Every November as the cold settles in and the daylight dwindles, I hold onto one glimmer of light before I sink into my dreary cocoon of winter. That glimmer of light is Thanksgiving. I love anything that centers around food, and Thanksgiving is also the one time of year that my whole family reunites, so this holiday has naturally become one of my favorites. Typically, we all gather at my aunt and uncle’s house for the long weekend, enjoy the meal, play card games, polish off the leftovers, etc, etc. However, this Thanksgiving was a little different and became much more significant for me. My parents hosted all 12 family members at our house and I was in charge of cooking the feast.
While I was very excited for this challenge, cooking a Thanksgiving meal, I learned, is not much of a desired duty. Some older adults I talked to expressed excitement for me, while many others looked at me in horror as if I was headed into battle. Nonetheless, I remained hopeful.
I spent over a month preparing for the big day, saving TikToks with recipe ideas, researching and comparing turkey cooking methods, compiling recipes from family members, and formulating a balanced menu. All-in-all, the meal turned out delicious and was just as I had envisioned. As a first time Thanksgiving cook, I was very proud of myself. The turkey was juicy, the stuffings were flavorful, and the mac and cheese had the perfect creaminess. Through this journey I learned a lot, so I’m here to share what I learned while preparing for and cooking my first Thanksgiving meal.
DO
Organize and write your thoughts.
Overall, the “Notes” app on my phone was my best friend as I geared up for Thanksgiving. There, I compiled all of my thoughts for the menu, listing out possible dishes and adding links to recipes online, making it super easy to refer back to. The “Notes” app was also very helpful in outlining my schedules, which I’ll get to in my next point…
Schedule, schedule, schedule!
Scheduling was probably the most important tool in minimizing stress on Thanksgiving Day. Below I outline the different schedules I had and how they each contributed to the making of the meal:
Shopping: This schedule detailed the days I would go grocery shopping and which items needed to be purchased on each trip. Grocery stores can be a nightmare the weekend before Thanksgiving, so I made a trip the week before Thanksgiving to pick up non-perishable items, then returned to the store a few days before the big day to pick up perishables like produce, dairy, bread, etc.
Food Prep: My next schedule outlined what foods to prep ahead of time. This included the vegetables that could be chopped and the dishes that could be prepared a day or two before Thanksgiving. For example, stuffing requires an insane amount of celery and onion, so it’s easier to do the day before. Additionally, dishes like green bean casserole and cranberry sauce can be made ahead of time and then finished on Thanksgiving Day.
Turkey: Perhaps my most researched schedule was that of my turkey. I did a wet brine on my turkey so this schedule included: when the turkey would be put in the brine, when it would be removed and rinsed, how long it would dry for, what time it was taken out of the fridge on Thanksgiving morning, and how long it would cook.
Oven: The final schedule is for the oven. I only had one oven to work with, so scheduling its use was critical. I had five sides that needed oven time: two stuffings, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, and a sweet potato apple bake. All of these went into the oven after the turkey came out and while it was resting. This schedule detailed how long each needed to bake for and if they needed to rest after.
Spread the burden!
This might be a personal thing, but when it comes to cooking I can be very prideful and insistent on doing everything myself. Thanksgiving is not the day for this. Asking for/accepting help and delegating responsibilities was a lifesaver when making this meal.
DON’T
Ask for other peoples’ opinions.
Everyone’s families are different, so this may not work for you. But there aren’t too many strong opinions about what’s served on Thanksgiving in my family, as long as the basics (turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and canned cranberry sauce) are there.
I found myself wanting to text all my extended family and ask their opinions of what should be served, but my mom and aunt gave me some sage advice: don’t do that. In the end, you’ll end up with too many opinions.
Overthink.
Most likely, nobody cares as much as you do about how the meal turns out. Sure, no one wants a burnt turkey or soggy stuffing, but if you plan and prepare properly, things probably won’t go wrong (don’t quote me on that, though, I know nightmares can occur in the kitchen). I find myself nitpicking my cooking, wishing I added less salt to this, or baked that a little longer. But (not to get too corny) Thanksgiving is all about gratitude so focus on what you enjoy about the cooking process and the food you made!
In the end I really enjoyed my experience making this meal. There was something really fun and creative about getting to form my own menu and fix up a whole feast for my loved ones. I also got really into the organizational aspects of planning the meal and that was a productive place to channel my energy instead of getting nervous about cooking in such large quantities. I would definitely do it all over again (and I might have to next year…)!