This post has been edited from the original which was published on November 17, 2011.

Wow, the last three weeks have gone by so quickly!  I am so excited to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We have a super fun crew joining us this year and I am also looking forward to some one-on-one time with the kids, especially my older daughter who will be home from college for the first time since August!    I used to get all of them in the kitchen Thanksgiving morning to help me with pies or trimming green beans or whatnot, but my two daughters have taken to sleeping until noon on days off.  However I had a stroke of genius three 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 gets in on the fun!

My last class is Friday, so I’ll start getting busy this weekend.  I always plan Thanksgiving day down to the last detail because I don’t like forgetting things and a schedule makes me feel more relaxed, which equals more fun for me!   But just because Thanksgiving is the star of the show this week doesn’t mean that I can forget about normal life on very other day.  So 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!

Sunday

Go grocery shopping for most perishable items, bread for stuffing and food for remaining dinners this week.

Make cranberry sauce (I used to make applesauce on Sunday too, but my friend Caitlin is bringing it this year.)

Arrange tables and chairs

Write out placecards for table (a good job for one of the kids)

Dinner:  orange and rosemary-glazed chicken, cauliflower-potato mash, and broccoli

Monday

Make salad vinaigrettes

Make bread cubes for stuffing

Make ice cream

5:30 Bring Mr. Picky to soccer practice

Dinner:  roasted vegetable enchiladas, salad

Tuesday

11:00 – 1:00 cooking with blogger friends Zelana Montminy and Gina Ragnone

Shop for last perishable items from farmer’s market

Pick up turkeys.  Brine in the morning.

Buy flowers for entry table, family room and living room and put together table arrangements

Set table (I’ll set one place setting for the kids to copy and they can do the rest.)

Wash and dry greens (salad)

Toast pumpkin seeds (salad)

Seed pomegranates (salad)

Shred gruyere (tart)

Shred manchego (salad)

Defrost chicken/turkey stocks

Dinner:  pumpkin and black bean chili, spinach quesadillas

Wednesday

Make butternut squash soup

Chop onions for soup, stuffing and roasted vegetables

Slice zucchini (tart)

Steam, bread cauliflower

Blind bake crust (tart)

Herb oil (tart)

Make stuffing

Prep vegetables for Maple-Mustard Roasted Veggies

Thinly slice Brussels sprouts

Cut butternut squash into cubes for salad

Make sweet potato casserole

Bake pecan pies

Remove turkeys from wet brine and rinse (do not rinse dry-brined turkeys)

Set up for coffee and tea service

Check powder room

Dinner: spice-rubbed salmon, brown rice, sautéed Swiss chard

Before bed:  make sure garage refrigerator door is closed! (Four years ago, I left the door open to my extra fridge in the garage all night long.  OMG. Disaster!  Needed to buy two new turkeys on Thanksgiving morning!)

Thursday

6:00 am wake and shower

Make cornbread (small oven)

Bake pumpkin pies (large oven)

Bake coffee cake (small oven)

Make gingerbread (large oven)

9:15 Take turkeys out of refrigerator

All desserts must be out of large oven by 10:30 am

Bake apple pie (small oven)

10:45 turkeys go in large oven breast side down at 425 degrees

11:25 turn oven down to 325 degrees and flip turkey breast side up

12:00 reheat soup and serve with cornbread

tidy up kitchen

get dressed and dry hair (a girl’s gotta look good!)

Put mixing bowl and beaters in freezer for whipped cream

Roast butternut squash for salad (small oven)

1:30 Peel potatoes and make mashed potatoes; keep in bowl, covered, over pot of simmering water

2:15 zucchini tart in small oven

2:30 fry cauliflower and heat tomato sauce; serve hot

3:00 serve hors d’oeuvres; start testing turkey temperature

3:00 – 3:30 take turkey out of oven

Put vegetables in large oven at 400 degrees

Make gravy

Reheat stuffing in small oven

Bake sweet potato casserole in large oven

Chop apples for Brussels sprout salad, assemble both salads

Light candles, pour water in glasses, set out cranberry sauce and applesauce

Place turkey platter in oven to warm up

3:50-4:00 Carve turkeys

4:00 Dinner is served

After dinner:  whip cream (do not overbeat!), coffee and tea, sparkling water

Make notes on what to remember for next year.  Next year??!!

This post was originally published on November 10, 2011.

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.  Don’t let these Thursday posts stress you out.  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)

This post has been edited from the original, which was published on October 27, 2011.  

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 he or she is grateful.  I have cooked every Thanksgiving for the last 19 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.  The key is being organized.  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 second 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.

Also, know your audience.  I love trying new recipes, but my family looks forward to the same traditional standbys every year.  There was almost a revolution when I took Breaded Cauliflower off the menu in 2007 ( I now serve it as an hors d’oeuvre.)  So I compromise by making the classics (traditional roast turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie), but I also try out a new salad or vegetable side dish every year.

