Top Thanksgiving Terrors and how to avoid them!

When it’s your turn to host Thanksgiving dinner, it’s a privilege, an honor, a pleasure and a bit terrifying. But there’s no need for panic. Our Thanksgiving experts have collected the top holiday terrors and provided some sage advise to help you steer clear of cooking blunders and keep your cool this season.

• I’m not ready for the holidays, let alone Thanksgiving!
• I’m overwhelmed. Where do I start?
• Theres not enough room at my dining table!
• How much food do I serve?
• How will I fit everything into the oven?
• My refrigerator is bursting at the seams!
• Help! My turkey is always so dry.
• And I have to decorate, too?
• Everyone gathers in the kitchen. How do I control traffic?
• Why am I doing this again?
• What can I do? We cant all be together this year.

I’m not ready for the holidays, let alone Thanksgiving!

• Take time now to think about the busy holiday season ahead. Make a master “to do” list to take you from Thanksgiving through the holiday season (gifts, greeting cards, decorating, entertaining). Having a plan will help you breathe easier and enable you to savor the Thanksgiving holiday.
• Our Holiday Countdown has all the reminders for you.
• Think of things that can double up between the two holidays, such as decorating, making extra pies to freeze, keeping plenty of heavy-duty dinner napkins on hand, stocking up on aluminum foil, baking supplies, cranberries, etc.

I’m overwhelmed Where do I start?

• Three simple steps: Plan, plan, and plan. Break down tasks into manageable steps—planning the menu, compiling the shopping list from selected recipes, assembling the serving dishes, etc.
• The happy holiday host shares the cooking and cleaning. Just about everyone likes to help, so don’t feel guilty about taking someone up on their offer to help out. Assign dishes (a side dish, dessert or baked item) to good cooks on your guest list.
• Assign clean up tasks to willing volunteers like wrapping up leftovers, doing the dishes, refreshing cocktails or even gathering and taking out the trash.
• List non-cooks on the clean up crew and have specific tasks for everyone, including the kids.

There’s not enough room at my dining table!

• Go casual and serve dinner buffet style. A buffet is friendly and informal and encourages more mingling and mixing than when guests are stuck in one spot at a table.
• Set up extra seating throughout the house where guests can sit comfortably and dine from their laps.
• A folding or card table provides additional space for eating or as a buffet. Once it is dressed in a long tablecloth, your guests won’t know the difference.
• If weather allows in your area, consider hosting dinner on a porch, patio or deck. In colder climates, use the back porch to keep extra beer or wine chilled.
• If your planning on a large crowd, borrow or rent extra chairs and tables to expand your seating.

How much food do I serve?

• Planning ahead is the best way to cook for a crowd. Use our meal calculator to help plan quantities to feed your guests (and still have some leftovers if you want them).
• Take into consideration the age and appetite of your guests, and how many leftovers you’re planning on.
• When serving a crowd, use your imagination for serving bigger-than-life quantities. That big roaster you use only for ham can hold a lot of salad. A clean, new plastic bucket can hold punch or pretzels.

How will I fit everything into the oven?

• Think of dishes that can be cooked or kept warm in the slow cooker (green beans, corn, sweet potatoes, gravy, hot apple cider). Consider using warming trays or chafing dishes.
• Light up the grill! Use the charcoal grill to cook the turkey, freeing up oven space. Or set the gas grill to low to reheat premade dishes.
• Select dishes that can be heated at the same oven temperature (for example, several baked goods, or reheat the rolls while baking the stuffing).
• Choose oven-to-table cooking and serving containers and measure to make sure all will fit in the oven.
• Plan some side dishes that are good at room temperature and don’t need to be piping hot (like salads, olives and marinated vegetables).
• Youll want to let the turkey “rest” for at least 30 minutes before carving, so thats your chance to reheat stuffing, warm rolls or put a pie in the oven.
• Some dishes can be cooked and reheated or partially-cooked and “finished” right before serving.

My refrigerator is bursting at the seams!

