Give me your best tips for big family Thanksgiving meals.
November 9, 2013 12:51 PM Subscribe
I usually host Thanksgiving for our family, and I do a fairly good job. People have fun and the food's ok. I'm usually not too rushed at the last minute. I know it could be better, though. So here's my question: what special thing do you make or do that makes your Thanksgiving particularly efficient, or fun, or tasty, or awesome looking, or easy to clean up, or otherwise excellent? I'm especially interested in buffet serving ideas and what you use to make those look great or taste great (and should I buy one of those three-crock-pot serving thingies? I feel like my food gets cold really fast.) I want to hear everything from what you make in advance and how you reheat it, to how you deal with cleaning up all those big dishes afterwards. What about music? What about table decor? Tell me everything.
I'm interested in:
-hors d'ouvres
-drinks (maybe light colored so spills not such a disaster?)
-recipes that have relatively great payoff for little effort
-stuff that can be done well ahead and reheated easily
-anything that can be done really well in the crock pot
-games/activities during the day
-recipes with EASY cleanup
-any cheap wines that are really good (esp whites!! let's protect my carpets)
-anything you do to make cleanup easier
-anything you do to make dishwashing easier
-anything that looks extra special awesome
-how you set up your buffet table and keep stuff hot
-anything that is good served room temp
-any other special tips
Thanks!!!
I'm interested in:
-hors d'ouvres
-drinks (maybe light colored so spills not such a disaster?)
-recipes that have relatively great payoff for little effort
-stuff that can be done well ahead and reheated easily
-anything that can be done really well in the crock pot
-games/activities during the day
-recipes with EASY cleanup
-any cheap wines that are really good (esp whites!! let's protect my carpets)
-anything you do to make cleanup easier
-anything you do to make dishwashing easier
-anything that looks extra special awesome
-how you set up your buffet table and keep stuff hot
-anything that is good served room temp
-any other special tips
Thanks!!!
Spatchcock your turkey if you don't already. Quick, easy, and evenly cooked.
posted by supercres at 1:07 PM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by supercres at 1:07 PM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes are THE BOMB and are designed to be made the day before and reheated. Works perfectly - I've been cooking them for years and get compliments every single year.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:14 PM on November 9, 2013 [9 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:14 PM on November 9, 2013 [9 favorites]
Best answer: You could get a warming tray to keep your food warm...
posted by cecic at 1:17 PM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by cecic at 1:17 PM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
We play bingo at our big, loud potluck Thanksgiving.
Are you doing all the cooking or are guests bringing food? We usually have 20ish adults and 9 kids and I don't think the food is ever cold. But the hosts only do the turkey and mashed potatoes.
The bingo is really fun. It's easy for everyone to play and can get competitive. The prizes are usually stuff that's been found on sale at Pier 1. Like candles, Christmas ornaments, soap and what not.
posted by MadMadam at 1:40 PM on November 9, 2013
Are you doing all the cooking or are guests bringing food? We usually have 20ish adults and 9 kids and I don't think the food is ever cold. But the hosts only do the turkey and mashed potatoes.
The bingo is really fun. It's easy for everyone to play and can get competitive. The prizes are usually stuff that's been found on sale at Pier 1. Like candles, Christmas ornaments, soap and what not.
posted by MadMadam at 1:40 PM on November 9, 2013
Okay so my family's thanksgiving is usually around 35 people or more, and is all done by my grandmother (with my help!) so this just some things I've learned from her:
-almost everything gets cooked in those disposable metal foil pans, you can even get cookie sheets that are disposable.
-whatever can be cooked in advance gets cooked in advance, including stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, noodle kugel, etc. then it can just get popped in the oven to warm up. If necessary, ask family/friends/neighbors to keep food in their fridges if you run out of space.
-we don't do buffer style, we pass everything around which is maybe crazy. If you're going to do a buffet setup, maybe consider two separate tables of the same food so everyone can dig in while it's warm.
-if you're making pies, make the crust now & freeze them. Pie crust freezes well & then it's easy to throw a homemade pie together.
posted by inertia at 1:54 PM on November 9, 2013
-almost everything gets cooked in those disposable metal foil pans, you can even get cookie sheets that are disposable.
