Advance prep?

[Dora]

This is my first Thanksgiving: just me, my husband, two friends, and our son.

Tonight I'm making the cranberry sauce and roasting the sweet potatoes. I'm considering getting my pie crust ingredients measured out and put in the freezer. And if I REALLY don't feel like doing the dishes (I'm stalling), I could cube the bread and set it out to get stale.

What are you doing in advance?

[eleny]

1. I'm going to prep some stuffing

I use soda crackers. So, I'll crush them tomorrow. Then fry the onions, celery and some giblets. I'm keeping it all seperate until Thursday, then dump it all together and stuff.

I'm also going to shred my cabbage for slaw. If you put it in a big pot with some ice cubes on top of the shreds & cover with plastic wrap, it stays very nice and I think it gets crispier overnight. I'll mix it with the vinegar and mayo right before the bird comes out of the oven.

Store bought pie. I'm so shamelessly lazy sometimes. But Soopers has this blueberry lattice pie that is ooh-la-la!

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Dora]

5. That's a great tip about the cabbage

I'll have to remember that.

And blueberry pie is one of the most blessed things ever. No shame in good taste!

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

2. I'm not much of a pie baker,

but I'm pretty sure you can actually make the crust (not bake it) & stick it in the frig over night.

Stuffing can be made (don't add eggs if you're using) refrigerate & stuff tomorrow. Don't stuff the bird tonight, just in case I wasn't clear. Cranberry sauce can be made & refrigerated.

I am doing nothing in advance. We're meeting the kids at the coast & celebrating there. :rofl:

[Dora]

4. I have to break it out into steps

I have a crawling baby and I'm working all day tomorrow. Because His Lordship is sleeping right now, making the crust in the food processor won't fly.

I'll ask my husband to mix up the pumpkin pie ingredients tomorrow afternoon while our boy is napping, and I'll throw the crust together after dinner.

Have fun at the coast!

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Bird brining ..... stuffing making ..... veg prep ...... lotsa stuff .....

..... all tomorrow.

We'll be Sparkly and me, Sparkly Jr., my two sons, their SOs, and their mother (my ex). It is going to be at son #2's house. He's gunna do the bird and something. He'll get the bird from me tomorrow night and start it Thursday morning. Son #1 is doing yams and something green. I'm doing a veg and the stuffing. Saprkly's gunna do a vegetarian entree for her and Sparkly Jr. My ex will do dessert.

[Dora]

6. About those yams...

Are they yams or are they sweet potatoes, and is there a difference?
:shrug: Inquiring minds want to know...

[Stinky The Clown]

14. There's a difference, but to most people it is a difference without a ....

..... meaning. As to what son #1 is making, specifically, I have no idea. :)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

7. Fasting

We'll be in Chinatown at noon, joining a bunch of Old Yeller's business colleagues (who cannot abide American turkey and the fixings) for a classic Chinese banquet at a restaurant they own together, which will be closed to the public for the day..

Hence, the fast starting now.

[Dora]

8. Why fast?

You'll just be hungry again an hour after eating.
:+

[OldLeftieLawyer]

9. True

True, so true. I'm trying not to dress up like Nanking, but it's almost irresistible with those guys.

You know, the food never stops at these things. The meal - with little respite - will last a minimum of four hours. And no one ever stops eating.

You're right. Why fast, indeed? I must go and study up on my purging.

Thanks. ;)

[Dora]

13. Sounds like heaven.

dish after succulent dish...

and nary a one to wash.

(Dress up! Dress up!)

[Stinky The Clown]

24. You're Italian .......

..... like me ...... our ancestors knew how to handle big meals.

Its in your blood.

[Warpy]

11. I'm doing Chinese takeout, myself

I've been eating veggie so long that when i thought I craved turkey this year, all I had to do was walk by a rotisserie turkey breast in the market on Sunday and inhale to get over it fast.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

12. I got food poisoning from a turkey

a few months ago.

That was the final straw. I could finally admit - without feeling like a Commie - that I really don't like turkey.

[Warpy]

10. Pie crust goes in the fridge, not the freezer

Trust me, it won't spoil by Thursday morning. Take it out of the fridge and let it sit for about 15-30 minutes to warm up a little before you roll it out. You can also do the piecruts through the prebaking stage (for pumpkin) or place the bottom crust in the pan (for fruit pies) and keep those in the fridge for the last minute filling and baking. Just make sure you seal it all in plastic so it doesn't dry out.

By all means assemble the stuffing, put it in a big bowl and fridge it. You can also assemble the green bean, mushroom soup and canned onion casserole that too many people expect (ugh)for a last minute baking. Lots of appetizers can be made ahead and stuck into the fridge for a last minute baking or assembly into a cold platter.

