If you are entertaining at your place for Thanksgiving this year, you seriously better get to cracking. Trust me...you don't want to wait until the last minute to get things done because if you do...your life is going to get extremely difficult...the grocery STINKS at the last minute.
There are several steps that you can follow to insure that your Thanksgiving dinner will go off without a hitch and with the least stress as possible.
Get Your Guests In A Row- Check out your list of guests. Make a few calls and send out the emails. The first step to keeping your sanity is to find out who is coming and who isn't as soon as possible. Once you find out who is coming, divvy up the food bringing responsibility. It would be helpful to make a list of the traditional things needed and mark down who is bringing what, so that you don't get confused and end up with two dishes of dressing and missing a green bean casserole. Here is a quick sample list that may help you out:
-Turkey and Gravy (Typically that is the hosts responsibility)
-Mashed Potatoes
-Green Bean casserole
-Dressing/Stuffing
-Cranberry Sauce
-Pumpkin/Pecan Pie
-Rolls
-Salad
-Drinks
Shopping Spree- Hit the stores like YESTERDAY. The stores will be crowded today, but the earlier you get there, the better. Not only will you run into a frantic, overcrowded, melee of destruction as soon as you hit that market parking lot, but you will more than likely not be able to find most of the stuff you need because the stores shelves will have already been picked dry by those who got their shopping done before you. Get to the store...Hurry! Time is running out.
The Turkey Prep- If you haven't had it defrosting for several days, it's too late to cook a frozen turkey. In a last minute jam...run get one pre-cooked from your nearest grocer. Throw it in a serving dish and no one will ever know the difference.
If you ARE going to cook your own turkey that you have defrosted for a few days, decide how you are going to cook it and have all of the necessary tools ready. There are literally hundreds of ways to cook a turkey and each year new recipes and techniques are created. Generally, at 350 degrees, the roasting time of your turkey of average weight should be between 3 and 4 hours. Don't be intimidated, but it's more challenging than you'd think. Cook it too long and you end up with a dry turkey. Cook it too short and it could be unsafe to eat. The important thing to always keep in mind is that if the internal temperature of the turkey is between170 and 180 degrees, you should be safe and good to go.
For any turkey questions you can call Butterball's Turkey Talk Line at 1-800-Butterball
Clean, Inspect, Then Clean Again- If there is ever a time to make sure that you apartment is extra spotless and in perfect condition, it's now. No one wants to be sitting down to a hefty celebratory Thanksgiving dinner only to notice dust all over the backs of the chairs, or candy wrappers on the carpet. Clean like you are getting paid to do it. Make sure that your silver and glassware is polished and spotless. The kitchen and bathroom need to look institutionally clean. Make several runs with the vacuum to make sure you don't miss any spots. Dust in places you usually overlook.
Keep these simple steps in mind as you prepare for your awesome Turkey Day and you should be good to go.
Later Turkeys!
