What things do you cook ahead for Thanksgiving Dinner?

L

luisa_calif

Well-known member
* Done way ahead, raviolis and sauce in freezer

* 3 days ahead, bake and freeze rolls (done this successfully for MANY years), salt & herb dry-brineing turkey (first time with this), rolled out pie shells & put in freezer

* 2 days ahead, make cranberry sauce. This year making broth for gravy ahead.

* 1 day ahead make spongecake, honeycomb brittle

toasting pecans, sliced almonds, squash seeds, grate parmesan

*****

other stuff my sister is making 1 day ahead, savory sweet potato casserole & stuffing components

* Day of:

do appetizers, finish stuffing, make mashed potatoes, make green veg, cook raviolis, finish gravy

 
I made turkey dinner last Sat, and prepared the mashed taters, glazed carrots, dressing components

cranberry sauce, broth for gravy, mandarin orange jello, and a rustic apple pie all on Friday. the potatoes heated up gently and beautifully in the slow cooker on Sat. Turkey in the oven Sat and dressing put together and baked after turkey was out and resting, and pre-made dishes put in the oven at that time too to re-heat. my most relaxing turkey day. friends brought over green bean casserole and a store bought cake.

 
Not a lot but I do have a few things in the works

Dry brined the turkey last night.

Made the cheese/cranberry mix for the little cheese balls (Sylvia's Jacques Pepin menu) All I have to do is roll them in the toasted pine nuts.

Olives are in a spicy brine, ready to go.

For the stuffing, the onions, celery, bread, etc.... is diced and ready to go. The bread I like to dice up ahead so it gets a bit more stale.

Made roasted turkey wing broth over the weekend for the gravy and stuffing.

Apple pie tomorrow (someone else is bringing the rest of the desserts, they are making them tomorrow)

Breads will be sponged and then into the fridge to rise tomorrow.

Cranberry sauce is done.

Since many of the sides are being brought, the day of I am dealing with smashed taters, corn, stuffing and gravy.

I have been trying to figure out if I should do a sweet potato something...one guest out of all of us is from the South and I would like to do some for her. But I've never done it...so I'm not sure if I should.

And now I'm rambling as all the meds kick in to help combat my asthma episode that doesn't want to abate. If the drugs are good enough they might just end up with PB&J sandwiches cut with my turkey cookie cutter, LOL.

 
I'm cooking almost everything but the turkey tomorrow...

I'll put the dressing ingredients together; into the casserole dish to cook later; sweet potatoes will roast and be totally finished; mashed potatoes can be done tomorrow and reheated Thursday as well. Cranberry stuff must be done tomorrow; brine needs to be done tonight. Gravy will have broth done in advance, and be ready to go when I start the process...nice and hot. Salad...when I figure out what it will be, I'll get there. LOL! Marinated veggies need to marinate tomorrow, but so do the roasted veggies. I'll do my dough tomorrow and see how I manage to have all the warming pans in the oven at the same time. LOL! That turkey has to rest sometime! LOL! I should also do my pie tomorrow...I'm leaning toward a pumpkin praline...hit the squash and the pecan in one bite. It's time to play in the brine now though...kind of like a wonderful cauldron of flavors!

 
I made Tomato Aspic recipe from the Stagecoach Inn yesterday (a favorite of my aunt's)

and am making Pat's red cabbage/craisin/apple slaw today. Almost all of ours is made ahead of time and reheated since it is all transported 30 or 45 miles from different directions to my granddad's house.

 
I make everything ahead, even the gravy, dressing and mashed potatoes

I save turkey drippings from our summer grilled bone-in turkey breasts cooked on the grill. I have turkey stock in my freezer so the gravy is easy to make. Portuguese green beans are made three days ahead.Mashed spuds are made the day before, put into a casserole dish, dotted with butter and gently heated in the oven. Dressing is made two days ahead and parked in the crock pot in the refer. Dessert was made today also. Cranberries can be made on Monday.

 
Melissa, I love that tomato aspic! DH and I spent the first night of our

honeymoon at the Stagecoach Inn! Drive safely and have a wonderful day with your family tomorrow!

 
I'm not wild about it, but Maurine loves it. We stayed at the Stagecoach Inn

on the SECOND night of our honeymoon because couldn't get reservations the first night. Stayed first night at the Hilton on the Brazos in Waco and took the riverboat dinner cruise. Long time ago. Can't believe I divorced him twenty years ago.

I'll post the recipe if you want it. Ft. Worth Star Telegram ran it in their food section years ago. It is very easy to make.

 
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