Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away!  Is the exclamation point there to emphasize panic or joy?  I’m excited!  I’ve been teaching quite a few Thanksgiving-themed classes as of late and I’m feeling spirited.  One of my students said to me today that my Thanksgiving planning blogs are stressing her out.  Yikes!  Of course that was not my intention.  The whole point is to show you what you can do in advance, not what you must do in advance.  All these tips and strategies are most relevant to the hosts and hostesses who are preparing most or all of the meal themselves and who have a busy schedule leading up to the holiday.  If I didn’t get a lot of these tasks completed early, I don’t see how I could pull off this meal without tons of stress.

Here’s what you can get done this week:

• Get your knives sharpened Especially your carving knife.  A razor-sharp knife is the most important tool in your kitchen.  In my area, you can get your knives sharpened at Sur La Table, the farmer’s market and at the local cutlery store at the mall.  I think Sur La Table charges $1/inch.

• Make your grocery lists  I make three lists:

1. Non-perishables (e.g., flour, spices, wine, nuts, dried fruit)  I buy these now.
2. Perishables to buy one-week ahead (e.g., winter squashes, butter, hard cheeses, potatoes)
3. Perishables to buy two days before (e.g., turkey, dairy, bread for stuffing, all other fruits and vegetables)

If you followed the advice in my post last Thursday, by now you probably have a general idea of how many guests you will be hosting on Thanksgiving.  If not, it’s time to get on the phone and do some inviting!  Do you have a good balanced menu and have you taken guests up on their offers to bring something?   This week we have a few more tasks that we can check off the list.

3 weeks before thanksgiving

• Order the Turkey  If you eat turkey on Thanksgiving, it’s a good idea to order it now.  I have always ordered a fresh, free-range, organic turkey, because in my opinion they have a tasty turkey flavor and are better for you than most other alternatives.  The only thing that may be better is a heritage turkey, which has a much stronger turkey flavor and supposed to be more moist.  It will have less breast meat though and will be more expensive.  Avoid “self-basting” turkeys which are injected with anything from chicken fat to salt to chemicals.  True, they are easier to cook, but I think they taste more like salt than turkey and they are just full of stuff you don’t want to feed your family.

Here are some questions that will help you decide size:

How many ovens do you have?  If you have one large oven that can accommodate two turkeys side by side and an extra oven to spare (you’re so lucky!), then you have the option of cooking two smaller birds versus one large one.  But with two small ovens, you may not want them both being monopolized by turkeys.

Are your guests dark meat-eaters or white meat-eaters?  You will get more white meat by weight from one large bird than from two smaller.  Likewise, you will get more dark meat from two smaller birds than from one large one.

How big a turkey should you buy?  The rule of thumb is one pound of turkey per person.  So if you are expecting 16 guests, you should order a 16 pound turkey.  That doesn’t mean that you will have 1 pound of meat per person, though.  This is a good rule if you don’t want leftovers or if your guests are not big eaters.   So last year I cooked 2 17-pound turkeys for 20 adults and 5 kids and I had just enough leftovers for the five of us for dinner the next day.

Do you have a bad back?  What does this have to do with anything?  A very large turkey is mighty challenging to keep pulling out of the oven to baste.  I find two smaller turkeys much more manageable, if you have the oven space.

• Planning Your Table Decor  I don’t do anything fancy for my table decorations, but it’s nice to make the table look special.  Now’s the time to check your linens for stains and make sure you have enough napkins, plates and glassware.  I generally like to do something simple with fresh flowers in autumnal colors and add in a few of the kids’ Thanksgiving art projects from years past.   I just adore Jenni Kayne’s table setting at the top of the post.  Check out all her lovely holiday photos and ideas on her ripplustan.com blog — beautiful!  But you can put out bowls of apples and pears or gourds and nuts, add in a few votive candles and it will look beautiful.  This year I’m doing something craftsy with help of my kids and my friend Marcie, who started a very cool line of paper table decor called Mixt Studio.  I’m not sure if her stuff will be ready for Thanksgiving, but if it isn’t, I’m going to copy this cute paper flower and use it as a place card attached with an inspiring quote.  Love that idea!  I have another talented friend, Lee who owns a local flower shop called Growing Wild along with her equally talented (they’re twins!) sister Lisa.  I couldn’t help but admire their lovely arrangements, one of which I pictured below to give you some inspiration.  If tablescape isn’t your thing, you can always order from your local florist or full service market.  Just get on it this week.

• Make your pie crusts and freeze them  You can freeze them in disc form or roll them out, fit them into pie plates and freeze them, well wrapped.
• Make your homemade stock and freeze it  I use over a gallon of chicken stock on Thanksgiving for soup, stuffing and gravy.

