I cooked everything yesterday. Today i will reheat it at 1 and serve it to my thanksgiving guests. We have done this in my family since i was a tiny baby. I know so many people who wake up at 6 and slave ALL day and run around in a frenzy while their guests wait. I was just wondering if anyone else prepared it before hand>?
I did all of my stuff yesterday. My hubby made his homemade dressing, or stuffing, today - AMAZING. He spent a lot of time doing it.
Yesterday was long, but today I got to visit with my family more than he did.
Yep! Everything but the turkey, gravy, and mash. The day of my daughter makes the mash (she's 4 so this is only her 2nd year), my husband makes gravy, and I'm in charge of the bird. :)
That is a great approach. I think it is the only sane way, unless there is a team of happy cooks and prep cooks on Thursday morning. That can be fun too, but so often the stress of it and the organization of it all is left to one person, and that does make the holiday exhausting. Personally, I love to cook but only when I am doing it for fun, in a relaxing atmosphere, which these days is like ... never. I hate to cook when I am throwing meals together twice a day for a family because I feel like that is all I ever do, and dishes! Yesterday I made a sidedish I had never made before to bring to my dad's house for dinner today. It was fun and came out better than I planned. I haven't had that much fun cooking in a long time. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
I make everything the day before but bake the turkey. On Thanksgiving day, all the casseroles are ready to be baked too. I have been doing it this way for about 19 years now and I would not dream about doing it all on Thanksgiving day. I am exhausted the day before so I can sit down with my family to enjoy them and their company on Thanksgiving day.
We all take turns and make dinner together... guests included. No one should slave away while everyone waits :) We switch off entertaining the kids and taking breaks. I do some prep the night before, like some veggie chopping and getting things out and on the counter, but that's about it. But then again, not everything we make is perfectly homemade. I was going to make homemade pies this year, but family convinced me frozen would be okay. So, there it is.
You do what you can before hand. That way the day goes along smoothly and is usually pleasant for all. I had a neighbor that started about a week before with the desserts and things so that the turkey was the only thing left to do. Besides when you cook earlier the food has a chance to settle and the flavors come out better.
Enjoy the day.
The other S.
I do a mix of the two ... there are some things I just like to do the day of.
My sister cooks everything but the turkey/gravy the day before and then heats up in the oven while the turkey rests before carving.
I absolutely do most of the cooking ahead of time. Last weekend, I made my stuffing & spinach quiche. I also prepared my herb/oil mixture I rub on the turkey. I froze everything except the rub. Tuesday & Wednesday I made my sweet potatoes (mashed), peeled potatoes & put them in water in the fridge, I made the pineapple sauce for the ham & honey mustard sauce. Wednesday night I helped DD make a chocolate cheesecake & cleaned the turkey - putting it in the pan along with diced onions, celery, carrots & parsnips. This morning, I slept until 9:30 (I'm not a morning person). I put the turkey in at 11 & cooked & mashed the potatoes around 1. everything else just needed to be heated up. I made my gravy after the turkey came out of the oven around 2. I couldn't possibly do everything in one day. It was actually a pretty relaxing day today.
The only things I make the day before are things that can be done the day before - bake the pies (everyone likes their pumpkin pie cold around here - and the cornbread for the dressing. Everything else I leave till the day of - there's no "frenzie" and I don't have a mess 2 days in a row - can't imagine having all those dishes to do twice and where do you put everything? My fridge couldn't handle it all!!! Barely have room for the leftovers as it is!!
I didn't get up till 6, we ate at Noon and had turkey (it was only a 12 lb bird), stuffing, corn bread dressing, mashed potatoes, 2 kinds of gravy, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, tossed salad and my grandmas' homemade noodles - oh, they'd been made for months - but cooked them the day of.
I bake the pies ahead, and prep everything else (ie, green bean casserole, potatoes, etc) so I just have to pop them in the oven the day of.
