Turkey Day Prep

Thanksgiving is upon us. Just 8 days away and we'll be sitting in the living room wishing we hadn't taken that second helping and planning for dessert.  I happen to love turkey day.  I love cooking it.  And I love the leftovers.

So many people I know just dread the cooking of Thanksgiving. They think its a difficult meal, but the reality is, at least to me, it's simple. It does take planning, there's no doubt about that.  Lucky for me, I'm a planner.

Because I'm a process person, and a type A personality, and I love forms, I created a turkey day planning sheet.  Its crazy and a bit over the top, I admit, but did I mention I love forms?

The first step in planning the big day is determining who all is coming.  Once you know your guest list and people have RSVP'd, you can decide what size turkey to get.

Oddly enough the news is reporting that there's a BIG turkey shortage this year. They're saying bigger than 16lbs is going to be hard to find.  I can remember turkey days where we had a 25 pounder and/or two turkeys.  The biggest Thanksgiving I remember we had 27 people...whoa. That is a tough dinner to cook.

Anyhow, let's assume you just need a 16 pounder. The mistake many people make is  not allowing enough time for the turkey to thaw. I've done it. I had a mostly frozen turkey on Thanksgiving morning and had to figure out how to thaw it. A huge pot of cold water and a couple of hours will help.  Swapping out the water every 30 minutes helps too.

So about 3 or 4 days before, I do my grocery shopping.  I have my planner and I know what's being served by me and what's being brought by guests.  My grocery list isn't set up differently from my normal grocery list.

Off to the store.  This does two things. First it gets the task done.  Second it gives you a couple of days to make sure you have everything.  There's a chance you may have missed something, and you can run to the store before turkey day.

Day of I do a work back schedule.  I start with when I want to eat and then I work back from there to know when I need to put the turkey in. The schedule looks something like this...dinner's at 3pm.

With that plan in hand, I know I can lounge around all morning and get myself together.

See, easy.  Anyone can make a turkey dinner successfully.