A Make-Ahead Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a couple weeks away, and I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but guess what? There are several things you can make the day before the feast, and a ton of tasks you can just cross right off your loooong to-do list this weekend, or even right now. Here are nine ideas…
1. Email the Squad: In my house — or, technically, my sister’s house — the Thanksgiving meal is always a village undertaking. Everyone in the family has an assignment, whether it’s securing the turkey and roasting it, or ordering two dozen oysters, or…
…drawing place cards for the table (thanks, Phoebe). If you happen to be the conductor of this orchestra of helpers, like I am, one thing you can do a few weeks ahead of time is send out people’s assignments. The real bonus of this task is that it forces you to get the ball rolling on planning exactly what you want to make.
2. Tackle the Low-Hanging Fruit: When you’re hosting, there are a lot of Thanksgiving tasks that require real effort and concentration (looking at you, gravy), but there are also a zillion things that are only hard because we tend to forget about them until the last minute. Solution: Start crossing the non-cooking things off the list now. For instance, make sure you have enough place settings, including napkins, wine glasses, drinking glasses, and dessert forks; if not, order or borrow more, as needed. Go through your menu and make sure you have enough serving platters, salad bowls, water pitchers, baking pans, roasting pans, frying pans, cutting boards, etc. Pick up beverages: wine, non-alcoholic drinks, and seltzer, and make your shopping list. And the day before the feast, if you can spare the surface area, set the dining room table so it’s ready to go.
3. Make Your Pie Dough: Even if you don’t know what kind of pie you’re baking yet — shown here, apple-berry, bourbon-pecan, pumpkin, cranberry-lime — chances are there will be one that makes excellent use of a pâte brisée. This recipe makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust for 9- to 10-inch pies. Freeze, then thaw at room temperature for about an hour before rolling out. (Dough will keep for three months; in other words, make them any time between now and baking day.)
4. Prep Your Gravy: Yes, you can pick up a container of pre-made gravy at almost any supermarket, but here’s the basic truth: homemade gravy will always be superior. Especially when it’s not whisked up in crunchiest-crunch-times of all crunch times, i.e. the half hour in between when the turkey comes out of the oven (at which point the crucial pan juices are finally available) and everyone sits down to eat. Why subject yourself to such stress when you can do it weeks before in a calm, quiet kitchen? I don’t have a surefire gravy recipe — for me it’s one of those instinctive things I’ve never been able to wrangle into words — but Claire Saffitz has a good one (NYTimes gift link), which freezes for up to three months.
5. Clear the Fridge: One thing I really miss about my old house is that I had a basement, which is another way of saying, I had a basement refrigerator. (Did I know how lucky I was? I did, right?) In the weeks leading up to the holiday, I thought of it as a bank account where I would regularly make delicious deposits. Now that we’ve moved, I have a single small fridge, so I have to remind myself to be vigilant about food shopping the week before Thanksgiving and to make way for the gravy, wine, and pies.
6. Make Mashed Potatoes: When it comes to, imho, the most important dish on the Thanksgiving table, I do not want to sacrifice anything in terms of creaminess and heat. (Are they even mashed potatoes if they’re not piping hot with butter melting down a river before your eyes?) I was skeptical when I first learned about the casserole technique, where you make them ahead of time, and reheat in a casserole dish, but it works. The how-to: Make mashed potatoes how you normally would. Place them in a casserole dish, cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight or up to two days ahead. When ready to make: Heat the oven to 400°F. Grate Parm or sharp cheddar cheese top of the potatoes, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10, until golden and crisp on top.
7. Par-Boil Vegetables: On Thanksgiving, I almost always sauté brussels sprouts, instead of roasting, because, again: Oven space. The risk of sautéing, though, is not cooking the little things all the way through, so I prevent this by prepping and par-boiling ahead of time. Then, when they go into the pan for frying, it’s just a question of heating them through and browning if that’s what the recipe calls for. The how-to: Trim and halve brussels, then simmer in salted water for 3 minutes, immediately plunging them into an ice bath when finished. Store in a ziptop bag in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before proceeding with sautéing.
8. Bake Those Pies: Check the specific recipes that you are using, but most pies can be made up to two days in advance. And lucky you, you’ve already made the crusts, so you might even be halfway there. The day before Thanksgiving is usually when both of our girls are home, so pie-baking day has become its own ritual within the holiday. That’s my daughter brushing milk on the crust of her apple pie — neither of us can remember why there are blackberries in there, but it does look delicious.
9. Prepare Yourself for Chaos Anyway: No matter how ahead-of-the-game you are, don’t worry if your kitchen ends up looking like this on feast day. Ours always does. Remember my #1 Thanksgiving rule: Chaos is the point.
When do you start prepping for the holidays? Please share any tips! And you can follow Jenny’s newsletter Dinner: A Love Story, if you’d like.
