of wine.”
So Montesinos bakes his sweet potatoes at
350 degrees for about 90 minutes. Then he scrapes out “the goodies” and mixes them with a little condensed milk, butter and bourbon.
“Then mix it all together in the mixer until fluffy,” he said. Put it in a pan and top with marshmallows, then refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 225 to 250 degrees and put the pan in for about 30 minutes, or until the mixture is warm. Then toast the marshmallows under the broiler.
Matt Meyer, owner and executive chef of Served in Henderson, suggests making all side dishes — such as cranberries, green bean casserole and candied yams — in advance.
Steve Barr, executive chef at Green Valley Ranch Resort in Henderson, suggests making sides and desserts in advance.
“Then you can focus, if you’re making fresh bread,” he said, “and pay attention to the (turkey) so we don’t have cooking issues there.”
Josh Crain, chef de cuisine of Bouchon at The Venetian, likes to make the stuffing in advance. He incorporates sausage, and at the restaurant will use garlic sausage. He starts with a mirepoix of onions, celery, mushrooms and fresh herbs such as thyme, sage and parsley, plus a little stock to moisten.
“We layer it in the pan and dot it with little globs of butter,” he said. “The top will get crusty and the inside section will be softer.” Cranberry sauce made two to three days in advance gets better in the refrigerator. Even mashed potatoes, if carefully prepared (recipe follows), and gravy can be made in advance.
And, while conceding that it may sound odd coming from a chef at a Thomas Keller restaurant, Crain said it’s hard to beat the old-favorite green bean casserole; “you need a quick and easy one.”
“You buy some frozen green beans, Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup,” he said. “You want to get fancy, saute some extra onions and mushrooms and mix that with the soup. And there’s no substitute for Durkee’s fried onions.”
Robert Camacho, executive chef of Andiron Steak & Sea, said cooking in advance helps you focus on the main player, the turkey. A tradition in his family, he said, is to make butternut squash soup and pumpkin pie the day before.
“It’s just a good thing to make with your family,” Camacho said of the pie. “Bake it and leave it out for a couple of hours and refrigerate it overnight.”
Barr said pies made in advance can be part of the decor.
“People like to look at them when they come over,” he said. “It gives them something to look forward to so they don’t get too full on dinner.”
While it may seem counter-intuitive to make the pies in advance — won’t they get soggy? — Shaw said he thinks they actually get better.
“Pumpkin pie, I think, acts a lot like a banana bread in that the flavor settles a little and becomes deeper,” he said. “Even apple pie. I almost never serve a pie the same day, because it slices better.” He suggests removing the pie from the fridge 30 to 45 minutes before serving.
Cranberry sauce made two to three days in advance gets better in the refrigerator. Even mashed potatoes, if carefully prepared (recipe follows), and gravy can be made in advance, he said.
“If you’re using a frozen bird, you’ve got to start thawing it two or three days ahead of time,” he said.
“You can get into the cavity a day before to get out the giblets and the neck and you can build a really nice gravy from that. Put it in the fridge and warm it back up when you’re ready to serve it. You can incorporate the drippings from the turkey, stirring it right into the gravy at the last minute.”
Dalton Wilson, executive chef and co-owner of DW Bistro, offers a reminder to do shopping in advance and as much prep as possible; co-owner Bryce Krausman suggests an advance dry run on anything you’re nervous about, such as the turkey.
“Get your kids involved in setting the table,” Wilson said. “Set the table the night before and then the day of, all you have to do is get your goodies on it. And open the wine.”
“Thanksgiving’s always going to be stressful, especially if you have kids,” he said. “Prepping in advance is always going to be a good thing.”
And not being quite so frazzled is just hospitable.
“It’s good hosting,” Shaw said. “You don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen, banishing your guests. A relaxed host really sets the tone.”
Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @ Hkrinella on Twitter.