Summary: /* Relax */
[[Image:ThanksgivingSpread.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Look at that spread. Photo by David M. Goehring/[http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/2069104457/ Flickr]/CC]]
Thanksgiving is more than just turkey or ham. There's mashed potatoes, yams, casseroles, stuffing, dressing, cranberry sauce, gravy and countless other side dishes. It's enough to overwhelm even a well-trained professional chef -- to say nothing of the rest of us.
The key to making your Thanksgiving dinner come off well-paced and without a hitch is careful planning. Here's our guide to making sure everything hits the table hot, and at the right time.
''This article is part of '''a wiki anyone can edit.''' If you have advice to add, log in and contribute.''
<br clear="all" />
==Plan ahead==
Professional chefs don't just stroll into the kitchen at 5pm and start sending out perfect dishes. They plan ahead, and so should you.
Write down a menu. List of all the dishes you plan to serve, build an ingredients list and buy all your supplies well ahead of time.
Look up how long each recipe says it will take, paying attention to both the prep time and the cooking time. Then start plotting out the order in which you should work, starting with the longest recipes.
If you're [http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Roast_a_Turkey#Brine_it brining your turkey], prepping and chilling the brine is usually a two-day process, and your turkey has to soak overnight.
Some sides, like cranberry sauce, and some desserts are generally served cold, so make them well ahead of time and store them in the fridge.
==Par cook==
"Par cooking" simply means "half cooking." For example, if you don't want to reheat fully-cooked mashed potatoes, you can still cook the potatoes about half way the day before and then finish them up in half the time.
Vegetables are also good candidate for par cooking. Par cook your green beans and then just heat them up before serving. Breads and pies are also great candidates.
It may sound a little unappealing -- after all, you want everything to taste fresh -- but most dishes turn out just as tasty when par cooked. It's the secret weapon of even the fanciest restaurants.
Be aware that some foods, like meats, don't respond well to par cooking. But you could get most of your sides halfway done a day early.
==Enlist help==
It's impossible to baste a turkey, kneed dough for rolls and dress a salad all at the same time. Deputize some helpers and get them in the kitchen with you.
You don't need to be a dictator about it, but make sure everyone helping you knows what they're doing, has a place to work and has the proper knives or tools. Print out instructions for each task to keep them from asking unnecessary questions.
==Relax==
Thanksgiving dinner is a stressful time for many people, but with a little planning, some help from friends and family and a few glasses of wine, you can get everything together like a pro and have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the meal.
==Other Thanksgiving How-tos==
Continue your quest for culinary domination with these guides:
* [[Roast a Turkey]]
* [[Deep Fry a Turkey]]
* [[Serve Fast Food on Thanksgiving]]
* [[Make a Cherpumple]]
[[Category:Food and Drink]]
[[Category:Thanksgiving]]
Thanksgiving is more than just turkey or ham. There's mashed potatoes, yams, casseroles, stuffing, dressing, cranberry sauce, gravy and countless other side dishes. It's enough to overwhelm even a well-trained professional chef -- to say nothing of the rest of us.
The key to making your Thanksgiving dinner come off well-paced and without a hitch is careful planning. Here's our guide to making sure everything hits the table hot, and at the right time.
''This article is part of '''a wiki anyone can edit.''' If you have advice to add, log in and contribute.''
<br clear="all" />
==Plan ahead==
Professional chefs don't just stroll into the kitchen at 5pm and start sending out perfect dishes. They plan ahead, and so should you.
Write down a menu. List of all the dishes you plan to serve, build an ingredients list and buy all your supplies well ahead of time.
Look up how long each recipe says it will take, paying attention to both the prep time and the cooking time. Then start plotting out the order in which you should work, starting with the longest recipes.
If you're [http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Roast_a_Turkey#Brine_it brining your turkey], prepping and chilling the brine is usually a two-day process, and your turkey has to soak overnight.
Some sides, like cranberry sauce, and some desserts are generally served cold, so make them well ahead of time and store them in the fridge.
==Par cook==
"Par cooking" simply means "half cooking." For example, if you don't want to reheat fully-cooked mashed potatoes, you can still cook the potatoes about half way the day before and then finish them up in half the time.
Vegetables are also good candidate for par cooking. Par cook your green beans and then just heat them up before serving. Breads and pies are also great candidates.
It may sound a little unappealing -- after all, you want everything to taste fresh -- but most dishes turn out just as tasty when par cooked. It's the secret weapon of even the fanciest restaurants.
Be aware that some foods, like meats, don't respond well to par cooking. But you could get most of your sides halfway done a day early.
==Enlist help==
It's impossible to baste a turkey, kneed dough for rolls and dress a salad all at the same time. Deputize some helpers and get them in the kitchen with you.
You don't need to be a dictator about it, but make sure everyone helping you knows what they're doing, has a place to work and has the proper knives or tools. Print out instructions for each task to keep them from asking unnecessary questions.
==Relax==
Thanksgiving dinner is a stressful time for many people, but with a little planning, some help from friends and family and a few glasses of wine, you can get everything together like a pro and have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the meal.
==Other Thanksgiving How-tos==
Continue your quest for culinary domination with these guides:
* [[Roast a Turkey]]
* [[Deep Fry a Turkey]]
* [[Serve Fast Food on Thanksgiving]]
* [[Make a Cherpumple]]
[[Category:Food and Drink]]
[[Category:Thanksgiving]]
Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/howtowiki/~3/cUZEgK8zi-0/Time_Your_Thanksgiving_Dinner
No comments:
Post a Comment