Thanksgiving is less than 1 week away!
Happy Monday! To remind, you can leave comments or questions on this thread. Scroll to the bottom to see where.
Before I get into my Thanksgiving timeline, I have a couple of Black Friday mega-sales for you. Zwilling and Staub have MANY amazing pieces on sale. This is the moment you have been waiting for if you’ve been eyeing items. Quantities are limited, so do not hesitate. There are a lot of things on sale, but here are some of my favorites:
Staub 5-qt tall cocotte more than 50% off
Staub 10-inch fry pan almost 50% off
Zwilling 32-piece Fresh & Save System
Zwilling Pro 7-inch Slim Chefs Knife
Zwilling Enfinigy Digital Scale
DEMEYERE Essential 5 18/10 Stainless Steel 3 QT Sauce Pan
Also, my favorite purchase of 2023 is the Visp Elixir Mixer and that is also on a mega sale with my link.
1 bottle = 25% off
2 bottles = 30% off
3 bottles = 35% off
THANKSGIVING
Not to sound like a broken record, but the most important tip to get you organized for Thanksgiving or any major meal is to COMMIT TO YOUR MENU ASAP. That way, you can start doing. We will be approximately 18 people, including my three children who are coming home for the holiday. I am so excited to have the kids in the kitchen this year prepping and cooking with me. I had a stroke of genius 10 years ago, which was to tack my Thanksgiving to-do list on the refrigerator and have everyone sign up for three tasks. Even Hubs helps out!
I have done most of my grocery shopping other than a few items which I need to buy when I pick up my turkey. I plan the days leading up to Thanksgiving pretty carefully so I don't forget anything and I think about regular meals and activities, too. Here's what my schedule will look like from Sunday until we eat on Thursday at 4:00 pm (-ish). This shouldn't make you feel exhausted, but merely show you what you can do ahead for your own Thanksgiving! The Chalkboard Mag published a really great blogpost 7 years ago with tons of tips from lots of food experts (including me!) I highly recommend giving it a quick read.
As if I hadn't already told you, my Thanksgiving ebook is available for only $15!
This PDF contains all my Thanksgiving recipes, tips and tricks, in one document! You will have everything you need to plan and execute your best Thanksgiving ever, says me and everyone I know who has bought it. Click here to access the Thanksgiving ebook.
Here's my menu for Thursday and after that is my timeline so you can see how everything can get done. This just to give you some idea to plan your menu.
BREAKFAST
Streusel coffee cake (I've been making this for 21 years, but it's from an old, out-of-print book. It's not healthy. Not even a little. But it’s fabulous. Recipe is in my e-book.)
(My Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal would also be a great choice - you can prep it the day before and bake it in the morning.)
Veggie frittata using up some of the egg whites I will have from making ice cream
LUNCH (honestly, probably not making soup. Everyone seems to push out breakfast to 10 or 11 am, so it’s not necessary)
HORS D’OEUVRES
Apple Bourbon Cocktail (Hubs is in charge of the bar and all beverages)
Crispy cauliflower (weird, I know, but my husband and kids MUST have it and I don't have the bandwidth to make it for Thanksgiving dinner. In fact, last year I took it off the menu and made it for dinner one night. Doing that again this year!)
Small cheese board (my sister-in-law is making)
DINNER ( I think this is too much food, but no one will let me take anything off the menu!)
1 Roasted Turkey and Gravy (14 pounds) I will be spatchcocking my turkey once again this year, which is a technique I taught in my in-person and online cooking classes 5 years ago. It's just the best, easiest method.
