After three years of not hosting, my spouse and I are back in the hot seat and will have a group of about eight people at our house for Thanksgiving dinner. I have been tinkering with the menu for a few days and have decided to make as many items ahead as I can because my work schedule is hectic this year. The main course will not be turkey this year; instead I will be going old-school with a galantine of chicken. I will forever be grateful for Jacques Pepin for demonstrating the technique or I would never have the courage to try it. This can be prepped the night before.
One item that is a no-brainer to make ahead is bread because almost every type of yeasted dough can easily be frozen. I'm leaning toward mini brioche à tête, for no other reason than my husband saw an Instagram post of Cédric Grolet making brioche à tête and thought they looked great. I have the molds so I said "why not?" I will probably use this recipe from Ferrandi's French Patisserie.
Another dish that can get the make-ahead treatment is gravy, and of course the cranberry sauce will be finished well in advance because it keeps practically forever. I would like to find make-ahead potato and/or sweet potato recipes but haven't found any that are calling to me. Desserts are still up in the air as well, as are additional vegetable sides. If you have any make-ahead (or even just must-have) recipes for these remaining items, please pop them into the comments.
13 comments
Cookbooksgalore
Ina Garten: Make-Ahead Roast Turkey and Make Ahead Turkey Gravy with Onions & Sage (from "Make it Ahead")
Ina Garten: Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding (from "Foolproof")
Half Baked Harvest: Make Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
(Easily reheated and served in a slow-cooker)
I must admit, we try for a new riff on cranberry sauce or chutney every year, but it is always made a day or two in advance for the flavors to meld.
Fyretigger
Sherry Carrots
2 pounds of Carrots rustic cut
1 pound of Mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch Green Onions, cut in one inch pieces on the diagonal
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
Olive Oil (or Butter)
½ cup or so of Sherry
Steam or par-boil the carrots until not quite done. In the meantime, sauté the mushrooms in olive oil or butter (be generous, it combines with the sherry to make a coating), adding the garlic about half way through (so it doesn't burn and get bitter). Add the drained carrots, the green onions and the sherry. Throw a lid on the pan and allow to steam for a couple of minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the liquid is reduced.
My much younger self essentially discovered braising without knowing what it was.
I think the only change I would make if making ahead is to only add the green onions before reheating and add a couple tablespoons of Sherry to the reheat.
Fyretigger
1 pound of cranberries
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
Simmer for 1 hour.
Simple and unsophisticated as it is, it makes something far superior to the commercial sauces.
valbe
2 cups (8oz) fresh cranberries
1/2 cup pure apple juice
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Wash and drain cranberries. In a pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool and serve
Wende
When I lived in LA, we had a huge group of friends and family who always got together for Thanksgiving with a great plan: we hosted in rotation and the only menu item the host was responsible for was the turkey with maybe an extra breast.
Everyone else brought the apps, sides and desserts, and we pulled out all the stops, bringing our best versions because it was the only thing we had to make. I still use the recipes we circulated after something was crowned the best we'd ever had.
Those were not only the best Thanksgiving meals I've ever had, but also a great way of spreading out the work and making the day unbelievably enjoyable for everyone, especially the host!
breakthroughc
rmpostonmfandt
Ro_
Buttermilk-brined roast turkey- all the work is done a couple of days in advance when you prep and marinate the turkey. Minimal effort on the day, especially if you get one of your guests to carve, and the flavour payoff was AMAZING.
Freeze-ahead roast potatoes- again, all the hard work can be done in advance, either a few days in advance or a few weeks in advance - on the day you just take them out of the freeze and stick them into the oven and the result is as good or better than roast potatoes prepped entirely on the day.
KatieK1
The mashed potatoes in the Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook, which uses Yukon golds, is also fabulous. And I swear by using a ricer to get the best consistency.
The pie crust recipe from the old Betty Crocker Cookbook is foolproof. Just use as many tablespoons of ice water as you need to make the dough come together, and roll the dough between large sheets of plastic wrap in a cool room.
LeilaD
sanfrannative
ellabee
Fyretigger