THANKSGIVING 101
1. Make/ Build your menu
Pick a theme—It helps to have an organizing principle to guide your choices.
2. Make a Grocery List
Make lists of items that you need to purchase and figure out what ingredients you already have. Even if you're an old pro at grocery shopping, buying food for Thanksgiving dinner can be a challenge—there's just so much to remember. So finalize your groceries you'll need for your feast.
3. Get Your Appliances And Serving Dishes Ready
One of the most important steps in preparing for Thanksgiving is to make sure your kitchen appliances are in good working condition. Check everything – from the fridge, to the blender, to the mixer – to make sure everything is functioning properly. If anything is not working, now is the time to consider purchasing a new appliance. You need everything in perfect working order to make the best Thanksgiving dinner yet!
4. Think Drinks
If you're hosting Thanksgiving or even Friendsgiving, it's important to look beyond cocktails! Nonalcoholic Thanksgiving drinks are as important as the stuffing and the cranberry sauce on your turkey day menu. It doesn't matter if those drinks are for the teens or kids, the sober curious, or the adults who want a break from the booze.
5. Make a Thanksgiving Day Timeline
Find out exactly what you need to do and when. Making sure the house is presentable and the food is warm and tasty is no small feat, so to make sure everything gets done in time, planning is key.
6. How to Cook a Turkey
The turkey is the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, and there are plenty of techniques for cooking one, from frying to spatchcocking to roasting upside down and turning halfway. But sometimes the classic way is the best.
7. Plan for Leftovers
One of the best things about Thanksgiving…the leftovers! The last thing you want to do after preparing, serving and eating a big meal is to spend a lot of time searching for storage containers to keep your leftovers in. A few days before Thanksgiving, put all your food storage containers together in one place and make sure each container has a matching lid. You also want to have plenty of plastic wrap available to place over the food.
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