While you're doing all this, you can think lovingly of the years far in the future when you can go to somebody else's house, instead.

[Dora]

26. Yah, I learned that fridge vs. freezer thing.

I turned a lovely dough into an unsightly grey mass.

I didn't get around to crust last night. So, tonight I'll be working on pie and stuffing. A guest is bringing the green bean thing, rolls, and wine.

One basic Thanksgiving dinner for four, coming up!

[Mr. McD]

15. Put the turkey in brine on Monday.

and have bread drying out. Thats it so far. I start cooking toight.

[mike_c]

16. brining the bird, making cornbread for stuffing...

...in fact, I'll make the stuffing today and simply store it in a couple of gallon zip-locks to bake tomorrow. Much of the desert prep can be done today as well. Cranberry relish has been pot-lucked out, but if I were doing it I'd make it today. Truthfully, lots more could be prepped in advance, but ultimately refrigerator storage becomes a limiting factor.

[catnhatnh]

17. Limbering up....

....the old visa card (debit) for a nice restaurant buffet.On the one hand there are no leftovers, but on the other there is no clean up...

[jeanarrett]

18. Okay, so I really wanted to try brining a turkey this

year, but we are preparing for a trial at work this week that starts on Monday and it's been nuts and I haven't had time. I heard, however, on NPR yesterday when they were promoting some cooking lady's new book--she mentioned rubbing the turkey all over really well inside and out with salt -- she said it was like a "dry brining." Anyone heard of this and how did it turn out? What kind of salt?

[The empressof all]

19. Be careful about over salting the bird like this

I tend to think the benefits are not that great. You run the risk of impacting the gravy. Salting the bird does add to it's flavor but I've seen some of these TV folks go way over board. I cook my bird with a half a dozen bacon strips laid across the top and just give a light sprinkle of salt to the cavity. When the bacon gets crisp remove it and set it aside for another use.

[jeanarrett]

20. Does regular brining also affect the gravy? Can't have

the gravy messed up! However, I do find that I need to salt my gravy quite a bit--I also make it with some of the mashed potato water (my grandmother told me to do this years ago because the nutrients in the potatoes were cooked out by boiling and this was an easy way to put them back--anybody else do this?).

[The empressof all]

21. I've heard that it does alter the gravy when you brine the bird

I've never brined a Turkey but I do routinely brine chicken but I never make chicken gravy so I'm not really sure. :shrug:

I've never heard about the potato water for the gravy. It makes sense. Does it impact the flavor of the gravy? I always make my gravy with chicken stock.

[jeanarrett]

22. No, it makes no noticeable difference.

I just add the water from the potatoes to the drippings instead of something else, like broth or plain water, and do the regular steps. Gravy is a real disaster for some, but mine seems to turn out real good most of the time.

[Mr. McD]

23. Not if done properly.

You need some form of suger in the brine for balance. I brine all the time and the gravy is perfect and the meat is not salty.

[Warpy]

25. Kosher salt would be my guess

But I wouldn't recommend it. What brining does is use a strong saline solution to push water into the flesh so the turkey doesn't dry out as much during baking. What that "dry brining" would do is draw fluids out of the bird, ensuring it comes out of the oven like cardboard.

The Koshering process (which I grew up watching my Irish Catholic mother do, don't ask) starts with the dry brining to draw all the blood out of the tissues. Then the meat is soaked in a brine solution overnight to replace the fluids lost during dry brining with salty water.

Soaking meats in a brine solution overnight improves flavor and keeps it juicier. It's not absolutely necessary, but it is a great thing to do to improve the final effort if you have the time.

[SW FL Dem]

27. I made my cranberry sauce this afternoon

and am now baking cranberry orange bread. I started setting the table since that involved dragging out the the good dishes that get used once or twice a year. If I have the energy, I will make the stuffing tonight so that it is ready to shove in the oven tomorrow. That means I can actually enjoy the day with my family tomorrow. All I have left is to stick the turkey in the oven, steam the veggies and smash the taters (but that is my son's job).

[NMDemDist2]

28. hehehe all i did was boil 6 eggs

since Deviled Eggs is all I'm really "cooking" tomorrow

:bounce:

[The empressof all]

29. Here's what I've done so far

Cooked the sausage for the stuffing
Pumpkin Pie in the oven
Sweet Potatoes roasted
Took out and washed all the serving pieces
Made Candied Pecans for the Sweet Potatoes
Jello mold in the fridge

Still to do today

Slice and dice onions and celery
slice and pan fry apples
shred the cheese for the spinach pie