-whatever can be cooked in advance gets cooked in advance, including stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, noodle kugel, etc. then it can just get popped in the oven to warm up. If necessary, ask family/friends/neighbors to keep food in their fridges if you run out of space.
-we don't do buffer style, we pass everything around which is maybe crazy. If you're going to do a buffet setup, maybe consider two separate tables of the same food so everyone can dig in while it's warm.
-if you're making pies, make the crust now & freeze them. Pie crust freezes well & then it's easy to throw a homemade pie together.
posted by inertia at 1:54 PM on November 9, 2013
Having more than one crockpot is awesome. I have two regular-size and one dip-size, and I really wouldn't mind having another of the small ones and a extra-large one as well. If you've got extra space to store them they really come in handy for entertaining. You can often find them for very cheap at thrift stores. I paid $5 for one of mine.
Homemade cranberry sauce is extremely simple to make in a crockpot. I usually only cook for 4-6 so I make it in the small crockpot. I can't find the recipe I use but it is made from whole fresh cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, sugar, a dash of cinnamon and cloves. There are a bunch of recipes if you Google.
A fruit crisp is a nice alternative to pie. You can assemble it ahead of time, and then pop it in the oven after you take out the turkey. It will cook in about the time it takes you to eat dinner, cool down while you're digesting a bit, and still be warm to serve with ice cream by the time you're ready for dessert.
A good inexpensive white wine is DaVinci Pinot Grigio. It's a little dryer than other pinot grigios I've had, more like what I get when I order just whatever pinot in restaurants. It's about $12 a bottle.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:12 PM on November 9, 2013
Homemade cranberry sauce is extremely simple to make in a crockpot. I usually only cook for 4-6 so I make it in the small crockpot. I can't find the recipe I use but it is made from whole fresh cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, sugar, a dash of cinnamon and cloves. There are a bunch of recipes if you Google.
A fruit crisp is a nice alternative to pie. You can assemble it ahead of time, and then pop it in the oven after you take out the turkey. It will cook in about the time it takes you to eat dinner, cool down while you're digesting a bit, and still be warm to serve with ice cream by the time you're ready for dessert.
A good inexpensive white wine is DaVinci Pinot Grigio. It's a little dryer than other pinot grigios I've had, more like what I get when I order just whatever pinot in restaurants. It's about $12 a bottle.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:12 PM on November 9, 2013
Best answer: Cheap white wine that is our "house white" is trader joes vino verde, comes in a green bottle, $4.50, not sweet, bubbly, great for champagnelike cocktails.
Also, deviled eggs. Oyster crackers with ranch dressing.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 2:19 PM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, deviled eggs. Oyster crackers with ranch dressing.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 2:19 PM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Put a little sign next to (above, below, whatever) your microwave that tells people how to reheat for 30 seconds, for when the inevitable buffet cooling begins.
Especially if you host every year, it's worth the money to get a few nice serving dishes. My current love affair is with pyrex bowls with tupperware lids so the serving dishes can go RIGHT INTO THE FRIDGE with leftovers instead of transferring everything to smaller gladware and whatnot. Okay, only so many big bowls fit, but STILL. It's so convenient! You can also get corelle serving dishes with their own lids, and I'm sure other brands. I have mostly basics for serving dishes -- clear glass or plain white serving dishes/bowls/platters -- and then I mix in a few holiday pieces. That way I have nice-looking basics I can use all year but a few festive pieces to theme it up.
I am thinking of starting a signature tablecloth as a family tradition.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:45 PM on November 9, 2013
Especially if you host every year, it's worth the money to get a few nice serving dishes. My current love affair is with pyrex bowls with tupperware lids so the serving dishes can go RIGHT INTO THE FRIDGE with leftovers instead of transferring everything to smaller gladware and whatnot. Okay, only so many big bowls fit, but STILL. It's so convenient! You can also get corelle serving dishes with their own lids, and I'm sure other brands. I have mostly basics for serving dishes -- clear glass or plain white serving dishes/bowls/platters -- and then I mix in a few holiday pieces. That way I have nice-looking basics I can use all year but a few festive pieces to theme it up.
