Thanksgiving Dinner Prep Calendar

This meal that you are going to cook in a little over three weeks—your annual Thanksgiving Day dinner—is the wildest menu in the kitchen each year. And why is that? Because it means a lot to us, to dine together on our traditional foods and to give thanks for doing so. Good on us; we know what matters.

But it’s daunting—isn’t it?—this mammoth pile-on of so many dishes that the dining room looks like a midnight buffet in Vegas.

Keep in mind that you can tame that wildness by preparing much beforehand, well before the last Thursday in November. Plus, cooking a considerable amount of Thanksgiving Day food ahead of time makes many dishes even more delicious.

Stocks and broths, for example, are profitable do-ahead basics; layered dishes, casseroles, and soups also keep well. Peeling potatoes, dicing onions, rolling out and freezing pie dough, cleaning serving dishes—all might be planned and done ahead.

I’ve got help: a calendar that arranges the prep work, in steps, for your Turkey Day meal. Beginning now.

The calendar takes you from this week right up to the big day (and dinner) and includes helpful links to stories, recipes, videos, basic cooking techniques and tips, and selecting wine that I’ve already posted on this site. Let’s get cooking!

This week:
* Bag the bird. If pre-ordering a turkey (for example, a heritage breed to be shipped, or one that’s been pre-brined), do it by now.
* If you plan to roast your bird, ensure that you have the necessaries for roasting, such as a strong, adequate-sized roasting pan, a long-handled basting spoon, and kitchen twine. (Watch my video on roasting a turkey.)
* Begin laying out your Turkey Day menu, especially if you will cook all of it alone. With the menu in mind, inventory your pots and pans, the serving dishes, and serving ware. (Think of the entire menu: from nibbles and appetizers, through all the main dishes, relishes, and condiments, to the desserts at the end. All of it sits on dishes.)
* Another key inventory to take, again with your particular menu in mind, is to think through how it all will cook, over time, and where.

See a Thanksgiving Dinner Prep Calendar here.