The final countdown!
We’re arrived at Thanksgiving week, and the preparations are really in
high gear now. To stay on top of your
host home to-do list, here are some suggestions:
1) Map out your week, planning the preparatory steps for
each day. Make notes. Make lists.
Mark up your planner, a notepad, or your phone’s calendar chart. Decide what you need to accomplish from
Sunday to Thursday, broken down and divided, to ensure the turkey sees the
table right on time.
2) Clean out before buying your groceries. A crumbly bag of stale chips? An expired tub
of sour cream? A freezer-burned,
unidentifiable piece of what could be . . . meat? Don’t let food items in your fridge, freezer,
and pantry that will never meet a mouth again take up your storage space and
cram the good stuff wherever it will fit.
Do a clean out, looking at dates and for practical usability, so when
the good holiday groceries come home, they’ll have welcome – and ample – space
right up front.
3) Buy your groceries.
Plan for time, and don’t be in an after school or work rush, which can
cause you to overlook important ingredients.
Why rush back for missed items?
Use that master list you perfected last week, give it a good look again
to make sure you’ve checked all your boxes, and head home loaded down and
confident you’re ready to cook.
4) Set your table in advance. Now that you’re all decorated and ready, set
the table with the plates, silverware, and glasses you will use for your
feast. It keeps them out of circulation
(and the dishwasher), and it keeps this step from being a last minute
throw-together. Set aside your dessert
plates, too, and any serving pieces you don’t intend to use prior to Thursday.
5) Make your oven chart.
Whether you have one or two, the timing of what goes in, what comes out
when, at what temperature, and what needs to rest before serving is a delicate
dance that needs a pen-to-paper approach.
Write out a well thought out plan and follow it closely.
6) Spread out your prep work. The whole meal need not come together
Thursday morning starting in the wee hours.
Some dishes can be prepped if not baked in advanced to spread out the
workload and the strain on your kitchen space and supplies. Make pies the day before. Compile side dishes ahead of time that are
ready to heat through while the turkey rests.
Consider the use of a slow cooker or warmer. Determine how you can stretch your workload
over time to keep the prep just as enjoyable as the dining.
7) Have fun! Enjoy
this time together with family and friends.
Do your best, but remember that perfection is not the goal here;
spending a wonderful, memorable Thanksgiving together is. From our family to yours, have a very blessed,
grateful, and Happy Thanksgiving!
DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star November 23rd.
