The big day is three weeks from tomorrow. I always try to make ahead some of a large or special meal and Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl of cooking. No way I’m waiting till the day before to start.
Some of the recipes here are designed for make-ahead or lend themselves to it, and I invite you to get a jump on the work by doing a little or a lot in advance.
If you try nothing else, give the Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy a chance. It uses turkey wings, makes a perfect gravy and eliminates the last-minute rush.
My Par-Baked Crusty Rolls are a delicious alternative to commerical brown and serve rolls. Partially bake them in advance, then freeze them till the day and pop them in the oven.
Your freezer is your best friend at this time of year. If you like cornbread in the dressing or on the table, you can whip up my mom’s foolproof cornbread in a flash then wrap it well and freeze it. With all frozen baked goods, defrost them still wrapped (in the fridge if there’s time) so the condensation that forms during thawing remains on the plastic wrap.
Pie crust is a perfect thing to make in advance and freeze. You can even line the pie plate and freeze the whole thing. If doing that, freeze it “naked” for an hour so the crimped edge doesn’t get smashed when you wrap it or put it in a jumbo freezer bag. Which crust? One of the most popular recipes on this blog is the Classic Crisco Crust, which I love, but the Williams-Sonoma flaky crust, made in a processor, is great too and perfect for beginners. If you have a stand mixer, I have a post and recipe about making it that way.
For a different take on pumpkin pie, try one that combines pumpkin and apples. You can make this the night before.
You’ve no doubt discovered how long leftover cranberry sauce or relish keeps in the fridge. The acid in the cranberries helps to keep it fresh and that puts time on your side. You can make your relish or sauce two days ahead, and while I’m just as likely to make the relish on every bag of cranberries, I’m also partial to a more sophisticated Citrus Cranberry Sauce. And if you really love those little red jewels, as I do, this Cranberry Vinaigrette is excellent on autumn salads.
While you can’t make mashed potatoes too far in advance, they can be made a couple hours ahead and you don’t have to keep them over simmering water, tying up a burner. You can reheat them in the microwave, really, as long as you wait to add the dairy ingredient(s) until after you’ve reheated them. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a gluey mess.
And you don’t have to wait till the last minute to do some prep work. I always chop the vegetables and nuts for the dressing on Monday or Tuesday and put them airtight in the fridge. They’re just fine.
So the clock is ticking and I have a new recipe or two to try and of course, will make them in advance. If they’re worth keeping I’ll share them. And remember, when all else fails in terms of time — delegate!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Crikey — I’m hungry already. Welcome back!
Roads´s last blog ..216. Geneva
Thanks! I once again can hear night trains in the distance, aural comfort food!
For mashed potatoes, if you have a slow cooker that doesn’t run too hot, you can make the potatoes including adding cream and butter, and put them in the slow cooker on the ‘keep warm’ or ‘low’ setting for a few hours. I dot the top with pats of butter before putting the lid on and they keep fine while I’m making the rest of the meal. Similarly I make the dressing, microwave it up to temperature and pack it into one of the small slow cookers – about the 1.6 qt size, not the tiny, dipper sized.
Hi, djc – welcome! Thanks for that info. Somebody told me about the slow cooker mashpot method a few years ago & I still haven’t tried it. It’s good to have the reminder. The dressing idea’s good too, although I tend not to do that ahead but just pop it into a baking dish while the turkey finishes and rests. I have nuked leftover dressing and with gravy on it beforehand it’s just fine.
I’m glad you mentioned microwaving to temp; a great tip I got from Cook’s Illustrated several years ago for safely cooking the stuffing in the bird is to put it in a baking dish or one of those net stuffing bags, microwave it to about 125 degrees so it then quickly reaches the safe zone in the oven. I tried it, it works.
For anyone reading this who might not know, the danger zone for food is between 40 degrees F and 160F. Bacteria love those temps.
Thanks again for your comment, djc.