I am thinking of starting a signature tablecloth as a family tradition.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:45 PM on November 9, 2013
I prepare as much as possible the days before. I make the Pioneer Woman's potatoes, make gravy stock early, and the like. Get everything prepped that needs to be finished on Thanksgiving Day before hand. The day of, keep a pot of hot chicken stock on the stove, and ladle some over anything that needs to be warmer.
posted by Silvertree at 2:53 PM on November 9, 2013
posted by Silvertree at 2:53 PM on November 9, 2013
Best answer: During dessert, we play a fun group game. Everyone gets an index card; they write 3 things they're thankful for on one side and 3 things they want for Christmas on the other side. No names. The cards get put in a hat, read out loud one by one, and everyone guesses who wrote it!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:06 PM on November 9, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:06 PM on November 9, 2013 [5 favorites]
Duck fat makes everything better. [duck fat potatoes, duck fat-rubbed turkey, brussels sprouts in duck fat, etc] Also, if you're making anything with bacon, get some high quality heritage slab bacon from a local shop (you've never tasted true bacon if you've only had supermarket bacon). If you're making pie crusts from scratch use leaf lard instead of butter/shortening (obviously not if you have vegetarians).
Try serving in courses, rather than a big free-for-all with tons of food at once. It makes it seem so much more special that way, and it slows down the evening -- the day is about hanging with family/friends and eating good food, so embrace that.
Clean as you go, so it's only serving and plating dishes that need to be cleaned. This also works great with courses, because you (or someone on your "cooking team") can wash the dishes from the previous course while plating the next course. Definitely clean all dinner dishes before doing dessert. This gives people time to digest, you can brew some coffee, and people will always stick around for dessert.
Mulled wine and bourbon cider are great drink options.
posted by melissasaurus at 5:50 PM on November 9, 2013
Try serving in courses, rather than a big free-for-all with tons of food at once. It makes it seem so much more special that way, and it slows down the evening -- the day is about hanging with family/friends and eating good food, so embrace that.
Clean as you go, so it's only serving and plating dishes that need to be cleaned. This also works great with courses, because you (or someone on your "cooking team") can wash the dishes from the previous course while plating the next course. Definitely clean all dinner dishes before doing dessert. This gives people time to digest, you can brew some coffee, and people will always stick around for dessert.
Mulled wine and bourbon cider are great drink options.
posted by melissasaurus at 5:50 PM on November 9, 2013
Best answer: Ours tends to be small but I've hosted many times and love it. Here are my tips:
- I got this from Martha Stewart. The weekend before, pull out all the serving dishes you plan to use and stick a note in each one saying what you're going to put in there. It seems obsessive, but it's really helpful when you are plating stuff up and not shuffling around/looking desperately for the right size container. Make sure you have a dish planned for everything on the menu, including condiments, gravies, sauces, apps, and seasonings.
-Planning the order of the dishes lets things be served hot and stay fairly hot. Here is something I wrote for a past Thanksgiving post about the way I use the oven on the actual day and the general plan of attack - stuff I learned working in restaurants so that everything hits the table hot. Planning to pop pre-made casseroles in during the turkey resting time is the main thing that lets them stay hot for a while.
-Have insulated towels/trivets under everything you set on the table. That'll help it stay warm. After everyone's first serving, put a temporary cover on the food quickly (foil is OK) to hold heat in. When the first person's ready for seconds, pull those off again.
-IF you really have a lot of people, just consider using chafing dishes.
-Have an abundant relish tray, cheese board, etc that people can start on and keep busy with while you work in the kitchen.
-Plan for dishwashing? Hell, who needs a plan. You don't do it. Let your guests do this - geez, you cooked. They'll figure it out, and you'll spend the next week putting stuff back where it really goes, but that's the fun of the holiday. Just be sure you have soap, scrubbies and a stack of dish towels handy.
-Taking a walk/hike is a great thing to do during the day. If you have school-age kids, give 'em a scavenger hunt to find things (acorn, red leaf, spot a live animal, cloud that looks like something, etc).
-DVR the Thanksgiving Day Parade so people can re-watch it in the afternoon. Or have a favorite holiday movie running, or maybe show old family films/videos.
posted by Miko at 6:21 PM on November 9, 2013 [6 favorites]
- I got this from Martha Stewart. The weekend before, pull out all the serving dishes you plan to use and stick a note in each one saying what you're going to put in there. It seems obsessive, but it's really helpful when you are plating stuff up and not shuffling around/looking desperately for the right size container. Make sure you have a dish planned for everything on the menu, including condiments, gravies, sauces, apps, and seasonings.
