First Thanksgiving!

[NakedFinger]

Ok so as kind of a spin-off of my "domestic goddess" thread, which that I am not!

My FF and I decided to do Thanksgiving this year since we bought a new house, and have this big huge dining room with a 14 person table...might as well get some use out of it!

This will be my first time hosting Thanksgiving. Any advice, words of wisdom, or "i wish someone told me that the first time I did Thanksgiving", from the more "seasoned" PS'ers out there? Timing....great "first timer" sides....tips for cooking a turkey for someone who has never cooked one??? My family knows I'm not making any promises...we may end up needing to order Chinese! Hehe

Thanks in advance!

 

[asscherisme]

I have a good one for you. My first Thanksgiving as a Newylywed I cooked the turkey and realized AFTER it was fully cooked when I went to carve it that there were TWO plastic bags of stuff inside. I thought there was only one bag and only removed one bag. Because I had cooked the turkey with plastic inside, it was inedible. I was really embarrased and we ended up having a Thanksgiving dinner with just the fixings and pie and the Turkey went into the garbage. Now its funny but I was really really embarrased at the time. Especially since we had guests!

Edited to add, get a good meat thermometer. Its reallly important to get the core temp hot enough. I can't remember the number, but its easy to find online or most turkeys have it on the package. Takes the guess work out of cooking. Also, the recipie on the inside of the butterball turkey on how to roast it is really good. I always brush the outside of the turkey with melted butter before cooking to keep it from drying out. Watch it closely and if the core temp is not hot enough, but it looks like its browing too much, put tin foil on the top so it does not burn or dry out.

I only buy butterball turkeys and have never had a problem. I buy the frozen butterball and put it in my fridge 3 to 4 days ahead to thaw. If its still frozen on thanksgivng day, you can thaw it using cool water in your sink.

Make sure to wipe down your counters and sink wit hsome sort of disenfectant if it touches the raw turkey.

Its really easy to make a turkey. Easier than it seems.

I always but a large disposable roaasting pan at the grocery store and put it on a large cooke sheet for stability and the best part is no scrubbing or cleaing the roasting pan. It gets so gross after cooking and I can just toss it!

 

[purselover]

Great thread, we''re hosting our first Thanksgiving too so I''d love any advice as well.

 

[Haven]

I made my first Thanksgiving last year, and it was so much fun! We only had 18 people, I believe, so it wasn''t too big.

Here''s what I do when I''m cooking for a crowd:
- I create the menu and a prep schedule as far ahead as I can manage
- Then, I create shopping lists based the schedule and put the shopping date at the top (e.g. All make-ahead dishes go on one list, all day-of dishes on another)
- Then, I organize my shopping list by food type so I can go right down the list and check things off as I shop. (e.g. I buy all non-perishables first, so those are first on my list and arranged by store location, and of course fresh produce and refrigerated items are last. I copy the ingredients lists into excel spreadsheets, so that makes it easy to cut and paste in order. This REALLY makes my shopping trips easy.)
- On the menu I note which cooking/baking dish and which serving dish I plan to use for each item to make sure I have enough.
- I also note what time and at what temp each item needs to be cooked so I can make sure I have the oven space.
- Clean out your fridge before the big day so leftovers and guest dishes will fit.
- If people offer to bring something, let them! Delegating soda is the best because 2 liters are so cumbersome to carry and they take up a lot of space. (And we don''t drink soda, so I never know what to buy.)
- Count your dishes and linens beforehand, and make sure the linens are pressed and ready days before the event.
- Figure out your decorations a week ahead so you''re not worrying about that, too.
- If you''re having kids over, a couple boxes of crayons and some fall coloring books go a long way for keeping the peace.
- DH and I start the thorough house cleaning a week ahead of time. We do one last sweep and vacuum the day of, but everything else is taken care of by then.
- The night before I set out all of the serving dishes on the buffet and put mini post-it notes in them with the name of the dish I plan to put in them. This way anyone who comes early to help can find them without taking me out of the kitchen.
- I also set out the linens for the table and buffet the night before. If you have pets, just make sure you keep them out of the dining area if you do this!

Planning Thanksgiving was as much fun as hosting it!

I used allrecipes.com as a resource for great Thanksgiving recipes. It''s a great resource for things you''ve never made before because you can read hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of reviews that give you insight into how the recipe works and what should be changed. Let me know if you want links to some of the successful allrecipes I used last year.