P.S. Three very opinionated Thanksgiving rules, and what’s your Thanksgiving specialty?
(Photo by Curated Lifestyle/Unsplash. A longer version of this post was first published by Jenny on Dinner: A Love Story in 2023.)
Comments
148 commentsThis post has been *so* helpful this season!! So many things I hadn’t even thought to prepare early. I have had this in my first of open tabs on my browser, and have referenced it every day since it was shared. Thank you Jenny <3
Happy holidays, all! -we have a bigger group than normal, so we found a kitchen depot/restaurant supplier in our city that has really affordable plates/utensils. We’re sending people home with leftovers and new white plates! -we hit the library for holiday + fall themed books. My teen cousins love hosting ‘story hour’ for the younger kids…we noticed they get out of dish duty, but they’re off their phones? Ha and more impactful, it’s that priceless cousin bonding. Bonus is for my baby, we had everyone sign a share a message of gratitude…it’s priceless to see the love and the handwriting of people from near and far. Hope you all have a great holiday (whatever great looks like, as I feel like Jenny/Jo would say!)
That make ahead gravy recipe link isn’t working for me as a gift link, anybody have it somehow? This is the thing I didn’t know I needed to do but now must do before the big day.
didn’t work for me either …
I just got feedback from my son’s pediatrician that I need to try a full elimination diet for milk and soy for two weeks… which includes Thanksgiving. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions for dairy and soy free dishes/recipes? I still want to enjoy savory delights like stuffing, but the versions of stuffing I know have lots of butter in them!
The NYT vegan stuffing is very very good: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020593-vegan-stuffing And I adore all of the Thanksgiving recipes on RainbowPlantLife, especially the butternut squash mac n cheese: https://rainbowplantlife.com/30-vegan-thanksgiving-recipes-and-ideas/
try Miyoko’s Creamery European Style Salted Vegan Butter. It truly tastes like regular cultured european butter and can be used 1:1 in any recipe!
I was in this very place 9 years ago with my son during Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a challenging time with a little one! Sub olive oil and non dairy milk in mashed potatoes and other dishes, and use soy free Earth Balance in stuffing, we had a dairy and soy free spread that was delicious
So wonderful to have a post by Jenny!!!! The last picture of kitchen chaos is my favorite. I feel seen!!!
I’m always in charge of the mashed potatoes, and my make ahead trick is to make them on Wednesday and refrigerate overnight in a large storage container. Thursday morning (before we head off to our turkey trot) I put them in the crock pot with legit another whole stick of butter sliced across the top. As it warms and the butter melts all day I just give the occasional stir. But they are always A+ and don’t take any time nor stove space on the actual event day.
Only one stick of butter? Why not 4? 😂 Iykyk (see the best mashed potatoes post from 2 weeks ago)
Oh don’t worry – I’ve already made the mashed potatoes the day before with like ten million sticks of butter!!! That’s just a bonus stick day-of while they warm!
I am single and live alone and find cooking relaxing and enjoyable, and I also enjoy celebrating alone… so I shop the week before for things I don’t usually have for a holiday meal, then spend the holiday with a glass or two of wine, prepping at a totally relaxed pace with either great podcasts or music on. Whenever it’s ready, I sit down to a beautifully set table for one. I enjoy myself so much that I often feel guilty that I should invite someone to share but then that would add an element of stress that I usually get to skip. Selfish, … yes…? I know. I do feel a bit guilty. But my single life is sooooo stressful and I don’t have family or friends so lux holidays for one are my treat to myself. I truly enjoy reading about everyone’s big family gatherings too though! Maybe I’ll get to have that in another lifetime…
You are living my mom’s dream. If it were up to her she would make a lovely meal for herself and spend Thanksgiving alone. Too bad for her she has a huge family with 10 brothers and sisters :)
I have made that cranberry lime pie and it is DIVINE! But if you haven’t made custard before, just leave yourself a LOT of time. You’ll need a double-boiler, but you can jerry-rig something, either a pot with a slightly smaller pot inside, or a pot with a heat-proof (metal) bowl inside… you just want water between the heat source and the thing that has the custard in it.
Always order a Greenberg Smoked Turkey from gobblegobble.com, they are simply the best. We have it delivered on Monday and defrost it in the fridge. Smoked turkey leftovers are the bomb, they keep forever in the freezer.
One trick I learned from my mom was to fully set the table and have all of the serving dishes out, ready, and labeled with a post-it note. So there was never a last minute scramble to find a basket for the rolls, or a bowl for the salad. She would do this up to a week ahead of time! Just pace your glasses upside down so they don’t get dusty! And wait to put the silverware out. But, almost everything else can be set way in advance!
I have a smoker and, finally, last year I was allowed to make a smoked turkey as long as I roasted one too. The smoked turkey was the bomb! People were stripping the carcass bare.
is there a gift link to the cranberry pie receipe?
mine was paywalled
bon appetit doesn’t offer gift links, I’m sorry!
