Thanksgiving: A Little Planning Help

It occurred to me this morning that planning for a Thanksgiving dinner can be overwhelming when you haven't had to plan things out before.  Especially when it is the first major holiday meal you've ever had to make for your family.

I remember that overwhelmed feeling very well the first year I cooked the bulk of the meal.

What I've learned through the years is that there is no substitute for planning.  And that dishes you can make in advance are your very best friends.

To that end, I thought I'd throw together some links and some information for folks, as well as an idea of how I line out my week on a day by day basis:

-- Here's my cooking schedule for the rest of the week:

Monday:  The Peanut and I will finish decorating and cleaning the house.  I've started cooking 3 days ahead, but that's really too early.  So use this day to get last minute groceries, get the rest of the house fairly clean for guests, and make certain you have plenty of extra napkins and such.  If you are going to the store this week, do it as early in the morning as possible, or as late at night as you can - fewer crowds means a saner shopping experience.

Tuesday:  This is where things start cooking this week.  I'll start by making my turkey stock as early as possible today, that way it can simmer in the crockpot for most of the day and all that glorious flavor develops.  It really and truly is the best turkey stock ever from your crockpot, and your stuffing recipe and gravy-making will thank you for the boost in amazing flavor.

I'll also make Granny's cranberry orange salad, so it has time for the flavors to really meld together (and so I can sneak bites of it for the next two days -- woot!).

I also make an herb butter that gets placed between the skin and the breast of the turkey to baste the meat as the turkey bakes.  To start, place a stick of butter into a ziploc freezer baggie, seal it completely and leave it out on the counter for a while to soften, usually this takes an hour or two.  Then, when the butter is softened, I finely chop the following:  some fresh parsley, thyme, chives, sage and a little but of rosemary.  I add some minced garlic and a little Penzey's poultry seasoning as well.   Open the baggie, pour in the herbs and garlic, then reseal completely; mush it altogether to combine well, then pop the butter baggie into the fridge.  As it cools a bit, try to get all the butter into a "log" so it's pretty much altogether in an easy-to-slice cylinder.  

Thanksgiving Recipes to Share

It occurred to me this morning that planning for a Thanksgiving dinner can be overwhelming when you haven't had to plan things out before.  Especially when it is the first major holiday meal you've ever had to make for your family.

I remember that overwhelmed feeling very well the first year I cooked the bulk of the meal.

What I've learned through the years is that there is no substitute for planning.  And that dishes you can make in advance are your very best friends.

To that end, I thought I'd throw together some links and some information for folks, as well as an idea of how I line out my week on a day by day basis:

-- Here's my cooking schedule for the rest of the week:

Monday:  The Peanut and I will finish decorating and cleaning the house.  I've started cooking 3 days ahead, but that's really too early.  So use this day to get last minute groceries, get the rest of the house fairly clean for guests, and make certain you have plenty of extra napkins and such.  If you are going to the store this week, do it as early in the morning as possible, or as late at night as you can - fewer crowds means a saner shopping experience.

Tuesday:  This is where things start cooking this week.  I'll start by making my turkey stock as early as possible today, that way it can simmer in the crockpot for most of the day and all that glorious flavor develops.  It really and truly is the best turkey stock ever from your crockpot, and your stuffing recipe and gravy-making will thank you for the boost in amazing flavor.

I'll also make Granny's cranberry orange salad, so it has time for the flavors to really meld together (and so I can sneak bites of it for the next two days -- woot!).

I also make an herb butter that gets placed between the skin and the breast of the turkey to baste the meat as the turkey bakes.  To start, place a stick of butter into a ziploc freezer baggie, seal it completely and leave it out on the counter for a while to soften, usually this takes an hour or two.  Then, when the butter is softened, I finely chop the following:  some fresh parsley, thyme, chives, sage and a little but of rosemary.  I add some minced garlic and a little Penzey's poultry seasoning as well.   Open the baggie, pour in the herbs and garlic, then reseal completely; mush it altogether to combine well, then pop the butter baggie into the fridge.  As it cools a bit, try to get all the butter into a "log" so it's pretty much altogether in an easy-to-slice cylinder.  

Thanksgiving Planning, Redux

It occurred to me this morning that planning for a Thanksgiving dinner can be overwhelming when you haven't had to plan things out before.  Especially when it is the first major holiday meal you've ever had to make for your family.

I remember that overwhelmed feeling very well the first year I cooked the bulk of the meal.

What I've learned through the years is that there is no substitute for planning.  And that dishes you can make in advance are your very best friends.

