Some Tips and a Recipe

I have always liked the motto: “Work Smarter, Not Harder”. As a pragmatic person it has never made sense to me, to drive yourself crazy doing things last minute when, with a little planning, you can do things ahead of time and actually get to watch some of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

 Granted, there are things that can’t be done ahead of time and life does happen. But, for the most part, if you can do even a few things ahead of time you won’t be sorry.

Here are a few things that I do in preparation for Turkey Day:

Make things ahead of time- As I write this (5 days before T-Day) I have Cranberry Sauce simmering on the stove. Desserts are one item that is best to make the day before. I will also mix up my Shoe Peg Casserole the day before and store it covered, in the fridge.

Run and empty dishwasher often- Even if it is not totally full, I will run it and empty it as quickly as I can.

Pre cut veggies- Stop and think about which recipes you will be using some of the same veggies in and chop them all at once. Pampered Chef has prep bowls that really get a work out in my kitchen this time of year.

Mashed potatoes in a Crock Pot- This is my favorite tip! I always remember the chaos right before all the food ends up on the table. My mom would be mashing the potatoes and making gravy while my dad would carve the turkey. So, do this and you won’t be sorry. Once you mash the potatoes, generously spray the crock pot with cooking spray and place the potatoes in the pot. Cover and keep on warm or low until serving time. You can keep them there for up to 2 hours but I try not to do it that long. No matter how much you spray the Crock Pot, it will get crusty around the edges the longer it sits. This year I am going to try not spreading the potatoes to the edges and see how it works if I just keep it mounded up.

Write a list of everything you are serving- This eliminates the feeling that I use to get each year as we are sitting down. You know the feeling. The “I think I forgot something, but I don’t know what it is” feeling. Cross things off the list as they are put on the table.

Assign others to help- I have delegation issues, so this one is actually more for me than it is for you!

Turkey Brine- Cast of characters: 

If you have never brined your turkey, I would like to HIGHLY recommend it. It flavors the bird so nicely that once to do it you will want to do it each year. This is a recipe that my friend Jackie shared with me a few years ago.

Turkey Brine

1 cup kosher salt

½ cup brown sugar

5 bay leaves

2 Tbsp. black pepper corns

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. rosemary

1 Tbsp. rubbed sage

1 Tbsp. coriander seeds

Add the ingredients to 2 quarts of boiling water and stir well. Add 1-2 quarts of water (depending on the size of the bird). Place the turkey in a XXL Ziploc bag (the kind you would store blankets or coats in). When the brine is cool, pour it over the turkey. Close the bag and put it in the fridge for 12-24 hours. Remove the turkey, rinse and prepare as you normally would.

• I read somewhere that you are only supposed to brine fresh turkeys, not the ones that have been frozen. But I always use frozen ones and it turns out great.
• Also, if you don’t already cook your turkey in a cooking bag, I would HIGHLY recommend that also. Make sure you get the “Turkey Size” bags and just follow the directions in the package.