My brother is hosting us for Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, right at the edge of the San Gabriel mountains, and it’ll be a team effort, but I’m in charge of the cooking. This means I can’t put it off any longer: It’s time to think things through and really get organized!
I’m definitely looking to Eric Kim as my stuffing authority this year — after cooking 20 stuffing recipes, he developed his own from a mix of crusty white bread and cornbread, layered with the flavors of sage leaves and fennel seeds. And Claire Saffitz has two new vegetarian potato recipes: Do I want to trade my usual cheesy potato gratin for her twice-baked potatoes or her garlicky mashed potato cake? Maybe!
Here’s my (rough) plan
Sunday:
Decide on a menu. Seriously.
Finish grocery shopping
Make and freeze a double (or triple!) batch of pie dough
Make and freeze gravyWednesday, after work:
Cut and toast bread for stuffing
Prep and refrigerate milk mixture for stuffing
Prep and refrigerate pumpkin, pecan and cranberry pie fillings
Make cranberry sauceThursday morning:
Assemble and bake pies
Prep potatoes
Prep root vegetables
Assemble and bake stuffing
Prep citrus and salad dressing
That gets me just about there! When I’m putting together a big meal like this one, I find it helpful to think through the cooking methods required for each dish so I can chart a rough timeline for the oven and stovetop. Everything can’t go in the oven at once, so it’s always great to have a dish that I don’t actually have to cook, like a big, bright salad, which I can keep ready to go on the counter, then toss together at the last minute. It’s also good for balancing out the textures, flavors and colors on the table.
