Thanksgiving Dinner Help Please

Hosting a few people for Thanksgiving for the first time. Any ideas and/or recipes??

Thanks!!!

Re: Thanksgiving Dinner Help Please

Plan everything out. I have a timetable I follow so I make sure to put everything on at the right times. It gets hectic, especially when people start arriving, and otherwise you will forget something.

Also, set the table the night before or in the morning when you get up. It's one less thing to worry about, especially if you are using good china, which takes a while to unpack from the protectors.

Message edited 10/20/2007 10:05:36 AM.

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Message edited 3/3/2010 9:03:39 PM.

Re: Thanksgiving Dinner Help Please

Make a list of everything you'll need.
Then when people ask - you can give them something off the list.

Make EASY apps - nothing that is too complicated or takes up too much room in your fridge.

Don't go overboard w/ the size of the turkey (if you are having one). People usually go gaga for the sides.

Have fun! Don't stress yourself out.

Re: Thanksgiving Dinner Help Please

I thought of another. No one in our families eats dark meet so we make 2 breasts instead of a whole turkey. It cooks so much quicker.

Re: Thanksgiving Dinner Help Please

For dinner I usually have:

turkey
cranberry sauce
stuffing
mashed potatoes
mashed sweet potatoes
green bean casserole

Re: Thanksgiving Dinner Help Please

homemade cranberry sauce and stuffing from scratch are always major crowd pleasers.....

for the cranberry sauce, I follow the basic recipe on the bag (water, most of the sugar, 2 bags of berries), and add a couple chopped up fesh bartlett pears, a handful raisins and chopped prunes, a bit of molasses, and some orange zest. can be made a day or 2 ahead of time...

the stuffing is a bit more complicated. I buy really nice crusty sourdough bread from the bakery and dice it up. I soak it in a combo of beaten egg and 1/2 and 1/2. In a frying pan, I fry diced celery until it browns on the edges (about 20 min on med heat), and then fry a diced onion and some mushrooms... Near the end of cooking, I add chopped fresh savory and thyme. I take it off the heat and add poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. I toss the veggies in with the soaked bread. The mix should still be a bit dry. I then add a bit of concentrated chicken broth (preferably reduced sodium). Then bake in a casserole dish at 375 until its crusty and cooked throughout, roughly 45 min or so... (check the center with a thermometer)

Message edited 10/23/2007 3:43:25 PM.