1 Slow Cooker Turkey Breast (5-6 pounds)
Cranberry Sauce (x2)
Applesauce (x1)
Mashed yukon gold potatoes (7 pounds)
Sweet potato casserole (x 1)
Stuffing (herbs and leeks) (x1) It’s my mushroom stuffing, but minus mushrooms
Stuffing (turkey sausage, apples, and fennel) ( x1)
Roasted Vegetables Agrodolce (probably 3-4 sheet pans of vegetables)
Salad with Pomegranate, Persimmons, Savory granola and pomegranate vinaigrette x2
DESSERT
1 Chocolate Chunk Pecan Slab Pie
Whipped Cream and CocoWhip
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream and Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream
Berries brought by my mother-in-law
Schedule:
Sunday
Grocery shop (I'm already done) for everything that hasn't been purchased other than turkeys and herbs, lettuces, Brussels sprouts and a few veg
Arrange tables & chairs
Make cranberry sauce and applesauce (done and already frozen - will start defrosting in fridge today)
Savory Granola (already done and frozen)
Write placecards
Monday
Make salad vinaigrette (done and frozen; will put in fridge today)
Make 2 qts. ice cream
Dry mix for sweet potato casserole with a note about adding butter
IG Live at 5:00 pm PT - Anna and her BF will join me!
Dinner: Spinach-Artichoke Spaghetti Squash Boats, simple salad
Tuesday
Pick up turkeys and last-minute ingredients
Salt turkeys
Buy and arrange flowers (I'm going to keep this SUPER simple.)
Set tables
Wash and dry greens
Shred cheese for tart
Dry bread cubes for stuffing (I already made and froze my stuffing, but I'll leave the steps here on the timeline as an FYI.)
Chop onions for soup, stuffings, roasted veg tray
Defrost turkey stock and chicken stocks
Dinner: slow cooker chicken tacos (aka, the easiest dinner on the planet!)
Wednesday
Make butternut squash soup
Steam cauliflower; bread and refrigerate
Make sweet potato casserole
Make stuffings (again, I made and froze this already)
Prep zucchini
Blind bake tart crust
Prep vegetables for roasting as well as Brussels
Make pumpkin pie
Make pecan pie
Blanche green beans
Set up coffee and tea service
Check powder room
Uncover turkey (makes the skin crispier)
Leave butter, eggs and sour cream out for cake
Dinner: maple-mustard salmon, whatever miscellaneous vegetables I want to use up
Before bed: make sure garage refrigerator door is closed! (14 years ago, I left the door open to my extra fridge in the garage all night long. OMG. Nightmare! Needed to buy two new turkeys on Thanksgiving morning!)
Thursday
6 am Wake and take a 30-minute walk
Shower
Make coffee cake
Make coffee
Make cornbread
Make apple pie and cherry pie
Prep turkey breast
Put turkey breast in slow cooker (cooks for 4 hours, but best to pad with a little extra time just in case since I can always keep in the slow cooker on the warm setting)
Get dressed and do hair
Prep coffee machine for after dinner
12:00 roast vegetables
Prep spatchcocked turkey
Reheat soup
Herb oil for tart (actually made this and froze it)
Remove sweet potato casserole, stuffings, salad dressing from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temp
Prep gravy ingredients
Add melted butter to sweet potato topping
Start green bean casserole
2:00 Put turkey in oven (spatchcocking makes the cook time much shorter!)
Peel potatoes; make mashed potatoes; keep in bowl over simmering water
Prep tart
2:15 Bake tart in small oven
2:30 make cauliflower and serve hot
3:00 sweet potato casserole in small oven
3:15 Take turkey out to rest, oven to 350
Reheat stuffing at 450
Make gravy
3:30 remove foil and add topping to sweet potatoes
Consolidate roasted vegetables and reheat on one sheet pan
Light candles, water in glasses, butter, cranberry sauce, and applesauce out, assemble salad
3:45/4:00 Carve turkey
After dinner: whip cream, coffee and tea, sparkling water
After everyone leaves, write notes for next year!
Friday
Make turkey stock
Start holiday shopping!
xxPamela
You are a rock star! Thank you for all of your fabulous recipes and tips. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this timeline. I’m making so many of your recipes for Thanksgiving it’s giving me confidence that my prep schedule looks like yours!