Have fun! There''s no better way to warm up a new house than a table full of loved ones!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Invest in a good meat thermometer and use it. Roasting recipes always give a time, but it''s approximate and the timing can change based on individual ovens, degree of turkey thawdness, etc. Having an underdone turkey is really embarrassing when you have a table full of hungry people. Been there, done that.

 

[sctsbride09]

Ok Ive got a few..1. put out the platters/ china / tableware the night before 2. stick with dishes you know, if you have to, delegate a few items to family or other guests. Even if its just rolls or a simple side dish, it takes weight off you. 3. Make a timeline of what you will be cooking, so that you can make proper use of the oven/range. My first year, I didnt do that, and dishes were done at different times. 4. Have a glass of wine and relax before your guests arrive, nobody likes a stressed out host. Im sure Ill think of more later...

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I third the suggestions of delegating out dishes. I did this last time and ended up only having to make the turkey and mashed potatoes. Everyone else brought the other sides and all I had to do was warm them up in the oven while the turkey was resting.

 

[elrohwen]

One tip is that turkeys are very easy to cook. Everyone will give you a million tips about how they make the best turkey in the entire world. Really, you can stuff the thing, throw it in the oven, and it'll be ok. I've tried turkeys with many variations and every single one has tasted exactly the same. Lol So don't fret too much about the turkey. Try one of the fancier methods if you feel up to it, but just roast the darn thing with salt and pepper if you want. No one will be able to tell the difference.

Make your own cranberry sauce. All you really have to do is buy some cranberries, boil them in water with some sugar, and you're done. Everyone is always extremely impressed by homemade cranberry sauce, yet it's so easy that we made the non-cooking college roommate do this one year and even he could do it. (eta: I believe the recipe is on the bag)

Also, I'm not sure where you live, but there are a lot of grocery stores that offer good side dishes ready made. If you think you're going to be overwhelmed, I would suggest picking up one or two extras. It's so nice when you don't have to worry about the green beans or something.

Good luck!

ETA: Those throw away roasting pans from the store are awesome! I always use one. I also second the meat thermometer thing. Turkeys have that little pop up thing, but a real thermometer works so much better.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Haven gave you a perfect checklist. I do the same thing for every party.

I am not a big turkey fan, usually when it is just my family we do lobsters from lobster.net, but if we do turkey I always buy a fresh one. I think they come
out much better than a frozen one. But that''s just me. I hate to do the whole thawing thing.

I love receipes from Pam Anderson. (not the big boob one!) Her books are called "the perfect receipe" and they really are. She has tried so many variations, it''s
a great resource. You can probably find them at any library.

Have fun! I hope you will tell us how it went after the big day!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Oooh I love the lobster idea (I don''t care for Turkey much either), but I think DH would divorce me if I ever served lobster in place of turkey....

Another hint. If you''re just doing Turkey day for a few people (like 2-4), don''t bother with roasting an entire bird. Just get a few turkey breasts and roast those. It''s a lot more manageable, takes less time and you''ll still have plenty of meat for leftovers. You can even buy drumsticks for people who prefer dark meat.

I had to do the turkey breast thing the year my turkey was underdone. We decided to trash the bird but then realized we had no turkey for open face sandwiches (a crime in my husband''s eyes), so I went out that night, bought two turkey breasts and an hour or so later we had beautiful turkey.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 10/20/2009 12:19:46 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Oooh I love the lobster idea (I don''t care for Turkey much either), but I think DH would divorce me if I ever served lobster in place of turkey....

Another hint. If you''re just doing Turkey day for a few people (like 2-4), don''t bother with roasting an entire bird. Just get a few turkey breasts and roast those. It''s a lot more manageable, takes less time and you''ll still have plenty of meat for leftovers. You can even buy drumsticks for people who prefer dark meat.

I had to do the turkey breast thing the year my turkey was underdone. We decided to trash the bird but then realized we had no turkey for open face sandwiches (a crime in my husband''s eyes), so I went out that night, bought two turkey breasts and an hour or so later we had beautiful turkey.

Unless you''re my DH. Even for 4 people he forces me to make a 20lb turkey so he''ll have enough leftovers. He''s a big eater

 

[Haven]

Cornish hens work too if you don''t have a lot of people.