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cranberry-lime-pie
I found it here, available to all: https://www.foodandwine.com/cranberry-lime-curd-pie-11836789
I love and look forward to the holidays but also find them extremely lonely and isolating because my husband and I have no family (within 3000 miles) and most friends are also not local (and/or are busy with their own families) ANYWAY just to say, for every crowded table there are some empty ones and I *dream* of needing to gameplan the big meal, ha.
I hope you continue with your holiday rituals, and plan things that you both enjoy together. Many of us don’t have a spouse either, so we envy you!
Can you invite some neighbors/friends of friends/gather a group of people who miss what you miss? Or make a big deal out of Friendsgiving with all of your close peeps the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving? That way you need the gameplan, and by the time the “real” Thanksgiving comes around, you can relax with your husband – having already experienced it?
Cate, I have lived far away from family as long as I can remember and it doesn’t get easier watching them gather year after year without us. But! Thanksgiving is about gathering together and sharing and that is what we still do. We aren’t in the States so we invite people to come experience a cultural tradition that is new to them. If you are in N. America, however, there are so many lonely people or people without close family on this holiday who I am sure would love an invite to celebrate with someone. We did this growing up… It is a lovely way to get to know others and provides a beautiful warmth to the day. I hope that you can find a way to celebrate in your own way, maybe with others, and in some way, still have some of the delightful chaos of the season 😉
I’m in the same boat. My kids hate holidays bc it’s just us. We’ve had people over on different yrs but everyone we know has their own gatherings with their families. I cook and try to make it nice, but it’s always a bummer. I wish we could have a big gathering with family. They’re all on the other side of the country. This time of yr is hard. I just put my head down and get thru it every yr.
Hello, and I hear you! It’s only been the 4 of us, so for many of the last 25 years, we have invited friends that are in a similar position and have asked to bring someone who would be alone otherwise, so we had a variety of different people and it was always fun. The last few years, with older teenagers and college children, we have decided to take a family trip over Thanksgiving. We went to Rome one year, and to Portugal last year. This year, we will join the big family in Minnesota for a midwest Thanksgiving. And I am looking forward to it! Enjoy, however you celebrate and make it your day!
Cate – I’m sure you’ve considered this – but is there a soup kitchen or other community meal your family can participate in? I’m alone by choice this year and I’m going to jump into volunteering with prep and serving for our local free meal this year.
Jenny! We need more Jenny – your posts are always so helpful and realistic. Because life is chaotic and you just get it.
Love the name tags! At our house my husband makes the name tags. It started one year when he made name tags and drew each family member as a pilgrim. We all loved it, but drawing the pilgrim over and over so the next year he got more creative and made us all a Star Wars characters, and its gone on from there every year is a new theme. There have been Avengers, Zoo animals, bears, Pokemon and many more. Each year everyone looks forward to the reveal of their name tag!
Ack! I love that!!
I’m just so happy to hear from Jenny! I miss her posts!
Omigoodness… our Thanksgiving was last month (hello from Canada!) but these tips will stand me in good stead for Christmas :) The standout takeaway: The Chaos is the Point! I’m going to chant this to myself throughout the holidays! Say it with me: The Chaos is the Point! The Chaos is the Point! Hey! The Chaos is the Point! The Chaos is the Point…
Thank you for reiterating this. I am hosting my entire family and I will be chanting this all week!! THE CHAOS IS THE POINT!!
UX comment: I think this was surfaced in another post but the banner ad at the bottom of the screen is super frustrating. It makes scrolling a hassle, especially on mobile. I know it’s how you generate revenue but maybe there’s an alt placement option?
Thanks for flagging. We will look into this!
Seconded! It’s taking up a good chunk of the screen on both mobile and phone at the moment and hard to X out of.
Would love to hear what make ahead breakfasts people like to serve for everyone.
Baked tamale pie! Think: frittata with tamales inside, and whatever else (street corn, mushrooms, sauteed peppers, etc) you like. Remove corn husks from tamales, line up across baking pan, top with whatever else you like, add lots of cheese, and pour over your whisked egg mixture. Bake. Can be either assembled the day before for day-of baking, or baked the day before and reheated. Makes great leftovers. Due to ingredient *density*, may need a bit longer baking time. Serve with salsa and maybe some crumbled goat cheese, fancy hot sauces, etc.
I like a buffet table set up with a good Swedish sandwich cake like this one: https://www.sugarlovespices.com/smorgastarta-swedish-sandwich-cake/ AND or a very tall frittata with half the fridge in it. I bake them in a tall cheese cake pan with a removable bottom, and slide it onto a platter, then pre-slice. Include a serving platter of iced cinnamon rolls that you prep the night before then bake and glaze in the morning. If you do it right, you already did everything the day before. Get the kids or any spare person to set the buffet with plates, silverware, napkins, pitchers of water, mimosa juice, and or bloody mary’s, champagne, coffee station and make it pretty. Everyone self serves.
