Hosting your 1st Thanksgiving?

OMG! I am hosting Thanksgiving! 

What do I do?

Well..I've hosted a few dinners in my life...

and I think I can give you a pointer or two to save you a little stress and worry this year.

Or next year...or the year after....

Time to put on your thinking caps.....

First thing you need to do is make a list of guests.

Obviously....how many people your table seats is something to consider also.

When I was a child..I remember grandma's small home was turned into a feasting area!

The table was extended to the max..all the mixed matched chairs were brought in

and us 'kids' all sat at the little card table at the end.

One of my favorite memories is that my favorite cousin John

would always sit with us..he was an adult..but he was one of the big kids!

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Ok...you have a list of guests...now what?

 Another list of course!

This time...you need to decide what to feed the crowds.

 Don't be afraid to ask your guests to bring something!

 You would be surprised how much people want to help!

But they won't know what do it unless there is a plan...

or at least someone to help guide them.

You can do this one of 2 ways..

A) you can make your list then call the guests and ask what on the list they would like to bring, or

B) call the guests and say your supplying the Turkey (or ham...or whatever your main dish is) and ask if they have a specialty item they would like to bring.

Most people have a favorite item that they have mastered and would love to show off!
  If they don't know what to bring....have a list ready! Ask if they would like to bring a side...dessert..or...even a beverage.
 Don't forget to put their name next to the item on your list.

Here is our basic menu for this year.

*Turkey
*Ham
*Green Bean's
*Bread (Corn bread & Rosemary focaccia)
*Stuffing
*Gravy
*Apple crisp
*Tomato/cheese - Mom

Another thing you may want to think about is if your guests have any special needs...
diabetic, vegetarian etc...that may be another reason they want to bring something.

* Munchies, snacks,  Hors d'oeuvres, etc. 

The place everyone wants to congregate towards and stand around eating and talking.

   I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I was deprived as a child because as an adult...

I love to play with my food! I love to make creative trays and fun radish flowers or carrot stuffed cucumbers...etc. But keep in mind what snacks do...they fill people up!

So..unless you have a house full of guests that will be there all day long....

you may want to decide not to have munchies at all.

Or if you do, have something light...like veggie trays.

If your energetic...buy a bag of carrots and celery etc and wash and cut it yourself...

or just buy a tray pre made.

*If I have time...I will post one of my fun healthy snacks! :D
That will be another post.

If you want to have a guest bring a veggie tray...

make sure they are the ones who arrive early and not late.

Nothing like having a bunch of people stand around the kitchen

staring at you with hunger in their eyes waiting for that snack tray to show up!

Our guests usually show up about an hour or so before dinner . .

 and we always end up so full on munchies that we wouldn't want to eat!

So we all agreed not to have them anymore.
 Sad..I know...but we had to save room for dinner!
And lord help us all if we were too full for dessert! :D

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All right! You have your menu..now what?! Now the fun begins!

Your going to . . make another list! haha.

OK..I'm list happy...but it really helps keep you on track

and from making numerous trips to the store.

Write your 1st menu item on a sheet of paper...

(I'm assuming you know 'how' your going to cook it?
If not....you better go back to your *cook books! lol)
 

 Under that item you just wrote on the paper...

make a list of the ingredients you will need.

Do this with every item on your menu.

Don't 'assume' that you have common items!
Write it all down...quantities too.

You would be surprised how you are 'positive' that the
 sugar jar is full and forgot that you

(or a child baker in the house like mine!) made cookies for a
 friend 2 weeks ago. The whole purpose of the list is to keep from going
(or sending someone else) to the store.

The store is NOT the place to be on Thanksgiving day...trust me!

My hubby can tell you all about it! lol

* Note...I love sticky notes! In your cook books,

use a sticky note to mark the page of the food your cooking..

& write on the side what dish is in there so you
don't have to keep opening the books.

It acts like a tab.

*I also found a great site.
One of the things it has...is quantities to buy per person for food.
It's all the way down towards the bottom of the page
So if you need to know how much turkey or pasta etc, per person to buy....
this should help you out!
 http://www.recipetips 
 (warning! You WILL get lost on the site lol)

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Now that you have a list of things you need....its time to start another list.

(Are you groaning yet??? lol)
This is your 'shopping list'. Write down all the ingredients needed...
but now you need to total them up.
IE: Turkey brine needs 1 cup of sea salt, green beans need 2 tbs sea salt, etc.
So...on your list..write 'Sea Salt' and the 'total' amount you need for all items
 (1 cup and 2tbs) Make sense?

You now have a long list that will look something like this...

Sea Salt 1.5 cups

Flour 4 cups

Sugar 5 cups

Butter 6 sticks

Rosemary 4 tablespoons

(This is not a real list..just an idea)

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 Now go grab a highlighter & pen.

