Planning a Happy Thanksgiving 2021 - 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 14 people, including two daughters who are coming home for the holiday. 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 9 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 once again 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 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 five years ago with tons of tips from lots of food experts (including me!) I highly recommend giving it a quick read.

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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

Butternut squash soup

Mini Cornbread Muffins

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)

Zucchini cheese tart

Small cheese board

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 3 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 (6 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)

Roasted Vegetables Agrodolce from 2021 November cooking class

Green Bean Casserole (x2)

DESSERT

1 Perfect Apple Pie

1 Tart Cherry Pie (this is the most popular pie, so I might make 2)

1 Pumpkin Pie

1 Birthday Cake brought by my sister-in-law for her hubs

Homemade vanilla ice cream

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, green beans, mushrooms

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

IG Live at 5:00 pm PT: Make pastry dough for all pies (watch this how-to video)

Dinner: naan pizzas, salad with Everyday Salad dressing #1

Tuesday

Pick up turkey

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 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! (12 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!)