• Use coolers or, temperature permitting, the screened-in back porch or garage for keeping some dishes chilled before serving (vegetables and vegetable dishes without dairy products, molded salads and marinated vegetables).
• Use large plastic tubs or buckets to ice down sodas and wine. Serve party punch in a bowl with a large ice ring or serve warm punch or wassail in coffee carafes.
• Think about investing in a second (perhaps used) refrigerator for the basement or garage. It will pay for itself in convenience through the holiday season and throughout the year.

Help! My turkey is always so dry.

• The key to delicious turkey is to avoid over cooking. Calculate the approximate cooking time based on the size of your bird. (For example, an unstuffed 8 to 12 pound turkey will take approximately 2 3/4 to 3 hours in a 325°F oven; see chart below.) Use a meat thermometer to ensure the proper internal temperature. Insert meat thermometer into the thickest part of the inner thigh (do not let thermometer touch bone) and roast until thermometer reaches 180°F. Remove turkey from oven and let stand at least 20 minutes to let juices settle in the meat before carving.
• For a very tasty and juicy bird, consider brining. Soaking poultry in seasoned, salted broth infuses the meat with delicious flavor and moisture. Our White Cranberry Brined Turkey combines White Cranberry Juice Drink, salt and herbs in a unique brine for prepping the turkey prior to roasting.
• The following information is provided by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service web site, regarding the timetable for cooking a fresh or thawed turkey in a preheated 325°F oven. These times are approximate and should always be used in conjunction with a properly placed thermometer.

And I have to decorate, too?

• When decorating for Thanksgiving and the holidays, streamline your color scheme. After all, crimson cranberry goes well with either holiday dcor.
• A simple cranberry centerpiece with fall leaves and pumpkins makes a beautiful addition to your Thanksgiving table.
• For the holidays, a similar centerpiece takes on a festive look when paired with fresh greenery and sparkling white lights.

Everyone gathers in the kitchen. How do I control traffic?

• People love to be in the kitchen, so let them lend a helping hand. Have kids help set the table or make place cards. Have adults pour drinks, mix cocktails or pass appetizers.
• To help move people out of the kitchen, set up board and card games (or coloring books) in another room.
• Gather kids in one space to do a cranberry craft or activity page.
• If you have two TVs, place one where the kids can watch a parade or a video, while football fans can gather for their gridiron fix.
• Light a fire and move some chairs adjacent to the fireplace—it’s sure to be a people-magnet.
• Have someone pick up and pass the appetizers, out of the kitchen. People will usually move to where the food is.
• If the kids are antsy and it’s a “long time” until dinner, have a teenager take them on a nature walk. They can gather materials for our Nature Walk Centerpiece and you can get the last minute preparations done (They can make a little one for the kids' table, too, if you have one.)
• Encourage everyone to take a walk around the neighborhood after dinner. Its a great way to move around after a heavy meal and gets everyone ready for dessert. This also clears the house out so you can clean up. Better yet, leave the mess (have the teenagers begin to clear and wash dishes) and go on a walk. You deserve time out of the kitchen, too.

Why am I doing this again?

• Between the big feast and football, don’t forget the real meaning of Thanksgiving! Join hands before or after the blessing and allow everyone to tell what he or she is thankful for this year.
• Holiday crafts get the kids involved and build special holiday memories. Let children create a Thanksgiving-spirited decoration—anything from a few bunches of dried corn to handmade paper turkeys to painted mini-pumpkins with guests names on them.
• Pass out instant cameras and create a scrapbook. The kids will love taking pictures of themselves making a centerpiece, and then happily showing off the results.
• For a keepsake Thanksgiving idea, make a memento tablecloth: Using a light-colored tablecloth and fabric pens, ask each guest write a brief note of gratitude and date it. Bring out the tablecloth each year, adding new tidings of thankfulness.
• Savor time together, the delicious meal and the fact that you are able to enjoy it. don’t fret the small stuff.

What can I do? We cant all be together this year.

• Remember absent and distant loved ones with a phone call. Pass the phone around at a prearranged time.
• Take photos to send (electronically or by mail) to distant loved ones.
• Send a care package. For a faraway friend or loved one, Cranberry Nut Bars and Cranberry Shortbread Cookies hold up nicely when shipped or brought along on a trip. Package in a decorative tin, separating stacks of cookies with paper baking cups.

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