Preparing Thanksgiving Dinner in Advance
Over the years I have found that in order to not stress myself and my loved ones around me during the holidays my best bet is begin organizing for the holiday at least a month before. The reason for that is my husband is an over the road truck driver and since I am on the truck with him everything has to be done in advance. I begin my yearly ritual of Thanksgiving organization in October for several reasons.
The first thing I do is to check the date that Thanksgiving falls on so that I can request time off. Asking at the last minute for time off leads to disaster since the company he is leased onto needs at least several days normally, during the holidays it is prudent to ask at least a week in advance other wise you could be having Thanksgiving dinner at a truck stop, perish the thought.
The second thing I do is watching the newspaper ads for sundry needs such as: pumpkins, there is nothing better than homemade pumpkin pie made from real pumpkin. I also begin to watch for sales on turkey, this year there will be at least five of us. That means that someone at home will definitely be doing the turkey shopping. Last weekend we were shopping Lexington, Virginia and I found a hubbard squash, it is now traveling with us until we go home for time off. The hubbard squash is part of my husband's family traditions for Thanksgiving, his Mom used to buy at least two or three of coarse there were eleven people in the family.
The third thing I do is to plan my menu, that is so important, without a menu it is difficult to budget for any holiday. My menu this year includes: obviously at least a twenty pound turkey, hubbard squash, sweet potatoes, garlic potatoes, stuffing, salad, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, and apple pie. I will do most of the shopping while I am home next week, that way the only big thing will be the turkey.
Last year we invested in an electric roasting pan, that was the best thing I ever bought. Since we live in Texas even in late November it can be warm, so the electric roaster does not heat up the kitchen the way a regular stove does. It is so much easier to remove the turkey from the electric roaster than it is to remove it from one of those aluminum pans that you put into the oven. That and you do not have to worry about the turkey leaking all over as it is removed. The first time I used the electric roaster I could have kicked myself for being so stubborn for so many years, I never knew how easy it made cooking Thanksgiving dinner and cleaning up afterwards.
The last things I will do will be the day before Thanksgiving, which is usually when I get home the day before. I will make the pies first, my husband helps with those as he does with most of the Thanksgiving dinner. I usually make the stuffing while he is making the pies, somehow that is just the way things seem to work out. With both of us working together there is less stress overall.
The very last thing I do is to start dinner around eight o'clock in the morning, dinner is usually around five. Doing every thing in advance makes things so much easier for everyone and I get to watch the Macy's Day Parade, which has been a family tradition since I was a very small child.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving one and all.
