I Need Thanksgiving Dinner Help...

skeeter1

This Thanksgiving looks to be hectic. We have out-of-town guests coming to stay with us. In all, I'm planning on having 19 people for dinner. YIKES. I'll be the cooked turkey.

I don't mind cooking a turkey & buying the ham.

My problem is with the side dishes. In the interests of wanting to spend some time with my out-of-town guests, I'm considering buying pre-made sides...or making them myself a day or two ahead of time.

Do you have any suggestions, recipes, ways to do this big dinner with less stress, and have more available time on Turkey day?

Skeeter

ex-nj-jw

What sides are you planning on cooking?

nj

BrentR

We always do turkey day with my wifes family. The host cooks the bird and the guests all bring the trimmings. That way the stress and expense is spread out. It would be insane to try to do all that by yourself and have any time to visit or even breath for that matter.

You can make the cranberry sauce a couple days ahead of time. Do the pie baking the day before and get alot of prep done also. With that many people you could draft a couple to help you mash patatoes and make the gravy. You could peel and get the yams into the cooking container also the night before so all you have to do is pop it in while the turkey is baking.

I have always preped alot the night before any holiday glut-fest that we have had.

momzcrazy

Are all your dinner guests from out of town? If not have people make sides. If so, why not enlist kitchen help? But you can make, or get ready to cook, most of your sides. I really like Country Crock side dishes! Idahoan makes good instant mash taters and Heinz has great gravy! It's about being together and enjoying each other's company.

Listen to me-it's my first Thanksgiving and I'm hosting about 30! But I entertain alot, so I figure this won't be much different. I just won't get to watch as much football as everyone else!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

momz

ex-nj-jw

If you are having fresh vegies like greens or string beans you can wash and prepare them the night before then in the am put them on the stove. I have a very quick recipe for greens that's easy and quick. Also candie yams can been cooked the night before, just don't cook them all the way so that when you heat them up they are not mushy.

I have a couple of recipe's if you want me to send them PM me. It usually doesn't take me all day to cook, you just gotta well organized and not have any distractions. I love Thanksgiving the most!

nj

Snoozy

I've even made the mashed potatoes early in the day and just nuked them when it was time to eat..nobody complained... just be sure to fluff them up using a fork and adding a little milk or cream before nuking. Yummy!

Pies I always made the night before. I usually make Peanut Butter pie and it needs refrigeration anyway. Apple can be reheated if necessary.

Vegetables I had the guests bring...sometimes they just brought the kind in a can or frozen..but we never complained...

Sweet potatoes were baked before hand and just peeled, sliced and heated up with the butter and brown sugar or marshmellows...on a baking sheet..it's small and will fit in the oven without taking up too much room.

Keeping the rolls warm was usually my biggest problem.

Snoozy..

Scully

I find scalloped potatoes are an easy side dish to make, although I admit that I cheat a wee bit.

You can make the Betty Crocker version from a box, but I find it's just as easy to peel and slice fresh potatoes (using my food processor or the slicing blade of my grater), rinse them off in a colander and let them air dry for a bit.

I use a can of mushroom soup and a package of onion soup mix and combine them in a large measuring cup and then add a little milk or cream to smooth it out.

Put a layer of sliced potatoes in a prepared casserole dish, then top with a layer of the liquid, and keep alternating the layers until the dish is full. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, then add a layer of shredded cheese over top and bake another 10 minutes.

We always have a dish or two of veggies as side dishes too.

Nathan Natas

Two great web resources are foodtv.com and epicurious.com. Just search for thanksgiving and a bounty of recipes should appear!

FoodTV just did a Thanksgiving dinner show and should have their entire menu available as recipes - cornbread, green bean casserole, squash soup,... all kinds of good stuff!

bem

I make pies and fruit salad the day before. Mix the stuffing and keep it in a zip lock bag in the f'rigerator made the day before also I add the broth prior to cooking, make the green bean casserole get it in the dish to cook it in except add the french dried onions on top before baking, make a salad a day ahead of time keep it in a zip lock in the fridg, I use the bags for as much as possible since they take up less room.

Hope you and yours have a great day

Honesty

Zucchini Pie (looks like quiche)

Corn Casserole

Green Beans

Macaroni Salad

Sweet Potato Pudding

Ooops, Gotta run before the Deli down the street closes

I Need Thanksgiving Dinner Help...

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