-Planning the order of the dishes lets things be served hot and stay fairly hot. Here is something I wrote for a past Thanksgiving post about the way I use the oven on the actual day and the general plan of attack - stuff I learned working in restaurants so that everything hits the table hot. Planning to pop pre-made casseroles in during the turkey resting time is the main thing that lets them stay hot for a while.
-Have insulated towels/trivets under everything you set on the table. That'll help it stay warm. After everyone's first serving, put a temporary cover on the food quickly (foil is OK) to hold heat in. When the first person's ready for seconds, pull those off again.
-IF you really have a lot of people, just consider using chafing dishes.
-Have an abundant relish tray, cheese board, etc that people can start on and keep busy with while you work in the kitchen.
-Plan for dishwashing? Hell, who needs a plan. You don't do it. Let your guests do this - geez, you cooked. They'll figure it out, and you'll spend the next week putting stuff back where it really goes, but that's the fun of the holiday. Just be sure you have soap, scrubbies and a stack of dish towels handy.
-Taking a walk/hike is a great thing to do during the day. If you have school-age kids, give 'em a scavenger hunt to find things (acorn, red leaf, spot a live animal, cloud that looks like something, etc).
-DVR the Thanksgiving Day Parade so people can re-watch it in the afternoon. Or have a favorite holiday movie running, or maybe show old family films/videos.
posted by Miko at 6:21 PM on November 9, 2013 [6 favorites]
Best answer: I also do the trick of assigning the serving dishes (with post it notes) and setting them out on the table to make sure everything fits and is in a non-dumb order for passing around family style. Maybe my people are unusually picky about such things. :)
Last year the drinks were Old Fashioneds and Gin Rickeys, with ingredients and starting recipes set out -far from the kitchen- and people encouraged to experiment (eg bourbon or rye choice? Bitters choice? Lemon peel or orange? Syrup from refined sugar or Demerara or maple?). This, plus some snacky pickles and sliders (see below) kept people pretty entertained.
I usually cook half or all of the turkey in the morning or the day before (roasted or braised or a combination of the two) and reheat the white meat in a braise, reheat the legs and wings in the oven. This gets you a couple of things:
- turkey is 'moist' effortlessly
- you already have cooked turkey so you can make thanksgiving 'sliders' of turkey, stuffing, cranberry as hors d'oeuvres. Or get your gravy done before the serving-time crunch and then keep it in a double boiler. Or have drippings for your pan of stuffing. Etc.
- your oven is more or less free!
- at least part of the carcass is ready for the stockpot which can just simmer in the back corner all day. (I usually supplement with necks).
For cleanup - bus tubs! Just haul that pile of dishes out to the porch or the garage or wherever is NOT the kitchen until it is time for someone to deal with it. I use actual bus tubs from a restaurant supply- they are strong enough to fill with dishes and not too big the carry around.
Cranberry sauce wants to rest - make it ahead. Pie crust gets assembled after work two days early and rests in the fridge until pies are made the day or evening before. Brining starts 48 hours in advance of the cooking (whenever that is).
posted by janell at 8:02 PM on November 9, 2013
Last year the drinks were Old Fashioneds and Gin Rickeys, with ingredients and starting recipes set out -far from the kitchen- and people encouraged to experiment (eg bourbon or rye choice? Bitters choice? Lemon peel or orange? Syrup from refined sugar or Demerara or maple?). This, plus some snacky pickles and sliders (see below) kept people pretty entertained.
I usually cook half or all of the turkey in the morning or the day before (roasted or braised or a combination of the two) and reheat the white meat in a braise, reheat the legs and wings in the oven. This gets you a couple of things:
- turkey is 'moist' effortlessly
- you already have cooked turkey so you can make thanksgiving 'sliders' of turkey, stuffing, cranberry as hors d'oeuvres. Or get your gravy done before the serving-time crunch and then keep it in a double boiler. Or have drippings for your pan of stuffing. Etc.
- your oven is more or less free!
- at least part of the carcass is ready for the stockpot which can just simmer in the back corner all day. (I usually supplement with necks).