This one looks great for thanksgiving: https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipe/baking/roast-pumpkin-and-zucchini-frittata-14051/
This is what I make every year – everyone loves it! https://www.melskitchencafe.com/make-ahead-overnight-tater-tot-breakfast-casserole/
@ 303L This sounds amaizing…see what I did there, haha…But it does though, thx!
These yeasty waffles are delish. It isn’t fully make ahead because you have to crank them through the waffle iron (regular waffle iron is fine) day of, but you can (and should!) make the batter the night before and have it burbling away in the fridge overnight. We always make a double recipe and have no leftovers.
Oops. Forgot the recipe: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/belgian-style-yeast-waffles-recipe
We make a big pot of oatmeal for a group breakfast, and then set out a bunch of toppings. Butter, milk, brown sugar, bananas, berries, diced cooked apples, all sorts of toasted nuts, etc. Buckets of coffee, obviously. It’s filling but you don’t walk away feeling too stuffed to enjoy eating the rest of the day.
I am in charge of the pies! Key lime, pumpkin chiffon, pecan, and apple. I love that they are made ahead of time. My cousin makes delicious dirty mashed potatoes (skins in yes please!) and brings her crock pot, so they can stay warm at the buffet. Genius!
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/creamy-make-ahead-mashed-potatoes.html I need to share this prolific method for make ahead mashed potatoes that I get asked for the recipe all the time. You bake the potatoes and scoop out the flesh which also eliminates peeling :) I make them ahead, heat them back up in microwave and then keep them warm in the slow cooker until dinner!
GENIUS!
Love this! and then slice the potato skins thin and air fry later!
What are the best side dishes that a guest can bring? (Something substantial, not just crackers/wine) I’d love suggestions for something that can go in the car for a 10-15min ride, isn’t too fussy about reheating when oven space is short, and isn’t going to make or break dinner. Bonus if it’s vegan/veganizable. TY!
I’m a big fan of a gorgeous crudite platter. Be sure there are a couple dips. My fav is a hearty green goddess, but hummus is nice too. My grandmother would always serve olives, which are delicious and fun to stick on your fingers.
Alison Roman’s Peppered Squash Gratin! It was a huge hit at my table last year and likely to compliment (not duplicate) whatever the host is making.
I travel about 30 minutes for my family thanksgiving, and I do green bean casserole in a crockpot. I’m sure there is a good vegan recipe out there. When you get there you can either plug the crock pot in or dump the contents into a pretty serving dish.
Go for cold and sharp–salad, coleslaw or a cranberry salad.
A jar of great salad dressing, with prepped salad ingredients in a bowl with tongs. Doesn’t take oven space, frees up a lot of fridge space for the host. Or a great loaf of bread or homebaked cornbread.
A giant paté and a cheese ball, with a variety of crackers and mini breads, some fresh fruit and veg on the side. That’ll hold them over if there are at least several hours before the big meal. Be sure to remove it at least an hour before dinner because it could also ruin everyone’s appetite if they fill up on that!
I’ve done a white bean dip with rosemary on top. Serve with cut vegetables and the fancy crackers from the grocery store.
Maya, I cannot recommend this salad highly enough. I make it every year, it’s always a hit, and it travels well because the Brussels sprouts aren’t delicate like lettuce. Plus, the bright flavors are the perfect balance to the starchiness of mashed potatoes and stuffing: https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/11/brussels-sprouts-apple-and-pomegranate-salad/
Great suggestions! I’d add prepping ingredients and storing them in measured, ready-to-go containers. Day of, we’re just dumping dry ingredients, wet ingredients, and pre-chopped vegetables, cooking show style. We did it first out of necessity when road-tripping to a family meal where we had a stove/oven but limited prep equipement, but we’ve kept doing it because it saves so much time, counter space, and room for error. Also: remember that coolers keep foods cool OR warm :) We have several set out in the garage to catch dishes as they arrive until we’re ready to sit down to eat. The concept of make-ahead mashed potatoes is controversial at our family gathering. My mom and husband (lovers of mashed potatoes) swear it’s the one thing that MUST be made freshly. My BIL does make-ahead potatoes au gratin, which are delicous and have my endorsement. ;)
I don’t know why it hasn’t occured to me that mise en place could seriously reduce time on Thanksgiving day! Such a good call. Here’s my family’s new approach: cook in multiple houses before bringing the food to the gathering place. My parents cook the turkey at our house and then we bring it over to our friend’s house nearby. This means the turkey arrives still warm and our hosts have all the oven space for side dishes.
For anyone looking for a good vegetarian make-ahead gravy option, I have been making this one for years: https://food52.com/recipes/7483-vegetarian-mushroom-thyme-gravy I’m not even vegetarian, but we usually have a few people who are, and it’s nice to have a gravy that everyone can have! Plus, I honestly think it *might* be more delicious than regular turkey gravy?
