2024 Thanksgiving Menu and Meal Prep Timeline
* image These past few months have been busy for our family, especially since our oldest joined a local swim team. Between juggling our work schedules and balancing school with practices... we're all pretty wiped out. Although it's a lot of work, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. Preparing the holiday meal for our family fills my heart with joy, and I can't wait to get started. To make things easier for me, I don't deviate much from our first Thanksgiving as a family. The dishes I make are familiar ones, and the recipes for them live at my fingertips. Keeping the same menu year after year means I don't have to spend time researching recipes or planning a new one. Here are my tried-and-true Thanksgiving recipes, as well as my prep timeline for the big day!
Comments
That aside, I agree and disagree with some of the list.
Aerosol spray: works great in grilling applications. It's quick and you get an even spraying.
Canned beans: I will always stand by canned black beans. It's so much easier than having to soak the beans then cook them.
I had no idea they made imitation parmesan.
I also use better than boullion which is a concentrated broth base. I doubt I will change that.
Guess I'm "out"
I agree, canned veggies are the ick.
I was a HUGE fan of canned stocks when living back home...now I'm in Europe where it is nearly impossible to find...bouillon cubes and powders only (and I too have a pack of chix bouillon in my cupboard). So, I've been saving bones in the freezer and will slip them in while a soup is bubbling away and then just remove them. Does the trick.
Packaged bread crumbs - I'll take packaged panko over homemade breadcrumbs just about any day. In fact, these days I use panko in place of just about all breadcrumbs. It's just that much better.
Bouillon cubes or powder, or canned stock - I make homemade stock whenever I can, but in the occasions when I don't have any on hand I use soup bases from Penzeys.
Dried basil - I'll take fresh any day, but when it's not available from my backyard I reach for basil we've preserved in salt. It's something between fresh and dried and it's absolutely fantastic.
And the beans? I think Bittman was trying to stress that we didn't have to rely on the canned beans if we prepped way in advance. Doing up a pot of beans, say, on a weekend and then freezing them in portions might be a better alternative to using canned beans. That is, if you have the time to devote to that.
As for the spices, I think we're all a little guilty there. ;-)
I didn't realize canned stocks were so hard to find in Europe! I think your solution is best, though. Put those bones to work!
In my current culinary world, grilling only consists of using my grill pan. So I use olive oil and make sure the application is even by using a paper towel to spread the oil around the pan. I'm sure I'd feel differently if I were dealing an outdoor grill or something a little more sophisticated than a grill pan!
I'm with you on the canned beans. The convenience they afford you is worth keeping them in the pantry. I don't know when I'd ever have the time to soak dried beans and cook them and portion them and freeze them.
And be blessed you weren't aware of the existence of imitation Parmesan. ;-)
And, um, can you air-mail me some of that preserved basil? :)
And trust me, when time is against me, I fall back on a lot of the "Outs" that Bittman's trying to encourage us to move away from. Sometimes, you just need to rely on the time-savers!
In my defense, the organic bouillon cubes I buy here in Holland have very little salt, and I only use them in a pinch, as I absolutely prefer to make my own stock. Instead of buying chicken breasts which are infinitely more expensive, I buy whole legs or leg quarters for dishes like stir-fry. Then I ask my butcher to de-bone the legs and reserve the skin and bone, so that I can make bouillon. The bones and skin of two legs will make about 2,5 liters of stock, which I freeze until I need it.
As far as the canned beans are concerned, I tend to buy canned chickpeas, but that's just about it. Making beans from scratch does take planning, but they do taste infinitely better, so I am in agreement there.
Good suggestions all in all, and probably more intended to help those who are less familiar with the simplicity and joy of making food from scratch, then those of us who are already in the know.
"Good suggestions all in all, and probably more intended to help those who are less familiar with the simplicity and joy of making food from scratch, then those of us who are already in the know.
I couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks for commenting and adding to the discussion! And, have no fear, no matter what Mark Bittman says, I know I'll probably never stop using canned stock or canned beans. ;-)
A question on pie crusts: Why are people so afraid to make their own? And why does Bittman turn to graham-cracker crusts instead? Even if you make flour and shortening/butter crust, it takes approximately 5 minutes, plus 15 in the freezer (or an hour in the fridge) to make it easier to work with.
I'm not sure why people are afraid of making pie crusts. Graham-cracker crusts are super easy, so once you make one, you'll realize there was nothing to be afraid of. As for pastry pie crusts, perhaps it's the butter that intimidates people... If you're not used to doing something, the unknown is enough to be scary! ;-)
Angie, I love your attitude! Stay true to yourself!!
What I'm taking away from Bittman's article is to try the fresh approach if the time is there. If you devote, say, one weekend per month to making the stock and beans from scratch and then freezing them, they'll be there when you need them. And doing that would be preferable to reaching for something that's been canned. However, if I find myself in a situation where using a shortcut would be more appropriate, I'm going to use it!