Its time to go through our cabinets and fridge.
If you have 'more' than enough of an item on the list....run the highlighter through it.
You don't need to buy it. Lets say you have roughly 2 cups of sugar left and you need 5 total....
cross off the 5 and put 3 (that's 5-2=3)
So now you only need to buy 3 cups of sugar.
 But don't be afraid to buy just a little extra...
Christmas IS right around the corner!!

Don't forget to watch your adds & check your coupons!
All these holiday goodies go on sale before the holidays!!

One more thing....before you go to the store. (Try to time this on trash night!)

CLEAN OUT AND ORGANIZE YOUR FRIDGE!
 
Ohhh ... but there is nothing worse than trying to stuff all those extra items into a
packed fridge with lord know what kind of leftovers that are growing in the back lol

I would also like suggest the week or so before....
hit your local dollar store up and stock up on foil, baggies, containers, etc....
they are very handy to store and/or send leftovers home in! :D
(I know..I'm such a good little hostess haha)

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RECAP:

Guest list - check

Menu planned - check

Shopping done - check

Now for the cooking!!

Look at your menu and decide what can be done before hand...
the night before, the day before..2 days before?
Don't try to kill yourself by doing it all the day of.
We want to take a nap 'after' our turkey...not 'in' it! :D

Here are the foods and their cooking times....

                              FOOD             TEMP        COOK TIME         SITTING TIME

                              Turkey             325              Approx 2 hours         1/2 hour

                              Ham                 325              Approx 2 hours         10 minutes

                              Bread               425              20-25 minutes

                                   Since meats need to sit and cool...turn temp up then start bread.

                                   The bread will come out nice and warm for the meal.

                             Apple Crisp      375             20-25

                             Stuffing, Green Beans & Gravy are stove top & fairly quick...they can

                             be cooked while bread in oven.

Notice that the turkey and ham have the same temp and approx same cooking time. .
but the ham only needs to sit for 10 minutes while the turkey should sit for 30.
Therefore, I would start the ham about 20 minutes after the turkey.
This way they could both come out and sit at the same time.

Remember to count backwards when figuring out all your cook times.
If you are eating at 4 pm...you want it all done by 4.
Turkey takes the longest with 2 hours cooking and 30 minutes of sitting..
so I would start it at 1:30 pm.

*Note that this is just a sample chart. Every meal will be different based
on the foods and times...but I am hoping to give you an idea of
where to start to organize yourself so everything comes out on time & hot!

Sunday Before

Take turkey out of freezer and put in fridge to start the dethaw.

Two days before (or weekend before):

Decide how your going to set the table and what trays/dishes etc you want to use.
Start the cleaning/ironing (linens)...
washing (dishes, decos) etc process to get everything ready to go.

Remember that you will have guests bringing their own dishes also...
so keep the decorations to a minimum & don't over crowd the table.

We have a large counter and a hutch that can be cleared off
to make room for the extra dishes so they are within easy reach.

Day/night before: 

* Wash and prep turkey and get that bad boy soaking in its brine bath!

*Wash & trim green beans.
*Wash apples
*Cut onion and garlic
I like to pre measure them for recipes and put them in a double Ziploc bag
(cut onions will overpower your fridge)
& mark the bags with a marker..turkey, stuffing, etc
*Wash and cut celery for veggie tray and for stuffing
(again..I will add the chopped celery in a plastic bag marked stuffing)
*Pick & wash any fresh spices from garden
(I have fresh rosemary for my bread and sage for my turkey! Mmm)

Night before:

　
*Set butter out to soften
(keep away from oven or other warm places)
*Lay out your cookbooks and dry ingredients on counter (Room permitted)

Go ahead and decorate your table now.
Unless you have a bunch of naughty pets or little kids running around that may
knock something over...it will be just fine. :D

Plus its fun to come out in the morning and see your table all set!!

Thanksgiving 2008

Don't forget to start your coffee and hit the timer so its all brewed and waiting for you.

REMINDER:
For those who have to work but have family members at home...enlist!

Everyone can help with something.
I don't care how young or old....they can help.
Kids love to help...so think of lots of things for them to do.
Even if its setting up a craft table for them and having them make hand turkeys
for place settings for everyone...they will be busy AND out of your hair lol
If the kids are really young..enlist and older child to help them with the crafts.



If you have an awesome tip or advise you think someone would like to hear...
PLEASE...share!
Everyone loves a new idea to try!!
What did you think if my tips...will they help you??
What do you do for Thanksgiving?

PS...here is a link on how to make the turkeys in my background pic.
So cute! And quick and easy to make! Score! lol

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cookie-Turkeys

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A little holiday humor..
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/Q5Plsv4hSqJUlZ1L?cmpid=jj_url