To that end, I thought I'd throw together some links and some information for folks, as well as an idea of how I line out my week on a day by day basis:

-- Here's my cooking schedule for the rest of the week:

Monday:  The Peanut and I will finish decorating and cleaning the house.  I've started cooking 3 days ahead, but that's really too early.  So use this day to get last minute groceries, get the rest of the house fairly clean for guests, and make certain you have plenty of extra napkins and such.  If you are going to the store this week, do it as early in the morning as possible, or as late at night as you can - fewer crowds means a saner shopping experience.

Tuesday:  This is where things start cooking this week.  I'll start by making my turkey stock as early as possible today, that way it can simmer in the crockpot for most of the day and all that glorious flavor develops.  It really and truly is the best turkey stock ever from your crockpot, and your stuffing recipe and gravy-making will thank you for the boost in amazing flavor.

I'll also make Granny's cranberry orange salad, so it has time for the flavors to really meld together (and so I can sneak bites of it for the next two days -- woot!).

I also make an herb butter that gets placed between the skin and the breast of the turkey to baste the meat as the turkey bakes.  To start, place a stick of butter into a ziploc freezer baggie, seal it completely and leave it out on the counter for a while to soften, usually this takes an hour or two.  Then, when the butter is softened, I finely chop the following:  some fresh parsley, thyme, chives, sage and a little but of rosemary.  I add some minced garlic and a little Penzey's poultry seasoning as well.   Open the baggie, pour in the herbs and garlic, then reseal completely; mush it altogether to combine well, then pop the butter baggie into the fridge.  As it cools a bit, try to get all the butter into a "log" so it's pretty much altogether in an easy-to-slice cylinder.  

Let The Decorating Begin

Outside, it is 20 degrees here this morning.  Brrrrrrrr.  Have already had to refill the bird feeders, because the ravenous hordes (and one greedy squirrel) had cleaned them out and the fluffed-out birdies were looking pitiful.

Mercifully, inside the house, it is cozy and warm.  We're about to start the fireplace and pop on a little Christmas jazz.

That's right, boys and girls, it's time to drag all the decorations out of storage and festive-ize the house.

If you'll pardon me, I have some dusty decor to wrangle.  Hope your weekend is going well.

Thanksgiving Basics: Turkey Stock, Cranberry Salad and More

Every year at our house, I go into a bit of a frenzy trying to wrangle the entire house into shape, get Christmas decorations up and prep for the holiday food-palooza that is Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Part of that prep time generally gets eaten up in cookie planning, but not this year:  we are going to be out of town and on a desperately needed vacation during part of December, and so no cookies will be made in giant abundance for gift trays or otherwise.  While I will miss their deliciousness, I have to say that it is incredibly freeing to think about life as being free from the insanity of cookie-o-rama this year.

It also leaves a bit more mental thought process for Thanksgiving planning, and I'm finding that wonderful.  A couple of years ago, I posted a scheduling routine that I've been using for years to prep for Thanksgiving dinner.

Last year, I finally tried a fresh turkey instead of getting a frozen one that had to thaw for an eternity, and you know what?  It was awesome.  Especially only having to pick it up the day before Thanksgiving, so I had time and room in my fridge for a couple of days prior to prep everything else.  That completely rocked and I am doing it again this year as a result.  You can order a fresh turkey at the butcher counter at most nicer grocery stores -- I managed to get a free range, no hormones or antibiotics one just like last year, and I won't have to pick it up until Wednesday afternoon.  Boo yah!

By then, I'll already have the cranberry salad made, the stuffing put together up to the baking time, the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes mostly ready to go, the cranberry salad chilling, and at least one loaf of bread already made.

The joy really is in advance planning with this.  I learned that lesson the hard way the year I had melanoma surgery, but it has served me so well ever since:  plan ahead and Thanksgiving morning is so much better for it.

Here are some tips on turkey prep and baking.  One thing that I tried last year and loved was a dry brine from Williams-Sonoma:  I put it on my turkey the night before, rinsed it off a bit the next morning, placed sliced compound butter under the skin of the breast really gently and then stuffed it with cut-up lemons and onions and herbs just like I always do.  I use a covered roaster and I swear last year's turkey was the best one I have ever tasted.

I'll be repeating that again this year.  Yummy.

Make-ahead recipes are also a life saver.  I do my stuffing ahead, so all I have to do is pop it in the over to bake along with the turkey.

An essential part of that stuffing?  Rich turkey stock:  I make mine in my crockpot a day ahead, and it is delicious and perfect for stuffing and gravy.  Make enough for both and you'll be hooked, too.

My Granny's cranberry salad recipe?  An absolute must.  No holiday meal is complete without it.

That's a start on Thanksgiving help anyway.  There will be more to come.

Muppet Joy

Because the whole world needs more chickens singing carols, doesn't it?

Couldn't resist.  Enjoy the giggle with The Muppets.

PS -- If you haven't seen The Muppet Christmas Carol, you really should!

To Cookie Or Not To Cookie?

