Thanksgiving Feast help......

[lukenick1]

Putting on a feast for 15-20 people this Thanksgiving. Just curious how many things can be made ahead? I assume I will have to make the mashed potatoes day of. Any suggestions what to make in advance and instructions on how to reheat without drying things out? Making sweet potato muffins that I will freeze. Never had such a large crowd before.

Thanks so much!!!!

 

[Pesky]

Here's what I am planning on making ahead:
* orange raspberry cranberry sauce -- make and stick in fridge a day or two ahead
* any pies -- you could actually freeze those and reheat or make a day ahead and just leave
* sweet potato casserole -- make day or so ahead and into fridge until time to reheat
* grilled asparagus -- serving chilled or room temp anyway so will make and put in fridge
* bread/rolls
* turkey -- in theory you could make the turkey a bit ahead and put it in the fridge until time to reheat but I don't have room for that and prefer to have it fresh out of the oven (after a rest period) anyway.
* salad -- just prechop the items (minus the lettuce) and leave separate in bags.

 

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

Putting on a feast for 15-20 people this Thanksgiving. Just curious how many things can be made ahead? I assume I will have to make the mashed potatoes day of. Any suggestions what to make in advance and instructions on how to reheat without drying things out? Making sweet potato muffins that I will freeze. Never had such a large crowd before.

Thanks so much!!!!

We do dinners for larger crowds all the time. If you have a crockpot, you can actually make mashed potatoes ahead of time. My wife also makes up her stuffing the day before. Having things prepped ahead of time will make your life so much easier! Even if it means setting the table the day before can make things easier. Make a list of what needs to be done ahead of time and then make a timetable. Enjoy the day and try not to worry!

 

[lukenick1]

We do dinners for larger crowds all the time. If you have a crockpot, you can actually make mashed potatoes ahead of time. My wife also makes up her stuffing the day before. Having things prepped ahead of time will make your life so much easier! Even if it means setting the table the day before can make things easier. Make a list of what needs to be done ahead of time and then make a timetable. Enjoy the day and try not to worry!

So make the mashed potatoes day beforee and heat in a crock pot the day of? How does she reheat the stuffing? Covered with foil in oven? I am making a meat stuffing.

 

[lukenick1]

PS......definitely turkey fresh out of the oven!! Now another question.....2 small birds or one big bird with a separate breast too?

 

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

So make the mashed potatoes day beforee and heat in a crock pot the day of? How does she reheat the stuffing? Covered with foil in oven? I am making a meat stuffing.

One way you can do them is cut up your potatoes the day before and leave them in the fridge in cold water so they don't brown. Then the next day follow this recipe:


Ultimate Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
Total time: 4 hours 45 mins
Very Easy To Make and Extremely Yummy  you really cannot go wrong with this dish.
Ingredients
5 Pounds of Russet Potatoes
1 garlic clove minced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter, cut into small cubes chunks
1 1/4 cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup milk, warmed
2 ounces of light cream cheese
Instructions
Peel Potatoes and Cube  I try and get 12 cubes per potato.
Get your crock pot out and set it to high. Put  Potatoes  Chicken Stock  and Butter into the Crock Pot
Cook for 4.5 hours
Roughly Mash Potatoes  then add garlic, sour cream, salt, pepper, milk, and cream cheese and finish mashing
Enjoy!

You can leave out the "extras" if you just want regular mashed potatoes too!

 

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

My wife cuts up bread, onion and celery the day before. She adds all spices and tosses. She stores this mixture in the fridge until the next day. At that point, she melts the butter and pours it over the stuffing mixture and adds chicken broth. She tosses with a fork and then stuffs the bird. The leftover stuffing is then put into 2 9x13 inch pans. set these aside and place into the oven when the bird is almost done cooking. (45 mins give or take) When it is done cooking, toss the bird stuffing with the pan stuffing. The flavors are wonderful.

 

[momof3ds]

Can guests bring some of the items?

We have 10 people for Christmas Eve and make 1 turkey and 1 ham. For 15-20 people, I would do 2 turkeys and a ham.

 

[LilyWDW]

PS......definitely turkey fresh out of the oven!! Now another question.....2 small birds or one big bird with a separate breast too?

I would do 2 small birds. Larger birds have a tendency to dry out because they need such a long time to cook. I would do 2 10-12 lb birds depending on your final numbers and the amount of left overs you would like.

