This is the first time I’ve ever hosted Thanksgiving at my house and I’m not going to lie, I am stressing out about it.
There is so much to do in the next week between getting (and keeping) the house clean and getting the food ready. So when I found a list of tips from Food52/Courier Journal to make it easier to get ready to host Thanksgiving I was so happy!
1. Clean out your fridge. You’ll need room for the turkey and all the extra ingredients you’ll buy. You don’t want to run into an issue because you have leftovers you’re never going to eat taking up space.
2. Check your pantry. Take inventory of what you have in your fridge, cupboards, and drawers, especially when it comes to things like spices. You might not need to buy a turkey roasting bag, because the box you bought last year came with two.
3. Have a game plan for your cooking vessels and dinnerware. Take stock of all the pots, pans, plates, glasses, serving platters, and flatware you’ll need to pull off your Thanksgiving dinner.
4. Grocery shop. You should have everything you need for Thanksgiving dinner by Sunday night . . . the turkey, canned ingredients, fresh ingredients, beverages, everything.
5. Defrost your turkey. If you bought a frozen turkey, the USDA recommends one day of thawing in the fridge for every 4 to 5 pounds.
So if you have a 15-pound bird, you’ll need to start defrosting at LEAST 3 days in advance. And if your bird is over 20 pounds, you should have it defrosting in the fridge by TONIGHT.
6. Do some food prep. Depending on what you’re serving, you can check off a few things this weekend. Things like dips and spreads can generally be made up to a week ahead of time.
You can air-dry breads for stuffing. You can make homemade pie crusts. And things that are served chilled, like cranberry sauce or vinaigrette for salads, can all be made this weekend.
