Planning a Happy Thanksgiving 2020 – 1 week to go!
This post has been edited from the original which was published on November 17, 2011.
It’s always hard to accomplish your Thanksgiving tasks when you don’t know how many people you’re having over or what your menu is! But my menu is done and we will be approximately 9 people, including my oldest daughter who is coming home this weekend. I am so excited to have all my kids in the kitchen this year prepping and cooking with me. I had a stroke of genius 8 years ago, which was to tack my Thanksgiving to-do list on the refrigerator and have everyone sign up for three tasks. Even my husband helps out!
It is so unbelievable to me that I didn’t teach a single in-person Thanksgiving class this year. I normally teach 5 per week for 3 weeks! I miss my peeps. Sigh. I have done most of most grocery shopping other than a few items which need to buy purchased when I pick up my turkey. I plan the days leading up to Thanksgiving pretty carefully so I don’t forget anything and also so that I have a list to cross things off (that makes me feel so accomplished!) I think about regular meals and activities, too. Here’s what my schedule will look like from Sunday until we eat on Thursday at 4:00 pm (-ish). This shouldn’t make you feel exhausted, but merely show you what you can do ahead for your own Thanksgiving! The Chalkboard Mag published a really great blogpost four years ago with tons of tips from lots of food experts (including me!) I highly recommend giving it a quick read.
As if I hadn’t already told you, my Thanksgiving ebook is available for only $15!
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Here’s my menu for Thursday and after that is my timeline so you can see how everything can get done. This just to give you some idea to plan your menu.
BREAKFAST
Streusel coffee cake (I’ve been making this for 20 years, but it’s from an old, out-of-print book. It’s not healthy. Not even a little. Recipe is in my e-book.)
(My Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal would also be a great choice – you can prep it the day before and bake it in the morning.)
LUNCH
HORS D’OEUVRES
Apple Bourbon Cocktail (Hubs is in charge of the bar and all beverages)
Crispy cauliflower (weird, I know, but my husband and kids MUST have it and I don’t have the bandwidth to make it for Thanksgiving dinner)
DINNER ( I think this is too much food, but no one will let me take anything off the menu!)
1 Roasted Turkey and Gravy (14 pounds) I will be spatchcocking my turkey once again this year, which is a technique I taught in my in-person and online cooking classes 2 years ago. It’s just the best, easiest method. I am buying them already brined from GROW in Manhattan Beach, so I will not be doing anything else to them prior to roasting.
Cranberry Sauce (x1)
Applesauce (x1)
Mashed yukon gold potatoes (4 pounds)
Sweet potato casserole (x 1 )
Stuffing (mushroom and leek) (x1) I’ll do without mushrooms since GB casserole has mushrooms.
Persimmon and Brussels sprout salad from my ebook (x1)
White Balsamic Braised Root Vegetables from 2018 November cooking class – also in QTQ (x 2) or Roasted Root Vegetables with Maple-Sherry Glaze from my ebook
Green Bean Casserole (x1)
DESSERT
1 Tart Cherry Pie (from my November 2020 online class)
1 Chocolate Pecan Pie (My friend’s daughter is making it and joining us for dessert)
Whipped Cream
Fresh Fruit Platter (my M-I-L brings)
Schedule:
Sunday
Grocery shop (I’m already done) for everything that hasn’t been purchased other than turkeys and herbs, lettuces, Brussels sprouts
Arrange tables & chairs
Make cranberry sauce and applesauce
Write placecards
Monday
Make salad vinaigrette
Make 2 qts. ice cream
Dry mix for sweet potato casserole with a note about adding butter
Make pastry dough for all pies (watch this how-to video)
Dinner: naan pizzas, salad with Everyday Salad dressing #1
Tuesday
Buy and arrange flowers (I’m going to keep this SUPER simple.)
Set tables
Wash and dry greens
Shred cheese for tart, salad
Toast pumpkin seeds for salad
Dry bread cubes for stuffing (I already made and froze my stuffing, but I’ll leave the steps here on the timeline as an FYI.)
Chop onions for soup, stuffings, roasted veg tray
Defrost turkey stock and chicken stocks
Dinner: slow cooker chicken tacos (aka, the easiest dinner on the planet!)
Wednesday
Make butternut squash soup
Steam cauliflower; bread and refrigerate
Make sweet potato casserole
Clean mushrooms and slice for bean casserole
Make stuffings (again, I made and froze this already)
Prep Brussels sprouts
Prep zucchini
Blind bake tart crust
Prep vegetables for salad and roasting
Blanche green beans
Make pumpkin pie
Set up coffee and tea service
Check powder room
Uncover turkey (makes the skin crispier)
Leave butter, eggs and sour cream out for cake
Dinner: tuna patties, kale salad with quinoa, avocado and whatever else I need to get rid of in my fridge! I have 4 great kale salads on my site that would be work – citrus dressing, lemon dressing, Harvest kale salad, and kale Caesar.
Before bed: make sure garage refrigerator door is closed! (eleven years ago, I left the door open to my extra fridge in the garage all night long. OMG. Nightmare! Needed to buy two new turkeys on Thanksgiving morning!)
Thursday
6 am Wake and take a 30-minute walk
Shower
Instagram LIVE (not sure when, but I’ll announce it ahead of time.)
Make coffee cake
Make coffee
Make cornbread
Make apple pie
Prep turkey
Get dressed and do hair
Make crispy onions for bean casserole (I always make extra because they get stolen while they’re sitting out)
Prep coffee machine for after dinner
12:00 roast vegetables
Reheat soup
Herb oil for tart
Remove sweet potato casserole, stuffing, salad dressing and Brussels sprouts from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temp
Prep gravy ingredients
Add melted butter to sweet potato topping
Assemble fruit platter and cheese board (my daughters do this for me)
2:00 Put turkey in oven (spatchcocking makes the cook time much shorter!)
Peel potatoes; make mashed potatoes; keep in bowl over simmering water
Prep tart
2:15 Bake tart in small oven
2:30 make cauliflower and serve hot
3:00 sweet potato casserole in small oven
start green bean casserole
3:15 Take turkey out to rest, oven to 350
Reheat stuffing at 450
Make gravy
3:30 remove foil and add topping to sweet potatoes
Add green bean casserole to oven
Consolidate roasted vegetables and reheat on one sheet pan
Light candles, water in glasses, butter, cranberry sauce, and applesauce out, assemble salad
3:45/4:00 Carve turkey
After dinner: whip cream, coffee and tea, sparkling water
After everyone leaves, write notes for next year!
Friday
Make turkey stock
Start holiday shopping!
2 Comments
Your recipes are amazing! I made the pecan streusel coffee cake out of your cookbook. A couple things to note. Granulated sugar is listed in ingredients, but not in the instructions, I almost forgot to add. Also, I followed the directions on baking, grease and flour, even waited 30 minutes vs. 10 minutes to remove from pan and it completely fell apart. I am usually pretty good at baking and used my Bundt pan more times than I can count. Any thoughts? It’s super delicious though!
I’m so sorry the recipe did not turn out well for you. I’ve been making this recipe for 30 years and have never had the cake fall apart. I like to grease the bundt pan with a silicone pastry brush to get all the crevices. Another tip is to make sure the pecan filling does not touch the sides of the pan as it can stick and make it difficult to remove from the pan. I hope you give it another try. Thank you for letting me know about the typo. I updated the recipe in the ebook and will have my assistant send you an updated copy.