Rising to the Occasion:
Tips for Seasoning Your Meals with Soul
with Karen Mitchell-Wilcher

Timing is Everything… a timetable for trouble free Thanksgiving Dinner

It is hard to believe it is November already and time to get serious about the Holidays. The key to making sure the holiday season is enjoyable for the family cook is to break the infamous to do list into manageable weekly segments. Now if you are the host for the Thanksgiving Meal, you should decide early what your main course is to be. My family, like many others, expects turkey with the trimmings. Growing up, the turkey was always oven roasted. Today thanks to my sister’s expertise, the big bird gets brined and grilled to a deep caramel color. It slices beautifully, is moist and the smoky flavor is wonderful.

If you need a large turkey, you may have to order or reserve one with the supermarket. The big birds sell first and if you buy a frozen one, you have to leave plenty of time for the turkey to thaw completely in the refrigerator. Plan to allow about one day for every four pounds the turkey weighs. If you find yourself in a crunch for time you can thaw it quickly, do so by putting the turkey in cold water, breast up. You can also use a combination of these methods by putting the submerged bird in the water bath while you are at home and in the refrigerator while you are at work. Just make sure that your turkey is thawed before you need to cook it.

Next decide on the other dishes that you will serve. We like cornbread dressing, greens, macaroni and cheese, candied yams and desserts a plenty. If you start early on the preparations, you should have a hassle free holiday meal. Here are some tips for keeping the tasks manageable:

Three to Four weeks before:

• Make a guest list and decide on the size of the turkey needed. Allow 1 ½ lbs per person if you are cooking a whole turkey.
• Make a grocery list and keep it handy since most of what you will need will be on sale at sometime during the month.
• Make the cornbread up to 3 weeks in advance and freeze it in airtight freezer bag.

Two weeks before:

• Decide how you will cook the turkey.
• Clean and cook the greens. Store in airtight container or freezer bag.
• Check to make sure that you have the serving dishes and utensils you need on hand.
• Purchase turkey and determine how many days that you will need for it to thaw.

One week before:

• Clean out refrigerator clearing out as much space as possible
• Place turkey in the refrigerator in shallow pan to thaw.
• Complete grocery shopping
• Assemble macaroni and cheese. Cover and freeze to be cooked later.
• Make sure to have multiple working timers

Two to three days before:

• Check thawing progress of turkey
• Assemble Candied Yams*.
• Place frozen prepared sides in refrigerator to thaw
• Prep remaining ingredients for dressing.
• Prepare desserts like Coconut Pound Cake*

One day before:

• Prep turkey for cooking- remove giblets and neck from turkey cavity
• Cook giblets if serving giblet gravy.
• Set table. Cover with plastic drop cloth.
• Assemble dressing

Thanksgiving Day:

• Prepare dressing to cook in casserole or inside turkey
• Cook turkey, making sure it is done 30 minutes before you are ready to serve. (it will be easier to slice if it has rested)
• Bake macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes using a timer
• Reheat greens using a timer
• Make gravy
• Set food out and enjoy
• Assign cleanup to others!!!

With these tips, good recipes and some volunteer help from your family or other guests arriving with big appetites, you are on your way to dishing up a holiday dinner that is trouble free.