My mom is doing a smaller turkey plus a turkey breast because DH''s family eats a lot of white meat.

 

[TooPatient]

Homemade cranberry sauce is SO EASY. I use orange juice in place of the water for extra yummy flavor.
Rinse the cranberries (fresh is best - and less expensive) and put them in a pan. Pour in enough orange juice to come about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the berries. Add sugar (a little at a time is best because you can always add more - I usually start with about 1/2 cup per pound of cranberries). Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Let cook until most of the berries have popped open. Remove from heat.
The cranberries will thicken as they cool.


We always start with a frozen turkey. Fresh can be damaged or bruised during shipping to the store.

 

[Camille]

Great advice given

Figure out how many people you are having first.
Write down your menu and to do list soon and start shopping[canned/frozen stuff] to avoid crowds.
Checking out your china/utensils now will save last minute cleaning/buying.
*I agree with others....buy a few pre made things to save time ie Costco cranberry sauce [pretty close to MIL's recipe]

*I know the BIRD is the star of the night but not in hour family lol I need two ovens empty, people always bring stuff and they want to keep it warm so....my big secret:
I bake mine a day ahead, sliced/deboned [only legs/wings left intact] arranged on a baking dish and marinated in fresh boiling gravy, parked in the fridge overnight and heat up next day s l o w l y w/o worries....every slice is moist and it looks pretty with sage leaves under the skin.
*Gravy is covered w/layer of plastic wrap to avoid thick skin and refrigerated for next day.
*Salad gets prepared a day ahead by placing the homeade dressing at the base of the serving bowl layered with sliced carrots then veggies, sealed with plastic wrap ready for mixing next day, never fails as long as the greens aren't wet in the first place.
*Dessert is always my tall cheesecake, can be made 2 days ahead as long as it's sealed w/plastic wrap/boxed in the fridge, piping decorations only take 1 minute on the day of and again, people bring lots of sweets.
*DH doesn't cook much but he makes a mean roast outside, slow..slow...slow from 7am until 5pm... that gets carved on the table.
*Ignore all of the above and have fun....it's not about food, it's about opening your doors to people you like, even if you buy ready to heat dinner at the store, it's all good.

 

[soocool]

I am remembering my first Thanksgiving and I have learned a lot since then. I alternate Thanksgivings with my sister but we both came up with this plan.

1. Make a list and don''t be afraid to ask family members to bring a side dish and have them tell you what they are bringing. The first year we have 5 people bring cranberry sauce and only one dessert. Good thing we had desserts in the freezer!

2. Set the table, the night before and make place cards and assign seats. It makes it so much easier when you don''t seat people who don''t like each other next to one another, unless you like drama with your turkey.

3. For the past 6 years I have been buying frozen pre-baked turkeys (Butterball, Jenny-O, etc a few other brands out there) and they are very very good. I buy 2 - 10 lb pre-baked turkeys. I heat up one first (about 2 hours to reheat) , cut the first one up and place it in a roaster to keep warm while I am heating the other one up(when I pull out the second one, I put the carved up one back in the oven to get it hot...just about 10 minutes). That way there are 4 drumsticks, wings, to go around. And people can start eating while the second one is getting carved up and it doesn''t get cold before you are able to sit down and enjoy.

4. Designate one person to be the bartender. I am sure a family member would be more than happy. In our family, the guys "duke it out " to see who will serve the drinks. Keep sodas in a cooler filled with ice (keep one bag of ice unopened. This takes up less room in your fridge and freezer. We buy disposable (plastic) glasses for drinks now. We had too many casualties with glassware in the past and the kids love to drink soda/milk out of plastic martini glasses.

5. If you have a large crowd chafing dishes are a blessing to keep the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and veggies warm. I also, have 2 steamers and steam my veggies then place them in the chafing dishes.

6. Set up your coffeemakers earlier with everything set up and ready to go for after dinner. We bought a Keurig single serve coffeemaker with the pods and are debating whether we want to use it for Thanksgiving this year.

7. I run the pots and pans and cooking utensils through the dishwasher while we are sitting down eating. Then by the time we are done and setting up for dessert, my sister clears out the dishwasher and then I load with dishes and flatware from dinner and run that. DD is then everything ready for dessert. If you do this you''ll find that you don''t have a mess to deal with before bedtime or first thing in the morning.

