Thanksgiving Shopping and Prepping
I love the holidays, I like feeding people but I also want to be pampered and taken care of.....a conundrum for sure! Going on strike many years ago solved some of it for a while. I have always wanted to go to San Francisco for Thanksgiving and we almost did it. Then Alexis,the eating out kid, put the stop to it. My solution was okay you love eating at home so much, you guys cook Thanksgiving. I made the rolls and pie and spent the day sewing! What we all learned is that I did the meal by feel and my two at home geeks at the time were horrified! I have a lot to thank them for, first the research that they did and which is now part of my holiday recipe files. The most amazing part of that dinner was it was ready at noon, we actually ate lunch on time! Today, Jerry and I are empty nesters, so some Thanksgivings we actually have smoked the turkey and eaten outside picnic style! or we get together with other folks that are also minus extended family but love to cook and hang out. I am not into the big community events, I worry a little bit about food safety and too many people. In this installmnet I am sharing the planning pieces, process, timing, shopping, etc.
1-have a discussion about what is important on Thanksgiving, is it the food, the game, the parade, old favorites, tradition or novelty? We once ate a peking duck and I don't remember the sides. It was take out! That day was all about my first Macy's Day Parade. Jerry and I have pared down our Thanksgiving choices and we started with tradition that evolved to a very personal version of Thanksgiving at Casa Brisson.
2. Spend several days planning the menu. The actual writing it out is fast but the mulling over it and thinking about it is important. An important menu planning tip is to visualize your plate and table setting. 3- 4 items on the plate, plus bread, plus dessert is generally enough. Trying to make too many items can make your crazy and most of us don't have a commercial kitchen. The center of the traditional plate is generally beige so the other 1-2 items need to pop with color, Green, Red or Orange come to mind quickly. So if I serve, Turkey, Stuffing, Green beans (or Broccoli or Brussels Sprouts), Cranberries and Sweet Potato/Yam, I already have 5 then I add rolls and pie. Done! 7 items to prepare.
3. More planning, now come the recipes, shopping lists and prepping. I started buying fresh turkeys so I would not have to thaw them, Yes, they are more expensive but are so tasty and the texture, Mmmmm! Cranberry sauce can be made as soon as the first cranberries are on the shelves, they can be frozen or just put in a tightly sealed container in the back of the refrigerator. A cooked cranberry sauce is a chutney and they have enough sugar and acid that they stay very well. I actually make a lot of sauce and freeze it so I can have it all year with poultry and pork. I love my cranberry sauce. Warning, it is tart and nothing like canned. Order the turkey in October by November the pickings may be slim. If you do buy a frozen turkey read the label and follow the thawing instructions and it is not a bad idea to add an extra half to whole day in the refrigerator. A week is not unrealistic, also be sure to put a pan that is 1-2 inches bigger around than the bird. Be sure it is at the bottom of the refrigerator so that nothing can be contaminated by drippings that could get out of the packaging. Turkey is a big food safety concern. Everything else is day of Thanksgiving. I try to have all the other perishable shopping done by Monday or when your store stocks it's vegetables.
I hope this note got you thinking about Thanksgiving planning so on the day you can enjoy your friends and family, Buen Provecho, Elsa
1-have a discussion about what is important on Thanksgiving, is it the food, the game, the parade, old favorites, tradition or novelty? We once ate a peking duck and I don't remember the sides. It was take out! That day was all about my first Macy's Day Parade. Jerry and I have pared down our Thanksgiving choices and we started with tradition that evolved to a very personal version of Thanksgiving at Casa Brisson.
2. Spend several days planning the menu. The actual writing it out is fast but the mulling over it and thinking about it is important. An important menu planning tip is to visualize your plate and table setting. 3- 4 items on the plate, plus bread, plus dessert is generally enough. Trying to make too many items can make your crazy and most of us don't have a commercial kitchen. The center of the traditional plate is generally beige so the other 1-2 items need to pop with color, Green, Red or Orange come to mind quickly. So if I serve, Turkey, Stuffing, Green beans (or Broccoli or Brussels Sprouts), Cranberries and Sweet Potato/Yam, I already have 5 then I add rolls and pie. Done! 7 items to prepare.
3. More planning, now come the recipes, shopping lists and prepping. I started buying fresh turkeys so I would not have to thaw them, Yes, they are more expensive but are so tasty and the texture, Mmmmm! Cranberry sauce can be made as soon as the first cranberries are on the shelves, they can be frozen or just put in a tightly sealed container in the back of the refrigerator. A cooked cranberry sauce is a chutney and they have enough sugar and acid that they stay very well. I actually make a lot of sauce and freeze it so I can have it all year with poultry and pork. I love my cranberry sauce. Warning, it is tart and nothing like canned. Order the turkey in October by November the pickings may be slim. If you do buy a frozen turkey read the label and follow the thawing instructions and it is not a bad idea to add an extra half to whole day in the refrigerator. A week is not unrealistic, also be sure to put a pan that is 1-2 inches bigger around than the bird. Be sure it is at the bottom of the refrigerator so that nothing can be contaminated by drippings that could get out of the packaging. Turkey is a big food safety concern. Everything else is day of Thanksgiving. I try to have all the other perishable shopping done by Monday or when your store stocks it's vegetables.
I hope this note got you thinking about Thanksgiving planning so on the day you can enjoy your friends and family, Buen Provecho, Elsa
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