When All Else Fails, Add More Wine

For real, we’re gonna blink and Thanksgiving is going to be here with Christmas racing right behind, so the time to get some things done is NOW. Learn from my years of mistakes!

If you normally order your turkey from the local grocery store or butcher, CALL NOW. I just put in my order today. (We get a turkey breast, and it has become weirdly difficult to find a decent sized one at the local grocery stores – the amount of stress that disappeared when I knew I could just pick ours up from the butcher the day before Thanksgiving was astounding.)

Fridge/Freezer/Pantry clear out. I know this can be overwhelming. Now is the time to start – just make a point every time you open the fridge/freezer/pantry, find ONE thing that needs to go. If you do this, by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, you WILL have plenty of space, and you don’t have to do it all at once.

Get a good meat thermometer. I have a Polder thermometer and I love it – pre-programmed settings for various types of meat & done-ness, plus a “pre-alert” that lets you know, “Hey, it’s time to get in the kitchen and find the potholders!” $30 for a main dish that isn’t over or underdone is worth it.

For our turkey, I used to put butter all over it, then try to get the seasoning all over it. It was messy. Then it finally occurred to me to melt the butter, stir the seasonings into the butter and brush it on.

If you are serving cold items throughout the day – they make these great ice mats that you can put under them! I got the Flexi-Freeze mat – the part you freeze actually rolls up so it takes up less space in the freezer. Just freeze, take it out, and put it in the sleeve, and you have a nice cold surface. I have a second mat and switch them out about halfway through the day.

I have a regular roasting pan. I still end up buying a disposable one, because the regular one is a pain in the ass to clean and I am all about making my life easier. But, the disposable ones aren’t super sturdy and I was always worried about them breaking and having a turkey on the floor. Solution: Get the disposable pan. Put it inside the regular pan. Sturdy AND easy cleanup.

When I carve our turkey breast, I put the cutting mat inside a cookie sheet with a high lip on the sides, so I don’t have turkey juice going all over the counter. Works well for juice containment, but slid all over the place. Grippy stuff to the rescue!! It won’t mess up the counter or the cookie sheet, and everything stays still while you work.

Do you need demitasse spoons or little forks for appetizers? Now is the time to get them. Sometimes our grocery store has them (I occasionally see them on a hanging display in very random parts of the store) but Amazon has a very good selection of disposable ones and affordable reusable ones.

Did you know it is TOTALLY OK to go with paper plates for Thanksgiving or Christmas?! IT IS!! And there are lots of festive options out there. I’ve got a fun collection of themed platters and plates. It’s great! Start keeping an eye out at your grocery store, or again, Amazon has a lot of options here.

Delegate what you can! Let folks bring an appetizer or side dish or whatever makes things a little easier.

Do you have anything on the menu that you can make ahead of time and freeze? Go for it. Nothing wrong with defrost and reheat the day of.

Is there a dish that everyone only takes one bite of because they have to, and no one actually likes it? You can stop making it.

Poll now for food allergies/sensitivities. Ask if they have any recipes they can share and/or if they could bring a dish – so many “adjusted” foods and recipes are so good these days – and everyone can see that there really are great vegan or gluten free or dairy free dishes out there.

If you’re having a group over – do you have a quiet space for folks to chill out if they get overwhelmed with people-ing? I realize this is limited by the square footage you have, but if you can do it, folks in your life who need it will appreciate it.

And I leave you with one of my favorite, super easy dips: Cheesy Ranch Bacon Dip.

1 pint sour cream
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I usually use more)
1/4 c. bacon pieces (I always use more)
Mix, chill, eat.

Also crossposted to MyOtherBlogIsBroken.com