Tips and Tricks for a Stress Free Holiday Meal

I love holidays! Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, my birthday (Yeah, it counts), I love them all. How could I not? After all, holidays are an excuse to break from day to day existence and spend some time with great people enjoying good food and making amazing memories. However, they can be a whole different story when you’ve decided to play host. All of a sudden what should have been a joyous day is now a stress filled mad dash to get people fed. There is nothing worse than having a big group of people over and getting to spend no time with them because you’re running around like a mad (wo)man in the kitchen. So since Thanksgiving is right around the corner I thought I’d share with you some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned in my years of hosting. They won’t stop a drunk family member from crying at the table but they will help your event to go as smoothly as possible. Enjoy!

1. Know when to buy your turkey. A 20lbs turkey needs 4-5 days to defrost and 24 hours to brine so don’t try and buy at the last minute. If you absolutely can’t get your bird that far in advance you can do a “quick” defrost. Keep the turkey in its packaging and place in either your sink (if it’s big enough) or your bath tub and cover with cold water. Drain and refill with water every 30 minutes. It’ll take about half an hour per pound to defrost so give yourself some time.

2. Know who’s coming. Does anyone have an allergy? How severe is it? Are there vegetarians? Vegans? Ask them questions about their restrictions. Some nut allergy sufferers can eat tree nuts, some vegetarians eat fish. You’re going to need to know these things to plan a menu that won’t leave one of your guests munching on crackers while the rest enjoy a three course meal.

3. Trust in Martha. Shady business practices aside, Martha Stewart is the closest thing to a higher power I have in my life. Her site has tons of great menu ideas, recipes and decorating tips. I use her turkey recipe every year and it gets rave reviews. Check it out here: http://www.marthastewart.com/353177/perfect-roast-turkey

4. Do some prep. When my side of the family gets together for Thanksgiving dinner it’s more of a last minute pot luck lunch. My parents come straight from my Grandmother’s place out of town and the hubby and I usually spend the weekend with my in laws so there isn’t a lot of time for cooking the day of. My mother made the stuffing a month ago, my sister baked the pie last week. Things like these freeze well so if you think you’re going to be short on time why not make them a bit in advance?

You can also do a lot of your chopping and mixing the morning of so you’re trying to cut carrots while stirring gravy, basting turkey and greeting guests.

1. Make a game plan. Getting ready to host a holiday dinner is a little like a coach getting a team ready for a big game. If you want to win, you need a strategy. Read your recipes all the way through a few times, know how long everything is going to need to cook and at what temperatures. You might need to adjust your menu if you have too many conflicting times and temps so that you can have everything out at the same time. I like to write down what time I plan on serving and work backwards so I know exactly when I need to get each dish started. Don’t forget to include prep work like preheating the oven and last second chopping into your timeline.

2. Invest in your equipment. Foil roasting pans can split or warp under the weight of the turkey. Cheap basters can melt. Do yourself a favor and buy decent equipment, it’ll save you a lot of time and trouble (and having to clean turkey juices out of your oven when the cheap pan springs a leak. I speak from experience on that one unfortunately). If you really want to get a foil roaster make sure you get the one with handles. Trying to lift 20lbs out of the oven by the little edges of the pan is a disaster waiting to happen.

3. Keep It Simple Sweetheart. Don’t try and take on too much and don’t try and make all new recipes. If you’re already making two dishes that you aren’t familiar with it might be a good idea to stick with tried and true recipes for the rest of the meal.

4. Enjoy your guests! You’ve invited people into your home not just to cook for them but to be with them. Hopefully these tips will help you spend more time with the people you love and less time camped out next to your stove.

Last but not least don’t forget to save your scraps! Turkey bones, celery leaves, and veggie peelings can all be thrown in your slow cooker the next day to create a delicious homemade stock that you’ll be happy to have come winter.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

#thanksgiving #reflections