7 tasks to do now for a stress-free holiday dinner
We’re a week out from Thanksgiving. If you’re anything like me, you may be itching to just do something, anything, to get ready. Thankfully, there’s a lot you can accomplish right now that will make your life way easier come the holiday, and the days leading up to it.
Here’s a rundown of tasks to check off to ensure a lowstress, enjoyable meal.
■ Organize your recipes. You know I had to say it. While there’s no pressure to actually get in the kitchen, decide what you’d like to cook (and start a shopping list). This gives you plenty of time to track down elusive family recipes, ask everyone else for input with regard to dietary restrictions or other preferences, and figure out which dishes (platters, bowls, etc.) you’ll use to serve each recipe.
■ Acquire your turkey. Don’t be left scrounging around the grocery store for turkey the day before the holiday. If you find a good deal on what you want now, go ahead and buy it to pop in the freezer. (Just give yourself enough time to defrost it, if you don’t want to cook from frozen.)
■ Buy all your shelf-stable goods. The grocery store aisles are already brimming with many of the ingredients we turn to for Thanksgiving. While you’re relaxed and thinking ahead, go ahead and grab your canned pumpkin, canned cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, marshmallows and whatever else your family’s favorite dishes use. Fresh cranberries will store fine in the fridge for a few weeks, as well. Also stock up on all your drink supplies, especially your favorite wines.
■ Make your pie crust. Pie crust freezes well. Make your batch now to get it out of the way. Let it defrost at least overnight before you’re ready to use it. Want to stash a whole ready-to-bake pie in the freezer? You can do that, too.
■ Find all your tools and tableware. No one wants to be tearing up the house the day before Thanksgiving — or worse, the day of — looking for Grandma’s china or the fat separator you only use once a year. Long before you start cooking, take an hour or so to find what you’ll need, dust it off and put it somewhere obvious and easily accessible. And if it’s something you rarely use, like that electric carving knife, make sure it still works.
■ Clean up. Now’s the time to streamline and organize the pantry. Sort through, clean and empty out the refrigerator, using up anything you can cook with right now. You want to have as much room available as you can once those ingredients, make-ahead dishes and then leftovers start piling up.
■ Eye the timeline. After you’ve selected your recipes, you can start figuring out what to do when. Here’s our list of how far ahead you can make things.
Cranberry sauce: Up to a week.
Gravy: A few days. Bread: A day or two; wrap in foil and warm in the oven before serving. Or freeze for longer storage and defrost the day before.
Pies and other desserts: Two or more days.
Turkey: If you’re brining, start brining the day before or according to your recipe.
Stuffing: Make wholly a day in advance or up to the point of adding the liquid. Reheat or finish baking Thursday.
Sides: Prep raw vegetables or roast, blanch or steam a day ahead.