I want a post where everyone shares their Thanksgiving menus. That’s it, nothing more. It’s so warm and cozy to hear everyone’s traditions and roster of holiday foods.
YES!! I would love to read a post like that.
Our family does a different type of cuisine every year and never turkey/traditional stuff! Our non-tradition is my favorite tradition. We are scattered this year and thus not doing a dinner with family, but past years have included homemade pasta, Indian food, and once we tried to make sushi!
Yes please!!
Fresh cramberries can be made the day before. My grandma used to make these and my 10 year old son LOVES them. We have already made them twice since fresh cranberries showed up in the stores. 1 bag fresh cranberries, washed 1 orange, washed and cut off the end where the stem was and the opposite end a little (to remove the thickest pith parts). Cut the orange (the WHOLE thing… inside and the skin!!) into small chunks Throw both in the food processor until finely minced. Put into a bowl and add 2/3 cup sugar (or more if you like it more sweet) and let it sit in the refridgerator overnight. If there are any leftovers it’s good on yogurt too.
This is very close to what I do – I never cook my cranberry relish – it is so fresh and delicious, with all the rich food, if you add maple syrup and orange in some way (I do supreme slices over the bowl of barely whizzed fresh cranberries [food processor] to catch the juice).
This may be a bit tacky, but I’m here to say that at our big family gathers, crock pots are our friends! Even though my mother-in-law has a double oven, I don’t think there would be enough room to get everything in the oven and out on the table at the same time and hot. Not only do the crock pots allow prep the day before and keep things like mashed potatoes and casseroles warm until mealtime, they allow people who are coming from out of town to prep and cook beforehand and just show up and plug in. If you use crock pot liners, they also help immensely with clean up. We set the tables nicely, and then after we say grace everyone grabs their plates and hits the buffet line in the kitchen. Not fancy but reduces stress and makes things easier for everyone. More focus on family and making memories!
Great ideas across the board! I’ll add that I’ve been following Sohla El-Waylly’s roasted turkey recipe for the past few years (it’s on her Instagram), dry brining the bird two days before hand and mostly hands-off cooking the day-of. Her gravy recipe can also be done in advance (using turkey wing tips and veggie scraps) and includes a bourbon flambe (!!), which is fun and adds really great depth of flavor. A lot of folks are nervous to take on the turkey, but I actually find that, with the right recipe and a digital meat thermometer, and it can be pretty hands-off, and you can spend most of the day relaxing. Don’t be afraid to take on the turkey!
1. Use Jenny’s parboil technique for brussel sprouts. Then halve or even quarter them, depending on size. Saute in a hot pan with lots of butter, top with abundant fresh chopped dill and fresh grated parm. (This is from a Trader Vic’s recipe used and circulated on a national airline a thousand years ago.) 2. Make whole cranberry sauce using the recipe on the package, swapping out water for orange juice and some fresh grated peel.
For years, we have organized all the ingredients, including premeasuring the dry ingredients, grating cheeses and putting into bags, measuring spices and seasonings, etc. and placed them into the dish they will be prepared in. Example sweet potato casserole: the sweet potatoes are cooked, mashed, measured and put in zip lock bags and placed in the casserole dish it will be baked in, alongside the premixed crumble topping, the eggs, premeasured milk, preportioned butter, etc. The whole casserole dish of ingredients goes into the fridge along with a copy of the recipe. On Thanksgiving day when it’s time to cook, its just an easy assembly and anyone in the kitchen can put it together. It ensures you have everything you need ahead of time, so no last minute missing ingredients and makes cooking so much more relaxing.
So impressive!!
Jenny!!!!! – Me, every time I see her name appear :) And I will definitely be making the gravy ahead of time this year. That’s an inspired idea, because I’m always hustling at the last minute trying to get the gravy made, and being in a rush can really mess up gravy. Thanks!
So funny about the basement being a fridge- my parents house has a kind of vestibule area between sets of outer and inner doors, which is unheated and gets frigid this time of year, so they are known to store larger items like the ham/turkey or big pots of things in there during the holidays.
We do this too! We live in Minnesota and have a 3-season back porch that’s connected to our kitchen. It’s a great backup fridge/freezer depending on the time of year!
My mom does this too. Her house and fridge are small so pies go in a cupboard on the porch, which is the same temperature as the fridge in November.
I’m going to ask my five year old to write place setting tags with everyone’s name and favorite animal! She will love it!
Radical option: My husband and I are often guests at Thanksgiving, so we often make our own Thanksgiving meal the weekend before and have it through the week. This way, we get to enjoy the dishes we like the way we make them with more time to prep and cook and enjpy. Hosts: let people bring the dish that makes the meal for them. A friend was too uptight to let anyone bring anything, so we got her rendition of all the dishes from the Williams Sonoma cookbook. She was overwhelmed and the food was OK, but letting people share what they excel at is a way to be a gracious host.