For cleanup - bus tubs! Just haul that pile of dishes out to the porch or the garage or wherever is NOT the kitchen until it is time for someone to deal with it. I use actual bus tubs from a restaurant supply- they are strong enough to fill with dishes and not too big the carry around.
Cranberry sauce wants to rest - make it ahead. Pie crust gets assembled after work two days early and rests in the fridge until pies are made the day or evening before. Brining starts 48 hours in advance of the cooking (whenever that is).
posted by janell at 8:02 PM on November 9, 2013
One year, my mother's oven broke. That started a tradition of her microwaving the turkey. It cooks much more quickly that way.
posted by maurreen at 10:59 PM on November 9, 2013
posted by maurreen at 10:59 PM on November 9, 2013
I created a master Thanksgiving recipe. For the whole several days of grocery shopping, prepping, and baking/cooking. Just took the ten or so different recipes I make and shuffled them together so each step was by date and then by time of day. Creating a step-by-step timeline for everything I want to do helps me ensure I won't miss a step and everything seems to fit together well enough.
posted by belau at 5:53 AM on November 10, 2013
posted by belau at 5:53 AM on November 10, 2013
Best answer: Spatchcock the turkey.
Line crock pots with Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners. Cook everything in throw away aluminum. Now no one is stuck in the kitchen scrubbing gunk off of pots and pans.
Make homemade cranberry sauce. 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup sugar (or Splenda) and a 12 oz bag o'berries. It will gel as it cools. Add a handful of pecans or walnuts. YUM!
Bagged stuffing mix, fresh or frozen mirepoix, and pre-sliced mushrooms. Add fresh chopped parsley and it's 99% of homemade stuffing with 10% of the effort. That's my kind of pay off.
Rather than peel, slice and cook potatoes for mash, start with Ore-Ida Steam n'Mash. Look for coupons and BOGOs. May actually be cheaper than potatoes.
The wine to serve at Thanksgiving is Beaujolais Nouveau. It's cheap and fun and works with bold flavors.
I like the Pillsbury Pie Crust, again 99% of the flavor for 0% effort. Coupons abound, and there are supermarket house brands. They freeze really well.
You can serve it off of plastic plates with plastic cutlery if you want. (I'd just run the dishwasher a lot.)
Pot luck is also a good way to not have all the work be your issue.
Happy Turkey!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:02 AM on November 10, 2013
Line crock pots with Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners. Cook everything in throw away aluminum. Now no one is stuck in the kitchen scrubbing gunk off of pots and pans.
Make homemade cranberry sauce. 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup sugar (or Splenda) and a 12 oz bag o'berries. It will gel as it cools. Add a handful of pecans or walnuts. YUM!
Bagged stuffing mix, fresh or frozen mirepoix, and pre-sliced mushrooms. Add fresh chopped parsley and it's 99% of homemade stuffing with 10% of the effort. That's my kind of pay off.
Rather than peel, slice and cook potatoes for mash, start with Ore-Ida Steam n'Mash. Look for coupons and BOGOs. May actually be cheaper than potatoes.
The wine to serve at Thanksgiving is Beaujolais Nouveau. It's cheap and fun and works with bold flavors.
I like the Pillsbury Pie Crust, again 99% of the flavor for 0% effort. Coupons abound, and there are supermarket house brands. They freeze really well.
You can serve it off of plastic plates with plastic cutlery if you want. (I'd just run the dishwasher a lot.)
Pot luck is also a good way to not have all the work be your issue.
Happy Turkey!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:02 AM on November 10, 2013
I do thanksgiving at my house in Japan, in a dining room smaller than most spare rooms in the States, and in a kitchen not much bigger than a pantry. I have a 30 liter convection oven (big enough for a roast chicken, too small for a turkey), and a separate stove with two and a half burners (one is really small).
I've got thirteen people coming over this year, same as last year. It's going to be tight, but I learned a lot from last year.
Step one: you need to know how much food you need. I usually do two medium size turkeys, two kinds of stuffing (sausage apple and mushroom), and a ham.
The two turkey thing: if you can, smoke one of them. Break the other one down into parts. You only need one for presentation, so if the other comes to the table pre-sliced, it's like gravy.