Our Christmas cookie tradition began years ago, when I had a lot more time and energy to spare and a lot of motivation to get the baking done.  This may very well be the first year that the cookies don't get made, and I'm having a mental tug of war about it.

The year that Mr. ReddHedd and I married, we were still in law school and were pretty much scraping the bottom of the budget barrel every single month just to pay bills, feed ourselves, afford gas to drive to and from classes and also pay our tuition and book bills to finish school.  So our first Christmas, money for presents for family and friends was scarce, and I stumbled across a baking supplies sale at a grocery store that happened to be going out of business at just the right time.

Thus, the annual Christmas cookie-palooza from us to everyone we know was born.  Thank you cheap bags of flour, sugar and various and sundry other yummy goodnesses.

This year, however, we are juggling three choir performances, a Christmas play and who knows what else just for The Peanut's schedule alone.  Mr. ReddHedd is super busy, and I am, quite honestly, more exhausted than I have been in a long time -- no amount of sleep that I am getting lately is making a dent in the exhaustion level, and the last thing I need is to stay up into the wee hours covered in flour and icing two-bite brownies.

And yet?  I feel massive guilt for thinking about not doing this. 

Because it is what I do every year.  People love it.  People expect it.  And I am, if nothing else, a rampant people pleaser.

A Less Hectic Christmas? That's My Wish.

What about a quiet, peaceful Christmas, filled with joy and time together, with lots of laughter and hugs, with contentment and warm cocoa and as much love as you could possibly give to each other, each and every day? 

Wouldn't that be the very best present you could ever hope for this year?

It certainly would for me.  A less hectic, more family-centered Christmas sounds like just the thing I want in my stocking this year.

Here are a few things I'm hoping to do to make that happen for us:

Cooking A Yummy Thanksgiving Turkey

Theories abound on how to cook a Thanksgiving turkey that has the crispy outer skin most people love, while still maintaining a moist, tender bird inside.  This is especially tricky on the breast side of things where the meat tends to get drier and more sawdust-like by the hour as the dark meat cooks and cooks and cooks, right?

I've come up with a few tricks through the years that make our turkey delicious and satisfying at the same time.  This year, I thought I'd pass a few of those along for your Thanksgiving meal.

First, in terms of safety:  you can't go wrong with perusing the Butterball website.  They even have roasting directions for your still-frozen turkey if you forget to thaw it or if you have to buy one on the fly Thanksgiving morning and make your own feast due to a medical or other family emergency issue.  (Don't laugh.  It could really happen to you.  We have been there and back again -- remember a frozen turkey breast in your crockpot can be your friend if you are cooking on the fly and someone in the family has rampant stomach flu.  I'm just saying...)

For the novices out there, the video tutorial on the Butterball website can be really helpful.  Remember this very helpful tip:  remove the bag of assorted turkey organs and gizzards from the turkey BEFORE you put it in the oven, and you are already ahead of 50 percent of the people out there in America this year.  I wish that I were kidding.

I swear by my covered, oval nonstick roaster with a lid.  They can be difficult to find, especially this time of year, so keep an eye out for one for next year of you can't find one at your local stores.  You can make do with a nonstick roasting pan, a disposable foil pan that is deep, and some heavy-duty aluminum foil in a pinch.

This is approximately what you are looking for -- a covered oval roaster -- but, alas, this one is not nonstick.  If you liked the bottom with some parchment paper, you could probably make do if you needed to with this, though, but I can't vouch for it with certainty.

Here's what I do with my turkey, and I'll include directions for a makeshift pan if you can't find a covered roaster:

Countdown To Turkey Day: Make-Ahead Recipes

Thanksgiving at our house requires a plan.  Or else, disaster will surely follow.  At least in my mind, anyway.

Although, the only time we actually had a disaster was years ago when the power went out during a freak storm just after the turkey went in the oven and we had to scrounge our dinner from a local grocery store which, mercifully, had a leftover complete dinner that someone else never showed up to claim.  It was the year that our wonderful foreign exchange student from Germany, Elli, was living with us and my grand plan was to give her a real, American Thanksgiving feast.

Instead we got meal from a box.  But it wasn't horrible and at least it didn't come with a side of salmonella that a half-warmed turkey that sat in the oven all day waiting for electricity would surely have had.

Since that year, though?  I have been a little crazy about planning ahead and trying to get a few dishes completed before the day...just in case.

That served me well last year, when I had to have surgery to remove melanoma from my back. For my quick and dirty semi-homemade Thanksgiving feast the easy way plan from last year, you can take a peek at this post.

This year, I won't have ginormous stitches in my back and have to sit a lot while cooking -- I consider that a plus.  So many things to be thankful for this year, but that really is near the top of the list.