Amen, it’s a gift to the guests to be able to bring things.
Great tips, applicable to other big gatherings besides Thanksgiving. I have one query about the ‘plunging in an ice bath’ instruction, which seems to come up quite often in Jenny’s recipes. Does this mean a bowl full of ice cubes?! Maybe it’s just me, but who has a spare big bowl and a load of ice when in the middle of a cooking marathon?
It’s water and ice. You can let the ice make the water cold. The thermal shock is what you want.
The alternative for sauteed Brussels sprouts, which I think is easier than parboiling them first, is to saute them in a large pan for which you have a lid. After they’re browned, pour in a few tablespoons of water, clap the lid on top, and let the Brussels steam for a few minutes. Ideally you’d do this right before serving, so there is that logistic piece to consider, but on the whole I think it’s easier than cooking them twice.
I make turkey stock from vegetable and herb scraps that I keep in a freezer bag, and from roasted turkey wings. This makes insanely good gravy without needing the drippings, so I can make my gravy a few days ahead of time.
I too am a mashed-potatoes fanatic, so I usually bring them myself to be sure they’re present and correct. One year a host at a semi-potluck Thanksgiving asked me if any dishes were special and essential to me, and when I sang out MASHED POTATOES, she said they were covered, no worries. You guys, the fellow guest who’d called dibs on “mashed potatoes” was crash dieting and brought puréed parsnips WHIPPED WITH WATER. This was like a decade ago and I still fantasize about looking her up just to tell her how much that sucked.
Have a similar story with a friend who made mashed potatoes for thanksgiving with “ I can’t believe it’s not butter”, and skimped on it. He was surprised to learn that using lots of butter is why mashed potatoes become delicious.
That is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE morally, culinarily, and also when it comes to understanding what English words mean. “Mashed” and “potato” have meanings!!! I am outraged lol.
When my husband & I were dating (back in the 20th century!), I went to his families house for Thanksgiving and they don’t serve mashed potatoes at all. I was so bewildered how that could be a thing. I almost cried I was so sad. I now make them to make sure they are represented1
I got y’all beat: There was a year where the person who volunteered to make mashed potatoes decided not to at the last minute, and there were NO mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. Horrified, multiple extended family members brought back-up mashed potatoes the following year, in case someone fell through, and we were swimming in ‘tatoes.
My mom to me: Ask Emma to taste the mashed potatoes to see if they need more butter. Me to Emma: Grandma wants you to taste the mashed potatoes to see if they need more butter. Emma to me (without tasting the mashed potatoes): They need more butter.
how does one whip with water is my question
KS, I imagine it involved a cobwebbed, sorrow-stained altar in a mist-shrouded forest clearing on a moonless night.
Admittedly one year for Easter I brought “.healthier” deviled eggs. Never again ! Holidays are not a time for your diet ! Stick to the basics !
Puréed parsnips WHIPPED WITH WATER!? Jail. Straight to jail!
Neatly gluten free family Crowdsourcing here—our family pie game is historically EPIC. Last TG was our first where we had multiple gluten free people; I didn’t put enough (any) pre-thought into GF pie crust options and tried a few the day of and it was an across the board fail. Any go-to GF pie crust recipes or mixes out there? Not afraid of doing it homemade!
You can’t lose with a gluten free graham cracker crust pie: with the cranberry lime tart shown in the pic, or this year we are making scratch made butterscotch pie. Low effort, high reward!
Trader Joe’s sells a really good two pack of GF frozen crusts (in pan already) for a really decent price. I’ve started just relying on that for Thanksgiving for my GF sister–they were better than any I’d been able to make with GF flour and it’s nice to cut one thing out of your thanksgiving “make from scratch” list!
“Gluten-Free Baking Classics” by Annalise Roberts has been my go-to since it came out. Her pie crust recipe is exceptional—flaky, flavorful, and far less soggy than most crusts made with gluten.
I have a lot of Celiacs in my family, too. GF pie crust is very, very finnicky. I just don’t even mess with it anymore. Instead, I make an apple crisp and a pavlova with sugared cranberries. This year I am going to try a cranberry eton mess. I’ve also had fun with pomegranate jellos. It’s very festive!
To sub for graham cracker crusts, I’ve purchased gluten-free stroopwafel crumbs, pretty sure at Sprouts market if you are in the West, but I’ll bet they are other places, too. And yes to Trader Joes’s frozen gf crusts, they work great.
This recipe has become a must-make for the GF people in our family: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017817-cranberry-curd-tart. It’s so good the non-GF devour it too.
This one! https://fromscratchfast.com/easy-gluten-free-pie-crust/
Aran Goyoaga’s gf baking recipes are unparalleled imo – cannelle et vanille bakes simple has several pie crust recipes.