Don''t be afraid to assign jobs on Thanksgiving, especially family members. It will keep them from being underfoot and they love to help. We have the greatest time!

SAVE your turkey carcasses and make turkey soup!!! YUMMY. You can also freeze the soup for later.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

I always have a smaller number of guests since DH and my family all live out of state. I''ve been roasting duck every year from a local organic farmer (up in McKinney for anyone local to Dallas), and even with a slightly larger guestlist, I''ll still do 2 or more rather than 1 huge turkey because 1) it takes less time, and 2) duck is more delicious, IMO.

Oh, and for those Southern cooks out there, I gained huge amounts of inspiration for this past year''s menu from Mike at Mike''s Table - http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2008/11/28/a-southern-thanksgiving/

His list of recipes: http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2008/11/25/thanksgiving-2008-some-ideas/

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 10/20/2009 2:44:09 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier
I always have a smaller number of guests since DH and my family all live out of state. I''ve been roasting duck every year from a local organic farmer (up in McKinney for anyone local to Dallas), and even with a slightly larger guestlist, I''ll still do 2 or more rather than 1 huge turkey because 1) it takes less time, and 2) duck is more delicious, IMO.

Oh, and for those Southern cooks out there, I gained huge amounts of inspiration for this past year''s menu from Mike at Mike''s Table - http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2008/11/28/a-southern-thanksgiving/

His list of recipes: http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2008/11/25/thanksgiving-2008-some-ideas/

LtP, how hard is it to do duck? I''ve been looking for duck breasts, but my fabulous local store only sells whole ducks. I''ve heard it can get messy with the amount of fat that renders out. I would love to do a whole duck for Thanksgiving this year - how difficult is it? Is there a ton of fat to get rid of or have you not had much of a problem with that? I just don''t want to be dealing with pints and pints of boiling hot duck fat

P.S. I completely agree that duck is more delicious than turkey!

 

[TravelingGal]

My brother deep frys the turkey for us. Oh god, is that thing good!!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 10/20/2009 3:21:21 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 10/20/2009 2:44:09 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier
I always have a smaller number of guests since DH and my family all live out of state. I''ve been roasting duck every year from a local organic farmer (up in McKinney for anyone local to Dallas), and even with a slightly larger guestlist, I''ll still do 2 or more rather than 1 huge turkey because 1) it takes less time, and 2) duck is more delicious, IMO.

Oh, and for those Southern cooks out there, I gained huge amounts of inspiration for this past year''s menu from Mike at Mike''s Table - http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2008/11/28/a-southern-thanksgiving/

His list of recipes: http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2008/11/25/thanksgiving-2008-some-ideas/

LtP, how hard is it to do duck? I''ve been looking for duck breasts, but my fabulous local store only sells whole ducks. I''ve heard it can get messy with the amount of fat that renders out. I would love to do a whole duck for Thanksgiving this year - how difficult is it? Is there a ton of fat to get rid of or have you not had much of a problem with that? I just don''t want to be dealing with pints and pints of boiling hot duck fat

P.S. I completely agree that duck is more delicious than turkey!

OMG, send that duck fat over to me!

The first bird I ever roasted on my own was a duck and it came out fabulously. They generally allow you to spend less time in the kitchen, and if it''s only 1 or 2 couples, it''s the perfect size with a bit for leftovers. I just followed some simple instructions including removing the gizzards and making a duck stock out of them, preheat the oven to 425, dry the bird completely so the skin crisps nicely, prick the skin behind the wings, thighs, and on the back, salt and pepper the cavity and the outside of the duck, stuff with shallots, citrus juice, and fresh herbs. I place it fairly high in a roasting pan so it doesn''t swim in it''s own fat and throw it in at 425 for about 15 minutes, then drop the temp to 350 for 30-40 minutes. Flip it, cooking for about 10-15 more minutes and sprinkle the breast with salt to crisp up the breast skin until you get to 150-165 degrees. I like my duck medium rare with slightly pink juices.

Then I strain the fat and save it for frying potatoes, rubbing all over a turkey or roasted chicken, or basically swapping it out for anything you would use butter for. By the way, duck fat is healthier than butter.

