Timeline For Planning a Holiday Meal

A detailed checklist to to help make your meal prep go smoother.

From lists to early cooking and timely shopping, here is a checklist that details what you can do in stages – and the essentials that have to be done right before the meal.

First of Week of November:

• Plan a menu. Make sure to put down in writing the source for each recipe, to avoid last minute grocery-list panic. If you are not using a formal recipe, write down a brief list of what seasonings and ingredients may go into the dish. You may want to practice the recipe now to make sure it works.
• Make sure the menu is feasible for your kitchen, and write out a timing plan for baking and stove-top cooking. You may find that too many of the dishes you want to make require using the oven at the same time. Cooking ahead in the days before Thanksgiving will help, and you can always delegate others to bring a hot dish.
• Decide on table decorations. If you will be ordering fresh flowers, do it now. Look for pumpkins, gourds, or other fall produce now, and store them in a cool, dry place.

Second Week of November:

• Make a shopping list, including separate non-perishable purchases and perishable items. You can buy the non-perishables now to help with the rush at the grocery store, but wait until the week of Thanksgiving to buy dairy products and the day before to buy salad greens, bread, or seafood.
• Make a detailed list of baking and serving dishes you will need for all the recipes.
• If you are baking pies, prepare the dough for the crust. It can be rolled out, fit into pieplates, sealed in plastic bags, and frozen until you are ready to bake.

Four Days before Thanksgiving:

• If you are cooking a frozen turkey, begin thawing it in the refrigerator.

Three Days before Thanksgiving:

• Pull out the plates, flatware, and glasses you will use; decide on serving plates and utensils for food service.
• Iron tablecloths, napkins. Polish silver. Arrange table decorations and flower vases.

Two Days Before Thanksgiving:

• Make cranberry sauce.
• If your stuffing calls for stale, cubed bread, buy a loaf now, cut it up, and place in the cubes on a baking sheet lightly covered with waxed paper. It will be just right for making stuffing the next day. If you are making cornbread stuffing, prepare the cornbread.
• Make salad dressing if you are preparing a green or fruit salad.

One Day before Thanksgiving:

• If you are using flowers, pick them up and arrange in flower vases.
• Purchase bread and other perishables you need.
• Buy fresh turkey if you are using one.
• Make stuffing, but leave out raw eggs (if you use them) until right before you cook the stuffing.
• Make giblet broth from the turkey if you are using giblets.
Make pies or other desserts.
• Prepare side dishes and casseroles that need to bake; reheat them in the microwave or oven on Thanksgiving day. Use microwave-safe baking dishes if you will reheat in the microwave. Or you can assemble the recipes in baking dishes and bake them right before dinner if you have enough oven space.
• Set the table.

Thanksgiving Day:

• Bring the turkey from the refrigerator and let it stand 1 1/2 hours. Rinse and dry it; prepare it for cooking according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, if you are using eggs, add them to your stuffing.
• Calculate one extra hour to the suggested cooking time on the turkey instructions; this will give you enough time to prepare the turkey before roasting and allow it to “sit” after roasting before carving. Preheat the oven in preparation for cooking the turkey.
• One hour before the turkey is to be done, start heating up the side dishes. Prepare the salad but hold off on dressing it. Measure out ingredients for the gravy. Prepare any last-minute vegetable dishes.
• When the turkey has finished cooking, make the gravy.
• Start the coffeemaker and call everyone to the table.