Any King Arthur gluten free recipe is the best there is. Their gf pie crust is great.
Adding on to my earlier comment with a public service announcement for all the celiacs out there, and the people who love them: gluten free Thanksgiving also means gluten free rolls, gravy, and stuffing (and not putting gluten-y stuffing inside the turkey so it bleeds all over the pan and makes gf gravy impossible). We use potato starch to thicken homemade gravy and it works beautifully, without that glommy sheen of cornstarch. I chop up two loaves of gf challah or white bread and make breadcrumbs a few days before to accommodate any stuffing recipe. I’ve tried multiple rolls and haven’t yet found a great yeasted option, but be aware that gf flours with xanthan gum already added don’t work well with yeast. And lastly: ask your gf-ers what they can bring. I am always thrilled to bring something if that means I get to eat.
Or just do crisps! My secret opinion (obviously I have never said this to anyone who makes me an apple pie) is that apple crisp is wayyyy better than apple pie with bad or poorly baked crust with or without gluten
I have a GF contingent in my family and I always make graham cracker crust from Pamela’s GF graham crackers. Those turn out pretty good! I also use the GF frozen ones that Whole Foods sells. I don’t think they are particularly good, but the GF contingent says they are (incorrect) and are thrilled to be catered to.
And a reminder – Trader Joe’s GF cornbread stuffing is not usually vegetarian, so if you are cooking for GF and vegetarian loved ones, keep it in mind.
With eggs: https://thepadillafamilyhomestead.com/flaky-pie-crust-recipe-gluten-free/ Vegan (my fav): https://thebananadiaries.com/gluten-free-pie-crust-recipe/
In our family, we have gluten free, dairy-free, vegetarians and pumpkin haters. Whew! The beautiful solve for this is Pinch of Yum’s Mind Blowing Chocolate Vegan Pie. We use GF oreos for the crust and I always use a lot more chocolate almond milk than the recipe says. Everyone always loves it – hope it works well for you! https://pinchofyum.com/vegan-chocolate-pie
I’ve used Trader Joe’s gluten free stuffing as a base (at least two boxes, get them before they sell out) then load them with a bunch of fresh ingredients like sauteed celery, onion, mushroom, and chestnuts or oysters,nwhichever is your thing, your own spices in addition to the packaged ones, … Make extra for plenty of leftovers of course.
I have had success with this recipe before using a cup-for-cup GF flour mix. The crust does tend to brown more quickly so keep an eye on it and maybe tent it with foil if needed. https://www.marthastewart.com/925114/gluten-free-pie-dough
Love these ideas! I will also add that even if you normally cook most of the meal, it is ok to order some or all of it if it is an off year. We hosted thanksgiving after several deaths in the family two years ago, then a big move last year. Before that, I usually went all out and made everything myself, but the last two years I just gave myself permission to order some or most of the meal and it was fine. People just want to be together anyway! This year I will probably go back to making more of the meal, but still may pick up a few things, which feels like a good balance at this stage in my life.
So helpful and fun. I’m big on enlisting help too. My Mom (91) still makes the turkey. I also make ahead and freeze, Cookie doughs, fresh pressed juices for cocktails-mocktails, punch bowl ring, phyllo dough appetizers. Flowers I have delivered day of, ordered way ahead.
Yay, Jenny is here!
That’s exactly what I thought, too!
Any suggestions for a Thanksgiving offering that could survive being packed in a suitcase for a flight (or could somehow be carried on?). We are always the host house for holidays, but this year are flying out of state to spend Thanksgiving with my remarried father-in-law and his new-to-us, very large family. Would love to bring something, even if small! We are staying in a nearby hotel, so I won’t have a kitchen to cook something there, and they live in a relatively rural area (as in, I’m not sure I could go buy a nice bottle of wine and some charcuterie platter things).
Chocolate or Cinnamon Babka. My go to travel gift for over 15 years!
Maybe some nice chocolate to add to dessert, or roasted nuts for people to snack on before dinner? This recipe is awesome!! https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/12/union-square-cafes-bar-nuts/ There is always a hostess gift too – like a nice candle, tea towels etc.
Cookies can be packed well.
Seasonally appropriate cut out cookies! Turkeys, leaves, and etc.
Sophia, I can’t recommend these apple cider caramels enough! You can make them well ahead of time, and enjoy the wrapping process slowly, then pack in ziplock bags for your carryon and hooooo buddy when I tell you the flavor is an absolute delight on the tongue! They are small little blasts of holiday love and coziness in this tiny, parchment-wrapped package. I’d bring them with me when traveling for Christmas pre-kid, and they were always a big hit. My only suggestion is to be careful if you pack them with any other strong flavors. One year I made a huge batch and thought I’d save time/space by shipping them with some other gifts, which included bars of handmade citrus sage soap from a local craft market, and just being boxed together the caramels took on the flavor of the soap not in a fun way ;) Happy Seasons! https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/10/apple-cider-caramels/
How about some lovely expensive imported chocolates, or a few tins of smoked tuna or oysters and some fancy crackers?
cheese straws!
