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Thanksgiving Prep – Planning Ahead

November 15, 2019
My favorite planning tools –
books, iPad and clipboard

Thanksgiving is one of those times that brings about memories – of family and friends coming together and having reflective gratitude. Then there are the smells….ah yes, the smells coming from the kitchen. I can still see my parents starting early in the day to prepare the meal. As I had my own household and became a working parent, it became essential to plan and organize my day. In doing so, I have developed some processes that have helped me streamline the preparation of this glorious meal. I continue to use them to this day. This will be one of my more practical posts as the season calls for it – I am in full planning mode.

I love planning and preparing ahead of a function. I do this for any tea I give, enjoying the menu development, and preparation or when I have guests come to stay at my house. The holidays provide a perfect time to use these skills and techniques – and Thanksgiving is exactly what an overthinking planner is looking for.

I begin my planning by listing out the days that I will have guests and the meals that they will be here for. Outlining each meal, breakfast – lunch – dinner, I will scour through recipes that will be delicious and more importantly that can be made ahead. For me to enjoy my guests or the holiday, I like to have as much of our meals prepared and in the freezer. Close to becoming obsessed with the process, I am grateful that my freezer is full and I am content to have filled my little pal to full capacity. If you had to ask what is my favorite kitchen utensil, I would have to say my little upright freezer! I know its not a utensil, but as my family can attest, I am crazy about freezing things.

Scones, cookies, pies…..and the turkey

This year, I have been working on Thanksgiving and the days and weeks prior to hosting my guests. My menus are made and I have identified those items that can be made ahead and placed in the freezer well ahead of time, up to several weeks and maybe even months.

So for breakfast, as you can imagine, we will frequently partake in scones and a breakfast meat. Within my freezer I have currant scones, toffee scones, and homemade turkey sausage patties – all of which are not cooked or baked at this point. Frozen individually first and then into a freezer bag with wax paper or parchment paper separating them. The scones will go right into the oven and the sausage will be thawed out in the refrigerator the night before. Both items will be prepared early in the morning directly before serving. I also have a large container of lemon curd in the freezer. This can be thawed in the refrigerator and good for the week.

A breakfast casserole makes for easy breakfast burritos. The breakfast casserole will be made ahead and frozen. The night before, I will place the casserole in the refrigerator along with tortillas that have been in the freezer. In the morning, I will put the casserole in the oven, warm the tortillas, set out toppings and let my guests put their own burritos together.

In addition to these items, I always have a selection of quick breads, scones and pastries prepared and in my freezer.

Lunch and dinner meals are setup with the same approach. Sausage and peppers over polenta, green chile chicken enchiladas with rice, and roasted tomato soup with toasted caprese sandwiches to name some of the meals.

For the Thanksgiving day, the menu is planned and items selected for preparation and freezing. Using the same process, I map out the meal – the prep – the freezing.

  • Scones
  • Pie Fillings
  • Goat Cheese

I like to use both containers and freezer bags. The bags work particularly well. Once frozen, you can stack them. I like to try freezing just about anything. I have mincemeat pie filling prepared and in a freezer bag. I have leftover buttermilk, initially frozen in ice cube trays and then in quart size bags. Goat cheese, wrapped in foil, waiting for a great appetizer – it freezes great. Green beans have been blanched and ready for that ever popular green bean casserole. Cranberry sauce has been made and is frozen in a gallon size bag, just waiting for the meal to come together. Sage and basil leaves frozen individually and then packaged for quick use in stuffing or soups. Everything labeled with a date to ensure that I use it up quickly….but with this season, it won’t take long.

For Thanksgiving (and other holidays and teas), I will set the table the night before, laying out each dish and then, much to my family’s chagrin, I will put a note in the dish for what will be served. While I endured teasing, I now see that these habits have been passed on to people dear to my heart.

Simple ideas that may seem overwhelming but once done you will find that it is a pleasure when the day comes and it gives you time to be thankful for the many blessings. When the table is set and all your prep work comes together, you are able to sit back and as I like to say – feet up. I am ready for some dessert….. Enjoy!

The dishes done, my feet are up!

NOTE: I will be sharing the process and supporting documents for planning and executing a tea party in a future post, as well as the recipes. Please look forward to it.

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