Comments on: Make ahead Thanksgiving

By: ellaella

ellaella — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:24:19 +0000

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.

By: djc

djc — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:35:28 +0000

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.

By: ellaella

ellaella — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:26:53 +0000

Thanks! I once again can hear night trains in the distance, aural comfort food!

By: Roads

Roads — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:44:33 +0000

Crikey — I’m hungry already. Welcome back!
Roads´s last blog ..216. Geneva