I am approximately 1 week behind in planning our Thanksgiving dinner. But we nailed down the menu, recipes and started the shopping list last night. In case you didn't know this about me I am extremely anal retentive and a bit OCD, and if that weren't enough to drive most people away, I am also the Queen of List-Making. Oh, how I love the lists!
So, planning and prepping for a big holiday shin-dig is what I do best. I am going to share with you how I do this and you can either take an idea or two that might help with your own holiday planning or use it as evidence against me when they send the men with the butterfly nets to haul me off.
First off, you need a yellow legal pad and a pen that works. On the first page up at the top title the event and the year, i.e. Thanksgiving 2010
Then list the guests invited so you have a head count and know how many of each thing and whether or not to double recipes, etc.
After that I start listing the dishes to be made. Example:
New England Maple Glazed Turkey and Gravy
Dressing with Sausage, Apples and Cranberries
Next to each item I then put where to find the recipe. (Bon Apetit 1994, page 78)
The next page is the Shopping List. As I am looking at the recipes, I write down every item I need to buy.
But I have found that instead of writing it as 1/2 cup butter, if I do this "Butter, 1 stick" then when I am on the 3rd recipe that calls for butter I just put "+1 1/2 sticks". At the end I just add up total amts of butter to buy. I hope that made sense. It did in my head.
While I have the recipes out I go ahead and label the next few pages thusly,
1 week ahead
3 days ahead
2 days ahead
Day before
Thanksgiving Day
Because most good recipes will say "can be made up to this point 3 days in advance" or something like that. Then I put that step in the appropriate page. It really helps me to stay focused and keep on task to get as much done as I can ahead of time. Plus on the 1 week ahead I can put Grocery Shopping, Set the table, Polish silver, or whatever and not leave stuff till the last minute.
The last couple of days of prepping I always have a clean spot on the counter where all the recipes are stacked up with the legal pad o'lists. Since my kidlets are pretty well grown and usually have a friend or partner or someone over, it is easy for people wandering through to just look at the list and choose something to do and take care of it. I like to think that they appreciate handling something on the list and not having to ask me "what next?, now what?"
The other good thing about doing this type of list-making is that I can always refer back to who was here for which holidays, what recipes worked and what was a flop.
There you have it. Lisa Pie's List-Making Plan. What do you think?
Do you have little tricks you do to help keep you sane and focused? Please share! I am always refining and updating my lists.
We have hosted Thanksgiving dinner twice - once while Chris was in culinary school and once 2 years ago at our house.
ReplyDeleteThe last time we were making the dinner (YES, I do help!), it was 10pm the night before when I realized we had no white pepper. Catastrophe was avoided because, of course, Chris knew how to balance it. BUT.... I said at that time that I was going to make a Thanksgiving Dinner binder. I didn't at the time because we'd gone through all the steps. However, we are hosting again, and I think I'm doing it!
The Binder will include all recipes, in order of when they need to be prepared. Page 1 will be the shopping list :)
Boy, I dunno. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the harried running around. The last minute boil overs on the stove. Burning the dinner rolls.
ReplyDeleteOh okay. This year I'm making dinner, but at my parents small modular home. So I think your idea is fantastic, if I actually do it. Because besides being unorganized I am also a procrastinator. But I loved the ideas Lisa Pie.
Hey Duffylou, nothing will help the "forget the rolls until you smell them burning" syndrome. That's just a fact of Thanksgiving. : )
ReplyDeleteYou are my hero, Lisa Pie! That is awesome. I'm usually the day before, going, "Crap, I've got to shop!" And Thanksgiving with my one gazillion relatives is at my house every year.
ReplyDeleteExcept for this year, we're headed up to New Orleans! We haven't been there since before Katrina, so we're going back to that wonderful city. Although Thanksgiving will be spent at my in laws house, so we unfortunately won't be there for Nawlin's turkey. But that's ok, my mother in law is an excellent gourmet cook. I'm just relieved to have a year off.
Oh and LisaPie, if you have a chance, might you be able to share your recipes with us? You are such a great cook, I'd like to borrow your favorite recipes.
I like!
ReplyDeleteHowever, this year it will just be my husband and me, so I think we'll go out to dinner.
I won't miss the harried, running around wondering if someone put the rolls in the oven. Okay, yes I will!