Also, just because you’re cooking overtime for Thanksgiving dinner, doesn’t mean your household won’t be needing dinner the night before and breakfast the morning of.  Instead of ordering takeout pizza on Wednesday night, make and freeze a casserole in the weeks ahead or plan for your easiest 20-minute meal.  The same goes for Thanksgiving day, especially if you have young children in the house.  You can save your appetite and get by on a piece of fruit for the day, but your four-year-old cannot.  I always make a pot of butternut squash soup the day before and a pan of cornbread to be served around noon to tide anyone over until the big meal.

This post has been edited from the original, which was published on October 27, 2011.  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 18 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 second 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.

Also, know your audience.  I love trying new recipes, but my family looks forward to the same traditional standbys every year.  There was almost a revolution when I took Breaded Cauliflower off the menu in 2007 ( I now serve it as an hors d’oeuvre.)  So I compromise by making the classics (traditional roast turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie), but I also try out a new salad or vegetable side dish every year.

Also, just because you’re cooking overtime for Thanksgiving dinner, doesn’t mean your household won’t be needing dinner the night before and breakfast the morning of.  Instead of ordering takeout pizza on Wednesday night, make and freeze a casserole in the weeks ahead or plan for your easiest 20-minute meal.  The same goes for Thanksgiving day, especially if you have young children in the house.  You can save your appetite and get by on a piece of fruit for the day, but your four-year-old cannot.  I always make a pot of butternut squash soup the day before and a pan of cornbread to be served around noon to tide anyone over until the big meal.

• 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 binder organized by category.  This just might be the most useful tip I give you.

This post was originally published on November 17, 2011.

Wow, the last three weeks have gone by so quickly!  Not only am I very excited to celebrate Thanksgiving — we have a super fun crew joining us this year — but I am looking forward to some one-on-one time with the kids.  They are all going to help me this year.  They just don’t know it yet.  I used to get all of them in the kitchen Thanksgiving morning to help me with pies or trimming green beans or whatnot, but two of my beauties have taken to sleeping until noon on days off.  However I had a stroke of genius, which is to tack my Thanksgiving to-do list on the refrigerator and have everyone sign up for three tasks.  I’m asking my husband to help too, to set a good example, of course.

I have a crazy work schedule until Sunday, so I’ll start getting busy then.  Here’s what my schedule will look like from Sunday until we eat on Thursday at 4:00 pm (-ish):

Sunday

Go grocery shopping for most perishable items, bread for stuffing and food for remaining dinners this week.

Make cranberry sauce (I used to make applesauce on Sunday, too, but my friend Caitlin is bringing it this year.)

Arrange tables and chairs

Write out placecards for table (a good job for one of the kids)

Dinner:  orange and rosemary-glazed chicken, brown rice and broccoli

Monday

Make salad vinaigrette

Pick up turkeys and dry brine

Make bread cubes for stuffing

Make ice cream

Dinner:  tacos, black beans and salad

Tuesday

Shop for last perishable items from farmer’s market

Buy flowers and put together table arrangements

Set table (I’ll set one place setting and have one of the kids do the rest.)

Wash and dry greens (salad)

Chop walnuts (salad)

Seed pomegranates (salad)

Shred gruyere (tart)

Defrost chicken/turkey stocks

Dinner:  Spice-rubbed salmon, sauteed spinach, baked sweet potato “fries”

Wednesday

Chop onions for soup, stuffing and roasted vegetables

Prep beets (salad)

Blanche green beans (salad)

Slice zucchini (tart)

Make soup

Steam, bread cauliflower

Blind bake crust (tart)

Herb oil (tart)

Make stuffing

Prep vegetables for Maple-Mustard Roasted Veggies

Trim and halve Brussels sprouts

Make sweet potato gratin

Set up for coffee and tea service

Check powder room

Dinner:  pantry pasta with chickpeas

Before bed:  make sure garage refrigerator door is closed!

Thursday

6:00 am wake and shower

Make cornbread (small oven)

Make pumpkin pies (large oven)

Bake coffee cake (small oven)

Make gingerbread (large oven)

9:15 Take turkeys out of refrigerator

All desserts must be out of large oven by 10:30 am

Make apple pie (small oven)

10:45 turkeys go in large oven breast side down at 425 degrees

11:25 turn oven down to 325 degrees and flip turkey breast side up

12:00 reheat soup and serve with cornbread

tidy up kitchen

get dressed and dry hair (a girl’s gotta look good!)

Put mixing bowl and beaters in freezer for whipped cream

Chop fennel (salad)

1:30 Peel potatoes and make mashed potatoes; keep in bowl, covered, over pot of simmering water

2:15 zucchini tart in small oven

2:30 fry cauliflower and heat tomato sauce; serve hot

3:00 serve hors d’oeuvres; start testing turkey temperature

3:00 – 3:30 take turkey out of oven

Put vegetables in large oven at 400 degrees

Make gravy

Reheat stuffing in small oven

Bake sweet potatoes in large oven

Make Brussels sprouts with turkey bacon and dates

Chop apples for salad, dress salad

Light candles, pour water in glasses

3:50-4:00 Carve turkeys

4:00 Dinner is served

After dinner:  whip cream (do not overbeat!), coffee and tea, sparkling water

Make notes on what to remember for next year.  Next year??!!