ALT-2 How to Organize a Thanksgiving Dinner Buffet Table
My family has been organizing a Thanksgiving dinner buffet table for longer than I have been alive. We have it down to a science! Here's how it works...
In my family, we have eaten our holiday meals "buffet style" for decades. While various family members contribute dishes to the meal (sort of an organized potluck), we have a distinct way of "creating the spread" so that no one misses a single dish. Usually, the host's kitchen counters are somewhat cleared to make room for all of the dishes. Occasionally, extra tables are set up to accommodate certain dishes. If you are blessed enough to have a long enough counter space or table to accommodate all dishes, the following order would still apply.
- SaladsThe running joke in my family was always that we should each have platters for our Thanksgiving meal, because dinner plates couldn't hold everything offered. To adjust for this, the hosts began sitting out small salad plates on a separate table or counter area along with the salads, pickles and relishes, and cranberry sauce. At any rate, salads should be grouped together in one area of the kitchen or nearby.
- Bread and Main DishesThe centerpiece of our meals is the meat (turkey and sometimes ham), and the bread (my grandmother's famous homemade yeast rolls). The first item in the main line is often a stack of dinner plates (tables are set with linens and silverware). Sometimes the plates are on the table, too, but the first step is for diners to grab a plate. If you prefer, silverware could be rolled into napkins and placed beside the plates for the diners to retrieve. We found that having one more thing to handle made the buffet a little bit cumbersome, so we opt to leave the silverware and linens on the table. The first items in the "line" will be hot rolls and meat!
- VegetablesNext will come vegetables... usually green beans, mashed potatoes and dressing, cornbread dressing (I know... not exactly a veggie, but it does have CORNbread!), gravy (also not a vegetable, but it needs to come AFTER the meat and potatoes!), sweet potatoes, corn, lima beans, and maybe a casserole, brown beans and turnip greens.
If the diner did not opt to do a salad plate first, this would be when he/she would add salads to the plate.
- DrinksGenerally, a drink station is set up somewhere near the sink. Someone usually is standing by to ask what beverage is preferred, pour it, and deliver that beverage to the diner's table. Coffee is also available in this area.
- DessertsDesserts should have their own area, away from the main meal selections. This can be on a side table, a sun porch, or wherever is convenient for setting the selections and a stack of plates and dessert forks/spoons.
My family gathers in a living area or somewhere adjacent to the meal prior to filling our plates and stands to offer a pre-meal prayer. That way the food is already "blessed" when diners reach their tables. Salt, pepper and butter are placed on individual tables. I purchased some individual salt/pepper sets at a local discount store for very little, and each diner gets his/her own set. If the host is ambitions, individual bread/butter plates could be set with a butter pat, also.
The beauty of a buffet-style Thanksgiving dinner is that the tables have a lot more "elbow room" and may even have space for a nice holiday decoration or two, since they are not cluttered with serving dishes. Guests can return as often as desired to the buffet line for refills, without having to ask Uncle Earl to pass the gravy! If the host wishes to circulate and refill beverages, that is an option; or guests can refill their own. Sometimes, depending on the space, the host will even intersperse holiday decorations with the buffet itself. I have used empty shoe boxes and covered them with a holiday cloth to create "risers" for elevating some dishes, so that everything is not at counter level. This seems to make things easier to see - and also more inviting and attractive.
A Thanksgiving buffet may seem more casual... and maybe it is. But it is also much more convenient for diners and the host alike, and makes everyone feel a little more a part of all of the festivities. And truly, that is what Thanksgiving is about... celebrating and giving thanks with family and friends, and enjoying their company.
