Dishfunctional Designs

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Tips for Hosting Your First Thanksgiving: A Beginner's Guide

Hosting your first Thanksgiving can feel like a big challenge, but it doesn’t have to be stressful! With a little planning and some helpful tips, you can pull off a memorable and enjoyable holiday for everyone. Here’s a simple guide to help you host a smooth and successful Thanksgiving celebration.

1. Plan Ahead

Start planning as early as possible. The earlier you begin, the more time you’ll have to think about what you need, avoid last-minute stress, and even enjoy the process! Here’s a timeline to help:

Two weeks before: Finalize your guest list, plan the menu, and start shopping for non-perishable items (like canned goods, spices, and napkins).
One week before: Shop for fresh ingredients, clean your home, and make sure you have enough seating and tableware. *Be sure to start to defrost your turkey five or six days before you plan to cook it!
The day before: Set the table, prep as much food as you can, and get your home ready for guests.

2. Keep the Menu Simple

Thanksgiving dinner doesn’t have to be overly complicated. Choose a few key dishes and focus on making them delicious. Traditional Thanksgiving foods include:

Turkey or other main dish: If cooking a whole turkey feels intimidating, consider making a smaller turkey breast or even a rotisserie chicken. Check out my easy instructions for how to roast a turkey!
Stuffing or dressing: A classic side dish that’s easy to prepare. Try my Potato Filling recipe!
Mashed potatoes: Creamy and comforting, mashed potatoes are a favorite for many.
Gravy: Don’t forget the gravy! It’s an essential topping for turkey and potatoes.
Cranberry sauce: This can be homemade or store-bought, but it’s a must-have.
Vegetables: Simple options like roasted carrots or green beans are easy to make and pair well with the other dishes.
Pie: Pumpkin pie is the classic, but you can also make apple or pecan for variety. Don't forget the whipped cream!

If you’re short on time or feeling overwhelmed, it’s okay to buy a few items ready-made, like a pie or pre-cooked turkey, to ease your workload.

3. Delegate Tasks

Don’t feel like you have to do everything on your own! Thanksgiving is a time for togetherness, so ask your guests to pitch in. You can assign them tasks like:

Bringing a side dish
Helping to set up or decorate the table
Pouring drinks or serving appetizers

This will not only lighten your load but also make your guests feel involved and appreciated.

4. Prepare in Advance

The more you can do ahead of time, the easier your day will be. Some things you can do the night before or in the morning include:

Prep your vegetables: Chop onions, carrots, and other veggies for the stuffing or side dishes.
Make pies and desserts: Most pies can be made the day before and stored in the fridge.
Set the table: Lay out placemats, silverware, and centerpieces the night before so you won’t be rushed. Here are some great ideas for Thanksgiving tablescapes.

By preparing early, you can focus on the things that need to be done on Thanksgiving Day, like cooking the turkey and enjoying time with your family.

5. Timing is Key

On Thanksgiving Day, timing can be tricky, especially if you’re cooking multiple dishes at once. Here’s a basic guide to help you stay on track:

Turkey first: The turkey usually takes the longest to cook, so it should be the first thing in the oven. A good rule of thumb is to cook it for 15 minutes per pound at 325°F (for a traditional oven-roasted turkey). It's best to get up early in the morning so you can get a headstart with everything.
Sides last: Most sides cook quickly, so start preparing them a few hours before you expect to serve dinner. You can also reheat dishes in the oven while the turkey rests.

Make a rough schedule for when to cook each dish, and remember that most foods can be reheated if needed.

6. Have a Backup Plan

Even with the best planning, things don’t always go as expected. Here are a few common issues and solutions:

Turkey isn’t cooked all the way through: If this happens, cover the turkey with foil and let it cook for longer while you finish preparing the sides.
Not enough seating: You can use folding chairs.
Too much food: Thanksgiving often leads to leftovers! Make sure to have some containers on hand to send guests home with extra food.

Staying flexible and calm will help you navigate any bumps in the road.