Break down the larger turkey. Remove the thighs and legs, wings, and breasts. Use the carcass to make turkey stock (roast turkey bones at 400 degrees for thirty minutes, replace bones with onions, leeks, garlic, and celery, roast veggies another thirty minutes while simmering the roast bones. When the veggies are done, skim the foam off of the top of the stock, add the veggies, plus bay, celery leaf, black pepper, lots of salt, simmer on lowest heat for four hours, strain). Use the stock to make gravy, and make sure you use the neck and giblets for the gravy. Also, save a bit of gravy for yourself, because no leftover turkey sandwich should be without gravy on one side and cranberry sauce on the other.
If you smoke the turkey, don't stuff if. A chopped onion and some herbs, sure, but the smoking temp is too low to cook stuffing safely.
With the other turkey, you can tie the breasts together with cooking twine. Even better, you can put some slices of bacon between the breasts before you tie them together.
The only thing that should be cooking (as opposed to reheating) in the half hour before eating should be the potatoes. Try to plan so that you're straining the potatoes and mashing them (with sautéed onions, roasted garlic, kernel corn, cream, butter, black pepper, salt, more butter) about five minutes before everyone sits down.
As for an activity, the bingo suggestion up thread gave me an idea: custom bingo. Among the group of people, there are sure to be catch phrases or tics that are well known. Ask the group to send you lists of things (dad falls asleep on the sofa, weird uncle Jim starts to talk about the gold standard) and make bingo sheets out of them. There are online bingo sheet makers out there. Make sure to weed out anything that would cause tension. As the day goes on, people can fill out their bingo cards, with a prize at the end. If you can arrange it so that the total list of bingo chances is secret, it could be even more fun.
Good luck, and make sure you, the cook, gets to keep the oysters (the little dollop of turkey thigh that rests right above the hip socket). So, so good.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:17 AM on November 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
I've got thirteen people coming over this year, same as last year. It's going to be tight, but I learned a lot from last year.
Step one: you need to know how much food you need. I usually do two medium size turkeys, two kinds of stuffing (sausage apple and mushroom), and a ham.
The two turkey thing: if you can, smoke one of them. Break the other one down into parts. You only need one for presentation, so if the other comes to the table pre-sliced, it's like gravy.
Break down the larger turkey. Remove the thighs and legs, wings, and breasts. Use the carcass to make turkey stock (roast turkey bones at 400 degrees for thirty minutes, replace bones with onions, leeks, garlic, and celery, roast veggies another thirty minutes while simmering the roast bones. When the veggies are done, skim the foam off of the top of the stock, add the veggies, plus bay, celery leaf, black pepper, lots of salt, simmer on lowest heat for four hours, strain). Use the stock to make gravy, and make sure you use the neck and giblets for the gravy. Also, save a bit of gravy for yourself, because no leftover turkey sandwich should be without gravy on one side and cranberry sauce on the other.
If you smoke the turkey, don't stuff if. A chopped onion and some herbs, sure, but the smoking temp is too low to cook stuffing safely.
With the other turkey, you can tie the breasts together with cooking twine. Even better, you can put some slices of bacon between the breasts before you tie them together.
The only thing that should be cooking (as opposed to reheating) in the half hour before eating should be the potatoes. Try to plan so that you're straining the potatoes and mashing them (with sautéed onions, roasted garlic, kernel corn, cream, butter, black pepper, salt, more butter) about five minutes before everyone sits down.
As for an activity, the bingo suggestion up thread gave me an idea: custom bingo. Among the group of people, there are sure to be catch phrases or tics that are well known. Ask the group to send you lists of things (dad falls asleep on the sofa, weird uncle Jim starts to talk about the gold standard) and make bingo sheets out of them. There are online bingo sheet makers out there. Make sure to weed out anything that would cause tension. As the day goes on, people can fill out their bingo cards, with a prize at the end. If you can arrange it so that the total list of bingo chances is secret, it could be even more fun.
