I've had a dozen or more friends, many food-focused people like me, comment on how stressful it can be to host your first (or your fifteenth) Thanksgiving dinner. Here are my tips, based on seven years of delivering what I hope have been delicious Thanksgiving meals, to make it as minimally stressful as possible.
Plan ahead:
I plan my Thanksgiving meal at least two weeks in advance, sometimes as early as a month before. I start stocking up on the staples (chicken stock, etc.) that can take up a little pantry space but won't go bad lest I be left standing in Whole Foods wondering where all my ingredients have disappeared to and whether they might return before I'm totally out of luck.
Stagger the work:
There are many Thanksgiving "to do" items that can be accomplished long before Thanksgiving day arrives. Pie crust can be made two days ahead and refrigerated and pies can be made the night before. Making bread stuffing? Bread can be be broken up and left to dry up to three days ahead of time. This goes hand in hand with good planning and will leave you with far less to do on the actual day.
Share with your guests:
When your guests say, "What can I bring?", don't be afraid to give them something significant to add to the celebratory meal. It's easy to give away the dinner rolls or a few bottles of wine, but there's no reason not to assign something more substantial like a salad or other side dish. I'd stay away from the staples here though, as you never know when someone's plans might change unexpectedly and leave you without the mashed potatoes (which in my house might be cause for riot). And yes, for those of you who know me, you realize this particular piece of advice is a "do as I say, not as I do" commentary since I'm clearly the queen of kitchen control freaks and refuse to assign anything more substantial than flowers for the table to a guest.
Stick to what you know:
Thanksgiving is not the time to experiment. My rule of thumb is no more than one brand new dish and never a staple. For example, this year I made all the normal fixings - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, etc. And I also tried out a new roasted Brussel sprout with pomegranate molasses recipe. Survey says? Ok. Not the best, not the worst. But that's fine, because I stuck to what I knew and also made green beans tossed with olive oil and garlic, a nice alternative to the bitterness that even the best Brussel sprouts can bring.
Don't forget the wine:
Wine is as much a part of your Thanksgiving meal as the turkey. Know your guests tastes and decide ahead of time whether you want to serve red, white or both. I love to start my Thanksgiving day out with a bottle of bubbly for guests to sip while B and I finish with dinner preparations. And of course, have plenty of beer, liquor and non-alcoholic beverages on hand for the non-wine drinkers in the group.
Think long-term (for the food):
The best part of Thanksgiving, by far, is the leftovers. Consider this when you're planning your meal. If you want to make sure you have left over turkey to go around, plan two pounds per person instead of one. Also consider the need for leftovers in your preparation. For example, I brine my turkey to make sure that it's really juicy so that not only is it excellent the first time it hits the table but stands up to reheating without turning to dust. Extra mashed potatoes make great potato croquettes the next day, so don't skimp on those either.
Give up on perfect and be happy with pretty damn good:
Every host stresses about making their Thanksgiving day a perfect celebration. There is no such thing. Your pie crust won't be as good as last year's or your idiot cousin will get drunk and offend your friends. One way or another, something won't go according to plan. So instead of spending a lot of time fretting about what might go wrong, resolve that something probably will and be willing to roll with it. This will allow you to enjoy the rest of the day that much more and will keep your blood pressure nice and low. And if all else fails, crack into the Champagne before your guests arrive. Just make sure you can still whip the potatoes.
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