7. Enjoy the Moment

Most importantly, remember to enjoy the day! Thanksgiving is about more than just the food—it’s about spending time with the people you care about. Take a moment to relax, chat with your guests, and celebrate all that you’re thankful for. It doesn’t matter if everything is perfect—what matters is that you’re creating memories.

Hosting Thanksgiving for the first time can be a lot of work, but with these simple tips, you can make it a fun and memorable occasion. By planning ahead, keeping the menu simple, and asking for help, you’ll feel more confident and have a great time celebrating with your loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving!

-Laura

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Article and images copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2024 and may not be republished in print or other media without express written permission from the author. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Saturday, November 16, 2024

My Favorite Recipes: Potato Filling for Thanksgiving

When I was growing up, my grandmother and mother always made a traditional Thanksgiving stuffing (also known as "filling," depending on your generation or where you grew up).

This consisted of lots of bread cubes mixed with copious amounts of sautéed celery and onions softened from being sautéed in melted butter and mixed with seasonings.

Mom would rinse out the turkey and blot the insides dry with paper towels (one Thanksgiving many years ago we found one or two, abandoned deep inside behind the stuffing, to my mother's horror and my family's laughter, when serving the bird).

Mom would mix the filling and then pack it into the turkey until it was full (remember to remove the paper towels first!). Whatever stuffing remained was baked into a casserole dish, making for even more wonderful leftovers.

Years later, my sister took over creating Thanksgiving dinner for our family and introduced us to potato filling, aka mashed potato filling, and we were sold. Buttery mashed potatoes replaced about three-quarters of the bread cubes used in mom's stuffing, resulting in a more moist, creamy, rich accompaniment to our Thanksgiving feast. After all, what could be more comforting in autumn and winter than potato dishes?

Not that potato filling was anything completely new to us. Living in Pennsylvania, we were more than aware of PA Dutch-style potato filling. We were even served it seasonally with our Thanksgiving school lunches.

Not a fan of turkey? No problem. This dish pairs perfectly with roast chicken and your favorite roasted vegetables. Now that I cook our family Thanksgiving dinners, it's a regular staple on the menu. I often make it with our Christmas dinner as well.

The grocery list is short: you'll need less than a bag of white potatoes, about two sticks of butter, three to four stalks of celery, one large onion, five to six slices of day-old white or Italian bread, fresh parsley (you can substitute with dried if that's what you have on hand), a splash of milk or half and half, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of paprika for color.

My mother taught me to always dot the top with little bits of butter before baking so that the top browned up nicely. You can add your favorite seasonings to your liking, but I really prefer mine straight up with only some salt and pepper and a little bit of parsley.

Assembly is simple. You make a batch of mashed potatoes in one pot and in another you sauté the onions and celery, add bread cubes, and then mix it all together and bake.

Ingredients:

For the mashed potatoes:
6 lbs. peeled and diced white potatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk or half & half
1 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (and more to taste)
Salt & pepper

For the celery mixture:

3 stalks celery, washed and diced
1 large onion, diced
3/4 stick of butter and more if needed
6 slices of day old white or Italian bread, cubed
Paprika

Directions:

In a large saucepan melt 3/4 stick of butter. Add the diced celery and onion and cook on medium-low heat until onion is translucent and celery is soft. The mixture should be very moist with butter. If not, add a bit more butter. Once cooked, turn off the heat and set aside.

In a large pot, add the diced potatoes and cover with water. Add one teaspoon of salt. Bring potatoes to a boil and then simmer over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork-soft. Drain the potatoes. Mash the potatoes in the pot or transfer to a mixer. Add the butter and milk a little at a time while mashing the potatoes. Mash or mix until soft. Add parsley and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tear the bread into large crouton-sized pieces and then add the bread to the pot with the softened celery, onions, and butter. Stir to combine.

Add the bread/celery mixture to the mashed potatoes and gently stir to combine.

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray or coat with butter. Transfer the filling into the casserole dish with a spatula. Dot the top of the filling with small bits of butter here and there (I usually use one to two tablespoons of butter for this, depending on the surface area of my casserole dish). Sprinkle lightly with paprika.

Bake uncovered in a 350° F oven for 35 minutes or until top just begins to turn golden and slightly brown.

Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!
-Laura

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