Hellobee Boards

I have never hosted but every magazine I have read recently has pretty good suggestions for what to make ahead, day of, etc. I just skimmed and recycled but I think Parents, Family Circle and Better H&G all had articles like that. One of them (FC I think?) even had easy/medium/difficult plans.

I think you can make the turkey early - that doesn't need to be hot (also, if you buy a frozen bird, make sure you have somewhere around 2 days to defrost it!!!!)

Pies can cook during the main meal?

@Ra: what's on your menu?

I prep ahead of time....

chop all my veggies and put them in baggies according to recipe

shred my cheese and put in bag (or just buy pre-shrunk ed cheese)

Bake my corn bread ahead of time since day old bread is suggested for stuffing

Pies & cakes can be made the day before

Certain side dishes are made entirely the day before like collard greens, day old greens taste better IMO

if you have space in your fridge you can mix & store punch the day before

Man, I cook Thanksgiving almost every year. Sometimes in our tiny beach house oven that only has room for the turkey. Cook everything else in the oven at the same temp as turkey. Utilize croc pots if you have them. I love Trader Joes for never frozen turkey. Do the prep work in advance. Make a timeline with a countdown to the meal and to do lists per 15 minutes then work backwards from there.

This is my go to turkey recipe. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Homestyle-Turkey-the-Michigander-Way-2/

9:30 prep turkey, preheat oven
10 am put turkey in oven
Set table
Prep appetizers
2:30 prep mashed potatoes, start boiling water
2:45 put green bean cassorole in oven
Set out appetizers
3:15pm take turkey out of oven, let rest, make gravy with drippings.
3:30- mash potatoes & warm rolls
3:45 break down turkey
Dinner at 4pm

I hosted last year. There was only 5 of us though and everyone helped so it wasn't too difficult. I have one oven and used a fryer for the turkey instead of baking it. I did do a lot of veggie prep the day before.

@Ra: you're good on sides. Agree with @Mrs. Jump Rope: regarding the accouterments. What about a second protein? I sometimes get a Honeybaked ham and call it a day.

Smart to outsource your desserts I did that last year too and had a table of five stress-free-for-me sweets.

We've done Thanksgiving the last few years, and DH cooks the turkey in an infared fryer. That frees up the oven for stuffing and sweet potato casserole. I'll make the mashed potatoes in the morning, then put them in a crockpot to keep warm.
I usually make the desserts and cranberry-apple salad the day before.
My mom and siblings generally bring appetizers, a veggie dish, rolls, and more dessert.

I had my first Thanksgiving last year. I found stove space to be more at a premium then the oven (that could be because one of my burners broke so I was only working with 3, and one of those was a small simmer burner!). But this is what I remember doing/kind of my plan for this year.

Pies and desserts were all made the day before. So was the corn bread. I chopped/prepped all the veggies then too, to make my life easier. I also prepped the anti pasta platter, which we always do cold anyway.

Turkey went in first thing in the morning. It can sit and holds heat well. I also roast a bunch of veggies with the turkey that go into my gravy When the turkey came out/was resting, I put in the stuffing and butternut squash + brussel sprouts, and made the gravy with the veggies from the roasting pan.

Mashed potatoes, Mac and cheese, green beans and cranberry sauce were all made on the stove top.

This year, most will stay the same except we live closer to home now (no planes involved) so my mom will bring the cornbread, anti pasta, green beans almondine, and sweet potatoes. I'll still make the pies ahead of time, along with a mushroom risotto and mashed potatoes. The turkey will go first in the oven, followed by stuffing and brussel sprouts + butternut squash, lastly anything that needs warming up. On the stove top will be potatoes + kale, Mac and cheese and cranberry sauce that day.

Oh man, I'm so excited for Thanksgiving now!!! This is my favorite time of year

I only have one oven as well, but I leverage the four burners on my stove top and the crockpot. We also have a grill outside that has a burner, it's a great way to keep cooked food "warming."

I don't make any sides that have to go in the oven the day of. I do make a corn pudding, but I assemble and bake the night before, and then I take it out of the fridge and serve it either room temperature OR I warm it in the grill outside.

My menu typically has:
Turkey and stuffing (one pan of stuffing that I do put in the oven with the turkey).
Mashed sweet potatoes, cooked on the stovetop
Corn pudding, made ahead as above
Steamed string beans, tossed with an olive oil dressing, warmed in the grill
Mac and cheese, made ahead, warmed in the grill

This year, I was planing on serving a soup as a starter, but I am not hosting. My idea was to do three very good courses, and have less food, rather than more.

I'm terrible at organizing the meal and I end up doing 5 things at once. Also, this thread is making me hungry!

I do a lot of prep the day before. Like mashed potatoes can be made the day before but add more milk than usual or add a little before you reheat them so they're not too stiff. Also the turkey has to rest and then breaking it down so after I pull the turkey out, any sides that need baking/warming up can be put in and about ready by the time the turkey is actually rested and carved. We make gravy while carving the turkey is a "man job" and other things are in the oven. As long as those sides don't take more than a half hour, it tends to all come out around the same time. Also rolls are made way in advance and normally in the freezer so just have to defrost, put in pan and cover with foil in the oven to heat up.

And because this was longer than I expected the only real cooking I do the day of besides heating up is turkey, stuffing and gravy. Everything else just needs to get hot. Makes it less stressful. Good luck!

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: OMG, I didn't know you could do turkey legs! I was trying to convince my dad to do cornish hens, but he's like, i want the turkey leg.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: so where do you get the turkey legs? Do you have to special order them?

This year, I am not hosting, my aunt wants to host again. But if I were, now that I know I could get the turkey legs, I would have done cornish hens for everyone, with a side of turkey legs, for the guys!

I hosted a couple of years ago with one oven (that really only fit the turkey) also. My advice is similar to what others have said-- try to make side dishes that either don't require the oven (e.g., salads or something that can be made in the crockpot or solely on the stovetop) or that can be made ahead and then reheated briefly in the oven while the turkey is resting. Also, I don't know if you have a toaster oven (that has a bake function) but I think i used that for warming up the rolls, etc. I love Thanksgiving-- I wish we could host every year