Thanksgiving is the one meal hosts can feel the most pressure about preparing. The entire celebration is set around the meal, the Thanksgiving feast! Messing it up could make for a household full of unhappy guests. Gulp! For a beginner, the pressure could be off the charts!
Let me start by saying what most cooking classes and books don’t tell you. Of all the meals you typically prepare in a year, this one can be the most labor-intensive. Preparing a Thanksgiving meal can be a lot of work. Every year, fantastic cooks and chefs are challenged to come up with a new take on what is a very traditional meal. They offer all types of variations and new recipes. However, since most people eat a Thanksgiving meal only once a year, they like the basics: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls and pumpkin pie for dessert. So if you are a beginner who is cooking for a crowd, to keep it as simple and doable as possible, stick to the basics. The reason I tell you this is not to discourage you, but rather to prepare you. I like to know what I’m getting into ahead of time, so I can gird my loins for the battle!
Having said that, if you follow my previous advice of pacing yourself and being organized you can pull off a delicious, memorable meal for your family and friends. And you will have joined the millions of home cooks nationwide who stare in disbelief when a Thanksgiving meal that has taken 3 days to prepare has been consumed in 15 minutes flat! Take it as a compliment. Your family will enjoy your meal and your guests will have one more thing to be thankful for…you!
Happy Entertaining,
Patricia Mendez
