Victor
Making Thanksgiving Dinner Simple
Thanksgiving was the catalyst for starting my website, but it later became about batch cooking when I realized how helpful my cooking techniques would be for other cooks. My mission is to help those of you who find Thanksgiving dinner a challenge realize that it is a simple meal to make. The key to success, however, is not special cooking skills but the prep work and planning.
Whether it is time you want to save, money or just your energy so you can enjoy the day with your family rather than cooking for 6 hours, I’ve laid out my recipes and preparation process so you can do just that. Plan, prepare, and cook a delicious meal and have the energy and time to hang out with your family and friends.
You can choose to make many or all of the recipes for Thanksgiving. Make it your own and let me know how it goes.
Thanksgiving Recipes
Turkey and Ham
When it comes to entrees for Thanksgiving, turkey is obviously the king. But ham is also served in a lot of families, so I included my Cherry Glazed Spiral Sliced Ham recipe. If you are feeding a large number of people, adding ham to your menu helps you portion meat among your guests and gives those who aren’t that fond of turkey an option to enjoy.
Another great option for large crowds is to also cook an Herb Roasted Turkey Breast to carve alongside the whole turkey. This works out well in large families and friend gatherings who mostly like white meat. You will generally find that most guests will go for the white meat and you will only have a handful that love the dark meat.
Side Dishes
For me, side dishes really steal the show at Thanksgiving. I think of the turkey as the host, and the side dishes are the featured acts. They can make or break your event, so choosing the correct sides for your guests is very important.
Most people are looking for those comfort foods that they either don’t know how to make or don’t have access to for most of the year. These dishes bring back memories that take them to their childhood days or younger years when everything was carefree. This is the one day when they can eat all of the foods they want without judgment.
The dishes that you usually bring back these memories for them are the casserole dishes. They are delicious creations that are usually creamy, cheesy, or decadent. They are the dishes that make you say mmmm and feel satiated with the meal.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t dress up your bounty for a more elegant-looking feast. Roasted vegetables do this for you, They are delicious, rustic, and seasonal, yet sophisticated. They stand on their own and only need a few seasonings to carry them such as butter and garlic.
Roasted vegetables will also add a pop of color to the buffet that will show brightly in the eyes of your guests. Even if not everyone wants them, they will complete the culinary collage and everything else will look more delicious.
Breads and Dressings
Even though you may have prepared more dishes than you can eat, the bread component of the meal is still a crucial partner in this presentation.
I like to have the rolls because I simply love them. They are a guilty please that I may never eat any other time of the year. I also love the French bread stuffing. It is the perfect accompaniment to any poultry dish.
I like serving it in a cast iron pan and then laying the carved turkey on top. This way you don’t lose any fof the juices in the platter and the presentation is fantastic. The cornbread dressings are great as well and bring a different texture and flavor to the event.
You don’t have to make them only at Thanksgiving, you can enjoy them anytime you make poultry.
Sauces and Gravies
Two sauces that are very easy to make can be the most demanding on the ego. Let’s start with the easiest one, the Whole Cranberry Sauce. You couldn’t make an easier dish, and it is far superior to the canned cranberry sauce.
You can also dress up the cranberry sauce with the zest of lemon and orange. It looks beautiful in the bowl and on the table. This is also one of the sauces that you could portion into ramekins for people to put on the side. This helps with those who don’t like their food touching or want to only eat with certain dishes.
The next item is the Turkey Gravy. If you have the time, make it from scratch. Your guests will love it. If this is your first time making it, maybe have a jar of gravy as a backup.
For the record, however, you shouldn’t be trying new recipes during an event this showcased. You should definitely try these recipes throughout the year so that you have a feel and understanding of how to make them and the time they take.
The secret to the gravy is knowing how to make a roux and thickening it. The rest is simply stirring and serving.
When you use the drippings and the fat from the turkey, you will capture flavors that no jar of gravy can provide. It will compliment your bird because it is seasoned from your bird.
Desserts
Where do you begin and end with desserts? You can make as many as you want or keep it simple with pumpkin pie. The cool thing about desserts for Thanksgiving is they are like casseroles. They can be made the day before and warmed up right before service, or for most, eaten at room temperature.
You can serve most of them with vanilla ice cream or chantilly cream. If you want your guests to truly enjoy the desserts, let everyone rest a bit while you and your designated helpers get things cleaned up and put away.
This allows you to have the kitchen and dining area clean when you put the desserts and coffee out. You may also want to have other hot beverages for those who don’t drink coffee. Don’t rule out cold milk as a choice as well. Not everyone likes hot beverages.
Wrapping It Up
Of course, I don’t expect you to prepare all of these dishes for one meal, but select the few that you think your family and friends will love, and keep it simple. Why work harder than you have to? Remember, Christmas is just around the corner if you want to showcase some of the recipes at that time.
One thing I started doing was creating a wishlist menu for my family. I print the sheet out and ask them to choose a certain number of desired dishes from each category, including beverages, and then put my menu together from there.
About 75% of their selections are in common with each other and maybe a couple of dishes are outliers. I will create those extra few dishes, but I will prepare a much smaller amount since only 1-2 people will be eating it.