• Make your dry mixes for pie fillings, cornbread and other baked goods.  Not only are there never enough ovens on Thanksgiving day, but there are never enough measuring cups and spoons either.  I measure out the dry ingredients, store them in a glass jar and label each jar, e.g. “Dry Mix for 2 Pumpkin Pies.”  I didn’t label them the first year I did this and let me tell you — pumpkin pie spices smell A LOT like apple pie spices.
• Check your inventory of helpful tools and appliances  Here’s my list of Thanksgiving essentials:

1. Instant-read thermometer— the only way to know if your turkey is ready.
2. Roasting pan(s) and racks(s)
3. Fat separator
4. Twine for trussing
5. Baster
6. Potato ricer— for making the best mashed potatoes

I adore Thanksgiving.  I love the traditions, the food, the Macy’s parade on television while I am making my pies, the football games.   I love moving the family room furniture after the last football game is over to extend the dining room table.   I love hearing everyone share why they’re grateful.  I have cooked every Thanksgiving for the last 16 years, as well as dozens of Thanksgiving-themed cooking classes.   I have made lots of mistakes and in the process learned a thing or two about how to execute and enjoy  a very happy Thanksgiving.  Every Thursday from today until the big day, I will share my best tips, strategies and a few good recipes to set you up for a successful holiday.  Let’s get started!

4 Weeks Before Thanksgiving

• Guest list  Now is a good time to invite family and friends for the holiday, even if they are regulars.  I send an email out to all our guests with the schedule for the day, especially when we will sit down for dinner.  We live on the West Coast, which means the last football game is over at 4:00.  Anyone that wants to come for the earlier game is welcome to do so.  There’s coffeecake, fruit and coffee in the morning.  A mugful of soup and cornbread around noon; hors d’oeuvres at 3:00 pm and dinner is at 4:00 or whenever the game is over.  You know that I pray for no overtime!
• Plan your menu Planning the Thanksgiving menu requires a bit of strategy and balance.   Make sure you have a balance of cooked and raw food (One thing I have learned is no matter how big your kitchen or how many ovens you have, it’s never enough on Thanksgiving!); protein, starches and vegetables (I find most Thanksgiving menus to be too starchy;) and ingredients (make sure not every recipe has dried fruit and nuts in it.)  Know what dishes need an oven and when because if you’re making turkey and you have one oven, you won’t be baking too much in the hours before dinner.

• Outsource    Do as I say here.  Don’t do as I do.  You don’t have to make everything yourself.  In fact, most people would be delighted to contribute something to the holiday which will alleviate the pressure on you.  But you must be specific otherwise you’ll end up with 4 pumpkin pies and no green vegetables and we all know what I think about that.  “Thank you, Caitlin for your offer to bring something.  I think I’ll take you up on it.  We have neither stuffing nor apple pie yet.  Would you like to tackle one of those?”
• Write out a schedule Take the time to plan everything that you need to do over the next four weeks and put it on the computer so you have it for future holidays.  By taking a little time now, you will save yourself stress, anxiety and HOURS later.  Trust me on this.  You can see my detailed schedule as an example.

• Photocopy your recipes from books and magazines I remember my first Thanksgiving with a stack of cookbooks and magazines taking up valuable counter space and my wasting so much time looking up each recipe multiple times.  Ugh!  Put your photocopied recipes in sheet protectors and create a dedicated Thanksgiving or holiday three ring binder organized by category.  This just might be the most useful tip I give you.

Most of us have a taste for sweet things, some of us more than others.  But it’s how we give in to that desire that can lead us to trouble.  I have studied nutrition both formally and on my own and one important thing that I have learned is that the body prefers whole, unprocessed food over refined and processed.  Period.  Unprocessed food is generally more alkalizing/less acid-forming to our cells and less disruptive to our natural processes.  This is also true in the sweetener department.  Even though more “natural” substitutes for sugar still probably fuel your taste for (and possibly addiction to) sweets, I still think there are much better and more healthful alternatives to processed and refined sugars, which are worse than just being “empty calories.”

Can we chat about dried dates for a minute?  Love them!  I am positively obsessed with dates and they’re back in season right now.  So excited!  I have been buying a container each week at the farmer’s market from Bautista Family Dates.  Although in California you can find fresh dates right now, I love the sticky caramel sweetness of a dried date.  They are a whole, unprocessed food and quite rich in dietary fiber, both soluble and insoluble.  Dates are also very high in potassium (important for helping to control heart rate and blood pressure) and iron (part of the blood and helps deliver oxygen to the body.)  To tell you the truth, dates a have a lot going for them, including antioxidants, phytonutrients and minerals.  Yes, they are also very high in fructose which means you need to control yourself and only eat a few in one sitting and not a hundred.  Deal?

Here’s how I use them:

• in smoothies, blended drinks and acai bowls instead of adding sugar or liquid sweeteners.  Try this faux iced blended mocha.
• have you tried making homemade almond milk yet?  incredibly easy!  sweeten with dates;
• to satisfy an intense sugar craving — remove the pit and stick chopped pecans or almonds in the date.  I do this all the time and it’s crazy delicious.
• made into a paste with warm water, it adds moistness and richness to muffins and quick breads.  You can cut back on both fat and sugar in the recipe.  See this trick in this banana bread recipe, but also use it in pumpkin muffins.
• chopped up and added to salads and or grain-based side dishes (the same way you would use raisins); quick tip — dates are sticky so they’re easier to slice when they’re cold.
• pureed into a soup;
• chopped up and sprinkled on top of oatmeal or porridge.

If you’ve got a favorite way to eat dates, I need to know about it!  Please share.