I have successfully packed wine and/or local beer in my suitcase for gifts when traveling. Cookies would be an easy one, but that’s maybe more Christmas. Otherwise, ship something ahead of time. There are quite a few charcuterie options that do nationwide delivery.
Yes to all the snacky ideas! A nibbling starter from where you live is always good, but we often do 7layer bars as a desert contribution. The nutty biscuity chocolate mix is a great counterpoint to pie and they travel well!
For a hostess gift, I always love when someone gives me pretty kitchen towels! Mine always get very well used, but I somehow feel like buying new ones to replace perfectly serviceable ones with pretty new ones is too much a splurge.
If you’re flying, can you grab a fancy bottle of something from the duty free? Champagne is always a very festive host gift, IMO.
Not sure where you are located, but people who don’t live on the West Coast love See’s candy.
If you feel like making something, home made granola in big glass jars are nice. They pack well and you can bust them out at the breakfast table to share
I would bring a nice bag of pistachios and a pistachio dish to serve them in and collect the shells. Every time I’m at a party and someone brings those they are a hit and they would pack easily. You could leave the dish as a hostess gift.
Have something sent from GoldBelly.
Homemade in advance, do a gigantic batch, bag in an XL cello bag with an extravagant french ribbon, voila: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/the-best-holida/ Alternately: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/candied-peanut/
Oh I second champagne x a million. Always festive and you can either pack a nice bottle and check it, or look for delivery options like Drizly! Another fun idea is to have Jeni’s Splendid ice-cream shipped to their house! I’ve done that a few times and it’s always a wonderful and welcome surprise!
bring or ship ahead chocolates from here (yummmm) : https://artisanconfections.com/
I second the See’s candy rec here if you are from the west coast! When we are hosting I love receiving holiday snack baskets and stuff that we can easily just set out as nibbles for the crowd throughout the week/weekend. This year we are visiting my husband’s parents and I think I’m going to send something from Boarderie ahead of time: https://boarderie.com/products/large-thanksgiving-charcuterie-board
Similarly to the opinion that homemade gravy is best, I strongly prefer homemade cranberry sauce with whole, fresh cranberries! It’s not that difficult to make and can be prepped ahead of time. I like the recipe from Sam Sifton’s Thanksgiving cookbook.
our over-the-top standard is that both versions of cranberry sauce are available. They scratch different itches!
You are giving me such great feels, Janine and Joy. I’ve always made my granny’s cranberry-orange relish, but my late husband just wanted good old Ocean Spray jellied sauce. I can’t help opening a can even though he’s not here anymore…there’s always someone who wants it.
Controversial! But this year I made not enough fresh cranberry sauce for our Canadian Thanksgiving (I like heaps) and supplemented it with a can of Ocean Spray and it was delish
Last year I tried America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe for Cranberry-Clementine Relish and it became an instant must-have for all future Thanksgivings.
My husband will only eat perfectly cylindrical slices of cranberry sauce unmolded from a can, with the can ridges on the sides of the slices. It’s like JELLO!!
@Ellen- I’m laughing bc I am a die-hard canned cranberry sauce fan, but depise jello!!! Go figure
Janine, I’m with you! I grew up with a very culinary-minded grandma who took great pride in homemade everything for Thanksgiving. My husband’s family lives for Heinz gravy in a jar, canned cran and Stovetop stuffing. My MIL cooks her turkey in a plastic bag. I had to go cry in a closet to my mom on the phone the first Thanksgiving I spent with them I was so disappointed! A decade of married life later… my husband is an excellent and enthusiastic cook with me now. We cook the bird Smitten Kitchen-style (those jammy onions!!) and it’s always delicious. We create a basic menu and let people sign up for what they want, and we always encourage people to bring what makes their hearts happy, which means that alongside my beautiful homemade relish is a can of Ocean Spray, and next to my leek and celery stuffing, there is a box of Stove Top. C’est la vie!
My husband and I usually split cooking tasks for the Thanksgiving dinner, my mother brings the turkey, and a few guests may contribute sides. I get the tables set up and make most of my assigned dishes the day before- mashed potatoes (I can attest to the casserole trick!), mashed root veggies, cranberries, a dessert of some sort, massage the kale and roast sweet potatoes for the salad. Then the morning of, I get to clear out of the house and go for a nice long walk before guests arrive while my husband makes the stuffing and the rolls. It took us a few years but we have finally got it down to a science (having mostly the same menu every year also helps!). We look forward to Thanksgiving every year because it is just about hanging out and eating good food- no other pressure or expectation!
That is what I love about Thanksgiving. A great excuse to get together for a really good dinner and a nice walk in crisp air. Canadian thanksgiving being based out from the Xmas season makes this even easier.