Here are some great step by step guides and some recipes I love! I''ve tried them both and they''re written perfectly!

http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2008/11/21/roasted-duck-with-spiced-ginger-cranberry-sauce/

http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2008/04/10/roast-duck-with-orange-sauce/

 

[elrohwen]

Thank you, LtP! I think duck will be on our Thanksgiving menu this year

And it doesn''t sound nearly as scary as I thought.

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 10/20/2009 10:31:03 AM
Author:NakedFinger
Ok so as kind of a spin-off of my ''domestic goddess'' thread, which that I am not!

My FF and I decided to do Thanksgiving this year since we bought a new house, and have this big huge dining room with a 14 person table...might as well get some use out of it!

This will be my first time hosting Thanksgiving. Any advice, words of wisdom, or ''i wish someone told me that the first time I did Thanksgiving'', from the more ''seasoned'' PS''ers out there? Timing....great ''first timer'' sides....tips for cooking a turkey for someone who has never cooked one??? My family knows I''m not making any promises...we may end up needing to order Chinese! Hehe

Thanks in advance!

Can I just say that I am soooooooooooooo jealous!!!

That sounds awesome. Good luck with Thanksgiving!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

My best advice: keep loads of liquer, wine and beer on hand. Drunk guests always have more fun and notice less if the meal isn't perfect.

We've done a bunch of thanksgivings and it's always enjoyable except for all the grease left over. Not sure why but there ends up being a film of yuck on all the counters.

Also - DO NOT use a nice and/or favorite table cloth. One year I used a hand made table cover my grandmother stitched flowers into. It was gorgeous and I wanted to show it off. It was utterly ruined.

Good luck.

ETA - also make sure nobody has any food "issues," and if so, accomodate them. In our family, we have a dairy allergy person, a vegan, a vegetarian, a few who only drink entire bottles of wine, etc. Ask people to bring stuff to introduce to the whole group that is acceptable (to their dietary needs) to share with everyone. To the wine people - ask them to bring their own. One *uninvited* guest showed up a few years back and brought two bottles and pounded one of them.

 

[NakedFinger]

Ladies- First thank you SO much for this truly valuable information. Thank you for taking the time to give me well thought out and helpful responses. I must say, I am very nervous and very excited at the same time! I went shopping to get linens, place mats, runner, napkins, etc so I can put together a nice table-scape (love to see any photos of all your previous spreads!

)

Asscher: That is SO funny! That''s what I was worried about. I always see "funniest home videos" of people serving a frozen turkey, or one women thinking the gizzards were the stuffing that came with the turkey, etc Just trying to avoid any blond moments that I can tend to have!

Haven: You are a doll! Thanks, this info is so useful! Never occurred to me to think about having enough serving dishes...and guess what...I dont!

Guess I have more shopping to do!

All ladies, again thank you for your help. My favorite is sctsbride recommending I have a glass of wine before and relax (very good point!) and MC''s suggestion of having plenty of booze for everyone else so they dont notice if the food is bad! Haha

 

[somethingshiny]

I only have one piece of advice. DO NOT under any circumstances make a "new" dish on a holiday. It will NEVER work the way you want it to. Try it a week ahead of time to tweak it if necessary or just stick to tried and true recipes.

btw- I LOVE mixing red, yellow, and other potatoes for roasting and serving next to the turkey. They''re so pretty and rustic looking. I just season with rosemary, thyme, s&p and drizzle with evoo.

oh, I have one more tidbit, brine your turkey. Makes it so moist and delish.

Good luck!!

 

[Haven]

Ooh yes, brine the turkey! It really does make a difference.

Somethingshiny''s advice to not make any new recipes is really spot-on, too. I tried a new cranberry sauce last year and it was not very good. I used orange juice in it and it was way too orangey.

This thread makes me wish I was doing Thanksgiving again this year, but my mom and I switch off so it''s her turn. I''m doing Passover, though, which is meal-heavy, too, so I''m excited!

 

[Haven]

Ooh yes, brine the turkey! It really does make a difference.

Somethingshiny''s advice to not make any new recipes is really spot-on, too. I tried a new cranberry sauce last year and it was not very good. I used orange juice in it and it was way too orangey.

This thread makes me wish I was doing Thanksgiving again this year, but my mom and I switch off so it''s her turn. I''m doing Passover, though, which is meal-heavy, too, so I''m excited!