 

[kittychatalot]

I always do my mash potatoes the day before and put in a casserole dish and cover with alumin foil in fridge. Holiday day I put in oven and warm up. I do mine simple with sourcream, a little milk, salt and white pepper and butter and paprika on top. Love em!

 

[talulabelle]

I make (or start) everything except the Turkey in the days ahead. Mach potatoes heat up fine the day of with a double boiler, or even in the microwave in a microwavable pot with a lid to keep them from getting too dry. all casseroles, pies can be done ahead. I make cassserole of garlic mushroom the day ahead. I blanch my greenbeans the day ahead - and then on Thanksgiving I just stick them in a pot with slivered almonds and butter to sautee them a little and get them hot. That is the beauty of a turkey dinner, it can all be done ahead!

 

[mrsboz]

I make the squash, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and stuffing the day before. I just wrap them in aluminum foil and heat them up on Thanksgiving. The turkey I cook on the counter in one of those "ovens" so I can free up my real oven. Another tip I learned is that if you put a wet paper towel in the salad bowl you can make it all ahead and it stays fresh for several days. It is so much easier to make everything ahead. Green bean casserole I make that day.

 

[Fyrefly]

Bare minimum you should be able to chop up and premix anything you have room for in your fridge. So if you wanted to have potatoes fresh day of you could have them already peeled and chopped so all you have to do is boil water. Setting the table the day before I think is a good idea, lets you take inventory of if you have enough serving dishes/utensils and you aren't scrambling.

From my understanding you don't want to go any bigger than about 14 or 15 pounds on a turkey or it will be tough and dry no matter what you do. So you might want to do two little turkeys depending on what you're expending for meat consumption.

With our large family reunion style Thanksgivings (13-14 people most years) we split it up a bit. The cousin hosting does end up making turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, relish tray, stuffing, and pies, but my mom usually brings two veggie side dishes, other cousins bring a few sides, my grandmother who can't cook buys the turkey, and everyone brings a bottle or two of wine. So it's still not entirely even because a lot of stuff does have to be done day-of but its a bit less of a strain in both work and financials on the host. Maybe you could put out a call for people to bring some stuff?

 

[TiggerTails57]

Already have my gravy in the freezer..........

http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2012/11/make-ahead-turkey-wing-gravy-because.html

I'm planning on making Pioneer woman's make ahead mash too......

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/

I'd go with two smaller turkeys, more drumsticks!
If you are going to also do an extra breast, I'd do that ahead and slice it up ready.
Good luck!

 

[lukenick1]

These are all Great suggestions............

 

[lukenick1]

Already have my gravy in the freezer..........

http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2012/11/make-ahead-turkey-wing-gravy-because.html

I'm planning on making Pioneer woman's make ahead mash too......

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/

I'd go with two smaller turkeys, more drumsticks!
If you are going to also do an extra breast, I'd do that ahead and slice it up ready.
Good luck!

I f I do the turkey breast ahead....what is the best way to reheat without cooking it more and drying it out?

 

[scrapquitler]

So make the mashed potatoes day beforee and heat in a crock pot the day of? How does she reheat the stuffing? Covered with foil in oven? I am making a meat stuffing.

Yes on both counts. I make the stuffing in a foil disposable pan, covered with foil, just don't overcook it...if it seems dried out, you can add a little broth to it. And the mashed potatoes are fine in the crockpot, I've done them that way for several years.

 

[denisem]

Here's my version make ahead gravy, similar to Tiggerstail57's - trust me, I'm gravy impaired, so it's a relief to have it done early! I've also successfully frozen leftovers in the past for Christmas dinner. I hack the turkey wings off before brining and make gravy the day before while I'm prepping other things. (No one fights over turkey wings, anyway.)

http://www.food.com/recipe/the-best-do-ahead-turkey-gravy-42402

I've also successfully "made ahead" the mashed potatoes and stuffing ideas mentioned, just a matter of transferring the crockpots to the slow cookers on T-Day; on low, slow cookers are pretty forgiving.

 

[TiggerTails57]

I f I do the turkey breast ahead....what is the best way to reheat without cooking it more and drying it out?

Cover tight with foil and heat in oven..........you may even spoon a little gravy over turkey slices to keep moist.
OR
Layer slices in a crock pot on low, with a little gravy for 1-1 1/2 hours, then hold on warm.