Good luck, and make sure you, the cook, gets to keep the oysters (the little dollop of turkey thigh that rests right above the hip socket). So, so good.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:17 AM on November 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
A few years ago I found some stuff about organizing your Thanksgiving as a project-management problem, using Gantt charts and the like, and made an FPP about it. Belau's idea of the "master Thanksgiving recipe" reminded me of it, so here it is.
posted by Miko at 8:58 AM on November 11, 2013
posted by Miko at 8:58 AM on November 11, 2013
Sharpen your knives the weekend before. We do a spatchcocked turkey on the grill outside to free up room in the oven and it works great. Own and use a good food thermometer to get the turkey parts done to the right temp.
posted by Aizkolari at 9:21 AM on November 11, 2013
posted by Aizkolari at 9:21 AM on November 11, 2013
Best answer: Mashed potatoes are always my last minute panic and hard to keep warm. I see that others suggested The Pioneer Woman's potatoes, which also solve this problem. But, we all loved these whipped potatoes with horseradish last year. I found them in Bon Apetit, and the horseradish was a very welcome flavor on the table.
posted by fyrebelley at 3:26 PM on November 11, 2013
posted by fyrebelley at 3:26 PM on November 11, 2013
Best answer: My family has acquired a lion's share of crockpots over the years.
My parents cook the turkey the day before, let it cool and slice it. On Thanksgiving, we have a crockpot of dark meat and a crockpot of white meat that gets simmered in broth until we're ready to eat.
We also do mashed potatoes that we keep hot in a crockpot until all the other things are ready. The recipe is very similar to Pioneer Woman's except we add some sour cream to it, too. Be sure to actually turn the crockpot on, this is something we've struggled with at least two of the past five years!
posted by rubster at 12:08 PM on November 12, 2013
My parents cook the turkey the day before, let it cool and slice it. On Thanksgiving, we have a crockpot of dark meat and a crockpot of white meat that gets simmered in broth until we're ready to eat.
We also do mashed potatoes that we keep hot in a crockpot until all the other things are ready. The recipe is very similar to Pioneer Woman's except we add some sour cream to it, too. Be sure to actually turn the crockpot on, this is something we've struggled with at least two of the past five years!
posted by rubster at 12:08 PM on November 12, 2013
I'm hosting 14 people this year -- and I've only hosted once before.
I'm putting a small turkey in the crockpot just for sending home leftovers. I'll also make the gravy ahead from this turkey, since I'm brining the big turkey.
I have a small house, small oven and small fridge. I'm filling the washing machine with ice to hold the drinks and sodas. The laundry room is off the kitchen and it'll drain itself as the ice melts.
I'm cooking up turkey parts the weekend before just so I can make another batch of gravy ahead of time. I'll freeze it and the pulled turkey.(I'm worried about the gravy for some reason.)
posted by vitabellosi at 12:12 PM on November 12, 2013
I'm putting a small turkey in the crockpot just for sending home leftovers. I'll also make the gravy ahead from this turkey, since I'm brining the big turkey.
I have a small house, small oven and small fridge. I'm filling the washing machine with ice to hold the drinks and sodas. The laundry room is off the kitchen and it'll drain itself as the ice melts.
I'm cooking up turkey parts the weekend before just so I can make another batch of gravy ahead of time. I'll freeze it and the pulled turkey.(I'm worried about the gravy for some reason.)
posted by vitabellosi at 12:12 PM on November 12, 2013
Best answer: It's worth it to worry about gravy because there's never enough. Your plan to have extra is a really good one.
Also, if you don't use Wondra flour already for making gravy, that's an excellent tip right there. It makes superior gravy for sure, blends easily and fast, lump-free and very smooth.
posted by Miko at 4:12 PM on November 12, 2013
Also, if you don't use Wondra flour already for making gravy, that's an excellent tip right there. It makes superior gravy for sure, blends easily and fast, lump-free and very smooth.
posted by Miko at 4:12 PM on November 12, 2013
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FYI, one year we taste-tested BBQ turkey against oven-roasted, deep-fried, and smoked. For my money, the BBQ won hands down for flavor and moistness. Plus, the carcass makes the most incredible split pea soup you ever tasted.
We rub it with salt, stuff it with oranges, onions, and sage, and grill it in a Weber kettle over an indirect fire, with foil packets of soaked smoking chips on the coals.
(I don't recommend doing it on a gas grill—the result is more like steamed turkey, due to the water vapor produced by burning propane.)
posted by ottereroticist at 1:07 PM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]