“Planning Ahead,” Jean SandersI read someplace on the internet that whoever scheduled Halloween, the clock change, and the presidential election all in the same week has some explaining to do. We have had too much of sugar highs, a dog who keeps waking up an hour earlier than the humans, and emotional swings that cannot be regulated by cheap white wine. And yesterday I ate the very last Halloween Snickers bar, so I am all out of sources of instant gratification.
I’ve decided instead to use the energy produced by my anxiety for good! We are looking forward to our mini family reunion at Thanksgiving with our children, their spouses, and two grandchildren at a rented lake house. Luke the wonder dog is coming along with us, just to add to the fun – I hope he doesn’t meet his match with the energetic 4-year-old.
Holiday cooking at rental houses can be fraught with complications because you never know what to bring, and how close the nearest grocery store is. I tend to over prepare and I bring it all: the KitchenAid stand mixer, the cookie sheets, the roasting pan, the rolling pin, the gravy separator, the electric knife, a few platters, rolls of aluminum foil, parchment paper and Saran Wrap for the leftovers, mayonnaise for the leftovers turkey sandwiches, candles, tablecloths, you name it, it will be packed in the back of the car along with Luke’s crate. A case of wine. Diet Coke. Half and half, heavy cream, oat milk, 2% milk. We never travel light.
I have been reading all manner of helpful holiday hints: what can we make ahead of time so we don’t need to cook every single menu item on the actual day of Thanksgiving. Without giving folks ptomaine poisoning. I need to formulate an actual meal plan instead relying on my normal tendency of just winging it – there will be the expectations of 7 other people to meet, after all. It makes sense to keep a list, and smugly tick off each dish as the preparations proceed.
Food & Wine says that we can make lots of the meal beforehand: stuffing, casseroles, all the veggies, gravy, turkey stock, desserts, and in theory, we could prepare the Brussels sprouts, though I think not. No Brussels sprouts for us! Give us green beans, but hold the mushroom soup. Note to self: remember to buy the cranberries this year. Last year we inadvertently went cranberry-free – but no one else noticed. I hope. Food & Wine
Food & Wine discourages making rolls, mashed potatoes or cornbread before the big day. But other food experts offer different opinions. The Pioneer Woman suggests that a huge time saver is making the potatoes ahead of time. Personally, I love peeling 5 pounds of potatoes in a strange kitchen, all by myself, every year, while the others are off enjoying child-oriented activities and photo ops while the meal clock ticks. Sorry Food & Wine, this year I am mashing the potatoes early. Pioneer Woman
The Food Network espouses their theory that the entire meal can be made ahead of time and then frozen. My deep-seated fear of food poisoning comes into play here – we have a 5-hour drive on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I imagine that our Yeti-adjacent cooler will not keep everything frozen rock hard and germ resistant, but maybe this would work for you. You can be fresh as a daisy on Thanksgiving, having done the yeoman’s work a couple of days ahead, and you can focus on passing hors d’oeuvres and watching touch football in the front yard. I envy your panache. Food Network And personally – if you ever freeze whipped cream instead of serving it fresh, right out of the mixing bowl, you should be ashamed of yourself. You might as well use Cool Whip on top of your pumpkin pie. Shocking!
What started me down this particular garden path was a 4-page recipe I found from America’s Test Kitchens for “Make Way Ahead Dinner Rolls”. I am always interested in irresistible carbs, which is why Thanksgiving is my favorite meal. I am sure that these dinner rolls are divinely tasty, warm and yeasty, dripping with good, salted Irish butter. Make-Way-Ahead Dinner Rolls But I know for a fact that the Pepperidge Farm dinner rolls that I will pick up Tuesday night at the Food Lion that is just 5 miles from our rental house are going to be delicious, too. Which will leave me plenty of leisure time for family photo ops and whipping the cream. Use your time wisely. Life is short. Gobble, gobble.
More from Ina Garten, who knows her way around a kitchen:Ina Garten Thanksgiving
“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.”
― Mark Twain
