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Thanksgiving secrets
DH and are were starting to game plan for this year's Thanksgiving dinner (our 5th year hosting for a motley crew of friends, family, co-workers, etc) and it made me wonder what were your Thanksgiving success secrets. Is it a recipe, activity, decor...?
For us, we cannot imagine life without those turkeys-in-a-bag that come pre-seasoned and go straight from the freezer to the oven. We usually use the Jennie-O brand. People raaaaaave about the turkey every year and want our recipe. Sssshhhhhhh....
If there is one other key for us (though this one isn't so much of a secret), it is to make a Thanksgiving Excel spreadsheet with menu, shopping list, timing, supplies needed, etc. We have always had ridiculously tiny kitchens both in LA and NYC, so careful planning is a must.
So, spill your secrets.
Re: Thanksgiving secrets
I use my MIL's tremendous common sense along with brining the turkey. My MIL was matriarch to 7 kids plus their families. She cooked the bird the day before, sliced it off the carcass, poured the drippings back on it and heated that back up on Tday. It was delicious, and saved her a lot of cleanup on that day. My family and DH's family were never the magazine type people who carve the bird at the table. I've never been to a holiday where that was really done.
It also gives me the bones to roast later the night before and make extra stock. My husband loves gravy so I make lots extra for leftovers. I also stuff a lemon cut in half, some fresh rosemary, a garlic bulb cut in half, and an onion cut in half in the cavity of the bird. We get really big birds. I rub butter between the skin and muscle too. My bird comes out really well every year with a lot of flavor and it isn't dry.
I make the croutons a few days out and cut up my massive amounts of celery and onions over the weekend so I'm not dealing with that. Anything that can be done ahead of time is. Otherwise just the cleanup alone on Tday is a killer.
Well this is far from healthy, but I use real butter and cream cheese to my mashed potatoes. They taste wonderful and I have gotten a few compliments from some who say they are the best mashed potatoes they have ever had. Of course the good thing is that they can be made ahead of time.
But I can't take the credit. I use Pioneer Woman's recipe for creamy mashed potatoes. I also use whole milk instead of half and half like the recipe calls for.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/