Turkey Day! Thanksgiving Prep Tips
Welcome to November! It is time to start planning for the big day and a little preparation now will make your Thanksgiving cooking and baking time easy as…pie! Below is a list of things I check in my kitchen at the beginning of the month to make sure I have everything in order before I start working on my menu. Hopefully these tips will make your planning a lot easier.
- SHARPEN ALL OF YOUR KNIVES. This will make things so much easier when you are slicing and dicing for all of your recipies. I use a honing steel but I also have a Chef’s Choice electric knife sharpener that works well for serrated knives.
- OIL YOUR WOODEN CUTTING BOARDS. Now is the time to get your boards in shape. A little mineral oil with a soft cloth works wonders in restoring your boards. Also check your polypropylene boards to see if any of them need to be replaced. If they have deep cuts or grooves in them, add them to your shopping list.
- CLEAN YOUR OVENS, VENT HOOD, AND STOVE GRATES. If you have the self-cleaning feature on your ovens, fire them up. EZ OFF oven cleaner also works great with a sponge and it really doesn’t take much time to get all the crud off the bottom of your oven. Run your vent hood grates through the dishwasher and clean under all your burners to make sure when you are ready to cook, there won’t be any smoke or smell of burning spills.
- PURCHASE TURKEY PINS. I use these to keep the stuffing in the bird and I always seem to forget them and have to send my mom on a hunt. Buy them early as they get hard to find closer to Thanksgiving.
- INVENTORY YOUR KITCHEN TOWELS. A lot of dishes are washed when cooking for Thanksgiving. Make sure you have enough towels that are not covered in stains or fraying. You can’t have too many of these stashed in a drawer!
- POLISH THE SILVER. Thanksgiving is when I pull out the china and silver. If you use sterling silver for your table, pull it out now and see if any of the pieces look tarnished. If they do, try this easy way to clean it up: In a clean sink, place a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom. Place your silver on top. Sprinkle with baking soda and pour boiling water over to cover it. The tarnish will fall off and you can then just rinse and dry the pieces.
- CHECK YOUR LINENS. What do you want to use on your table this year? Do you need to press a table cloth or napkins? Do you want to pick up some chargers to go under the plates, or add some new placemats?
- PURCHASE PLACE CARDS. If you have a big family or multiple tables, place cards can be nice so everyone can quickly find their spot at the table when the meal is ready to serve.
- FIND OR BUY AN OVEN THERMOMETER. If you are cooking a turkey, you are going to need a thermometer! I love the Chef Alarm Cooking Alarm and Thermometer from Thermoworks.
- PICK UP TO-GO CONTAINERS. Everyone loves Thanksgiving leftovers and if you have some extra to-go containers on hand, you can send grandma home with a piece of pie!
As you do your weekly grocery shopping this month, start adding in the non-perishable extras that you know you will need for your Thanksgiving meal so that your shopping the week of will not be so overwhelming. Do you have sage for the stuffing, chicken broth, flour, and sugar for baking? These days there can be some strange out-of- stocks, so go ahead and pick up your can of pumpkin and bags of cornbread early.
Get your apron ready!