The Turkey Plan

Thanksgiving is like a total huge deal 'round these parts. It is B's most favorite time of the year and marks the start of the holiday season. I have finally perfected my Thanksgiving spread after 7 years with my man. I am super excited and I know everyone is freaking out, including me, that T-Day is next week! I just want to know where this year has gone and why is it so fast... Sooooo, I am chronicling my plans for next week and hopefully it helps my brain get more organized and maybe I can bring inspiration to others to host Turkey Day, it truly is worth all the time, prep, and stress. Plus you don't have to deal with all the crazy traffic! This is a picture of last year's spread, I am getting so excited now!


First thing - start making the menu for the day. This will determine a ton for you going forward for things like your shopping, dish selection, time management and how much to make for the number of people joining you. My menu is all set in stone, I think B would have a heart attack if it was changed up. After Thanksgiving, I will post all the recipes and pictures from the day.

• Pumpkin Cheese Ball with Crackers - a cheese ball in the shape of a pumpkin, festive!
• Veggies with Ranch Dip
• Deviled Eggs
• Panchetta and Sage Roasted Turkey with Gravy
• Mashed Potatoes
• Mushroom and Apple Stuffing (maybe with Roasted Chestnuts thrown in for good measure)
• Corn
• Greens - Green Beans and Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Pecans and Lemon
• Jalapeno and Cranberry Chutney
• Rolls with Honey Butter
• Pumpkin Cheesecake - I usually do this but I am thinking about doing a Pecan Pumpkin Pie to have a mash-up of favorites

Next up - order your turkey if you are buying fresh. I usually pick mine up at the local Sprouts but pre-order it a couple of weeks ahead. I don't want them to run out of 20 pounders! Also start on your shopping list. This way you can keep an eye out for sales and pick non-perishables up when they are the cheapest. This also reduces your stress levels because you have the time to check your pantry so you don't end up buying a fifth bag of flour! Plan out the day you have to take your turkey out of the freezer if you have a frozen bird, mark it on your calendar! That way you don't have to run it under hot water!

Now the cleaning begins. I usually start with this about a week before to ensure that  I don't feel all the pressure at the same time I should be starting to cook. I start with the basics like laundering the sheets and towels for any overnight guests. We always open our home to have people stay over, especially once the turkey-coma takes over! Then I start on making sure the house feels super festive and cozy. I pick up candles, extra decor that is discounted, and any platters or dishes I need for the day. I plan on vacuuming and dusting the day before, if there is one day worth of dust, people won't notice over the wonderous smells coming from the kitchen! B usually helps with the cleaning the day before while I am in the kitchen all day because he is the best ever :)

Two days before the turkey is roasted, I do all my shopping for the essentials I have not already picked up. That allows me to get started the next day with all the preparation and reduces the stress. You may have noticed that I stress on the reducing of stress, I am a total stress-ball and I hate feeling all scattered!

The day before - I make everything I possibly can this day so I look awesome and not like I walked out of a wind tunnel of sweat when my guests arrive. I will say that having a second fridge really helps with the day's prep. I also am blessed with a lower mini oven to bake the potatoes and stuffing. Below is my game plan for t-minus 1 day.

• Make the compound butter for the turkey
• Make the honey butter
• Prepare the Mashed Potatoes and top with foil, refrigerate
• Prepare the Stuffing and top with foil, refrigerate
• Chop up all the veggies for appetizers and place in a storage container filled with water - your veggies stay fresh and crisp!
• Prep the Ranch Dip
• Make the cheese ball, already place on a platter and cover with cling wrap. You just have to put the crackers all around it the next day.
• Prepare the Deviled Eggs - do not fill them, keep the filling in a zipper bag to pipe into your egg halves until right before so they are nice and fresh. I have an awesome egg plate that I got for $5 and I already place all the egg halves in there covered with cling wrap so I just fill them super quick!
• Prepare the Cranberry Sauce - keep in the fridge but make sure it is cooled down before you put it in, bacteria can form, eww.
• Clean the greens and prep for the next day, all you have to do is toss the beans into boiling water and the sprouts into a hot pan! Easy peasy!
• Make the pumpkin cheesecake or desired dessert. I only make one dessert because most people are stuffed like a turkey by the time pie is making it's rounds.
• Place all your serving dishes out so you are not rummaging around and you can get appetizers out super fast when people start to arrive
• Set the table - everything out but the plates and silverware. I would put those out too but we have a little fur baby named Baron that would sit on a plate and I would be mortified.
• Make sure your dishwasher is empty - that way, you just have to pop in those plates after the meal and not worry about having enough space for all the dirties that have suddenly filled your sink and counters.

THANKSGIVING - as you can see, I have already done most of the work and I can savor the day!

• First thing I do is get the turkey out and hang a little bit to warm up, I also take the turkey butter out to get a little warmer so it is easier to spread. Then I spread that sucker all up and in the skin with that amazing compound butter. My turkey's usually take about 3 hours and I am grateful to have a convection oven so my bird stays super juicy. So juicy that I can never get enough drippings to make gravy, thanks to gravy powder mix, we are saved! I just take a bit of the compound butter and add it to the gravy mix so it seems like it was from the birdy. 
• Go take a shower, after wrestling with that bird, you feel a little yucky so take your time getting squeaky clean and put on something comfortable but classy, that's the way I roll! I also put on makeup so I don't scare people! :)
• Put the appetizers out for your guests, it gives you some time to catch up with your lovlies.
• About 2.5 hours into the bird in the oven, I put the stuffing and mashed potatoes into the lower oven, I keep the foil on until right before I serve and it gets a nice crust. 
• Once you take the turkey out to rest, I usually let it rest for about 30 minutes, you can start on the greens. I also warm up the corn with a little butter, salt, and pepper, simple is usually best.
• Those take no time at all so warm your rolls in the oven, the oven is turned off so you are just using residual heat. 
• Then start placing things in their serving dishes, put the appetizers into the fridge to clear up space. We do buffet style with a few items on the table like the rolls and cranberry sauce
• Now it is time to eat! Enjoy your feast and the wonderful time with loved ones

 I hope that was helpful, it was super helpful for me to organize my thoughts for next week, need to start on that laundry! I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving, we will definitely keep updates on here of our day. Gobble gobble!