If you need a timeline as a basic guide to how your week might go, I have one here.  It can be easily modified to what you want for your family dinner, but this is kind of how I throw my meal together over the course of a week so that on Thanksgiving morning, my life isn't completely insane for hours on end.  I also realized that I forgot to add pies into the original timeline -- I make those the day before Thanksgiving and get them fully baked so I won't need the oven space for them -- but never before that or certain persons in my house nibble them into oblivion (and you know who you are, pumpkin pie loving husband!).

When I have time to fully plan this out, it really makes the meal and the day a much more fun one for me -- which means that it is nicer for everyone in the house, too.

Playing With Color

While The Peanut was home sick last week, I re-discovered something that I absolutely love:  coloring.

It's funny how you can pick something up that you haven't done in years and have so much fun with it, isn't it?  We colored a LOT while watching movies or just listening to music.  She found it a soothing way to keep from scratching her chicken pox, and I found it a nice creative change of pace and a good way to relieve some of my mommy tension while she was so sick.

We both had a blast spending time together, sitting side by side and sharing crayons and colored pencils.  I had forgotten how fun it can be to bring a little black and white picture to life with a little color.

How had I forgotten how fun that is?

Several years ago -- before The Peanut started school, actually -- I had gotten myself an intricate coloring book of springtime designs by Ruth Heller on an Artist's Date when I was trying to kick start my creative juices via Julia Cameron's Artist's Way.

Somehow, though, this coloring book got buried in a drawer (during some whirlwind "company's coming" clean-up spree no doubt)...and only got unearthed again, years later, this past week.  Which I think may be the most symbolic representation of my creative fits and starts and my difficulty with putting my creative needs on the front burner ahead of family and everything else in my life.

It is what it is, right?

But the thing is, once I rediscovered this coloring book?  And then started coloring in it?

I had a BLAST.

Easy New Year's Nibbles, Appetizers and Party Fare

Every year for New Year's, we take the easy way out for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and just spend both days munching on nibbles and easy to make fare while we watch for the ball to drop and then watch the Rose Parade the next morning.

I figure why start off the new year by exhausting yourself.  Instead, take it easy and enjoy yourself a whole lot more.

For those of us who don't exactly have a caterer and staff to serve us on speed dial, though, it can take a little advance planning to have the things on hand to throw together nibbles and nosh.

Having some decent pre-made frozen items that you merely have to bake and then eat can be a huge plus.  But the quality of some brands can be gawdawful, and no one wants to spend their holiday wanting to upchuck in the trash can or spit out mouthfuls onto their plate, now do they?

So I thought a handy guide to some of my favorite frozen appetizers might be useful:

Postcards from Science Central

The Peanut woke us up on Christmas morning a little before 4:00 am ET with the cry of "Santa's been here!"

We mumbled to her that she needed to take her stocking and go back to her room until at least 6:00 am...and, miracle of miracles, she did. 

It was a Christmas of science-y goodness at our house, as Santa and his elves brought her a microscope and a number of prepared slides.  We were in nerd heaven for over an hour yesterday looking at paramecia, silk worms, salt crystals, and anything else on an already prepared slide.  It's funny how two nerdy parents can go right back to their love of all things science, too, given a glimpse of an amoeba under a perfectly adjusted magnifying lens.

She also got a number of books on the ocean and dolphins, playing into her current obsession with becoming a marine biologist.

*sniffle*

Our girlie loves science and studying animals.  How on earth did we get this lucky?

Don't get me wrong, there were also games and a new doll and lots of other just for fun and totally non-science presents.  We want to encourage her, not shove her, with learning gifts.  But thus far, over the stretch of yesterday and this morning, the science things are the clear favorites.

Life is good here.

Bless Us All

Bless us all, who gather here,
The loving family I hold dear...

I love this song from The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Just beautiful. And so true in so many, many ways.

A very merry Christmas to one and all.

One More Sleep 'Til Christmas

There's magic in the air at our house this evening. Or at least a fervent hope for no coal in a certain young lady's stocking.

The YouTube is from The Muppet Christmas Carol. Love this.

Only one more sleep 'til Christmas...

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

While I adore the Judy Garland version of this song from Meet Me in St Louis?

It's awfully tough to beat Kermit the Frog and a Muppet montage, I have to say.

Enjoy.

PS:  The pumpkin pies have begun to bake in the oven.  It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas at our house...yummmmmmmmmmy!

The Gift Of Love: A Holiday Meditation On Comfort And Joy

You really can learn a lot from your children.

Before we get to that blissful part of the day where The Peanut is nestled all snug in her bed and dreaming of Santa's bounty and all the fun she'll get to have with it, we have to survive the anticipation as it builds and builds.

As a parent, that can be trying at times: the inevitable hyperactivity followed swiftly thereafter by the whining mopes and begging for "can't we open just one present now" springs to mind from Christmases past.

But it can also incredibly fun to watch.  And instructive.

When was the last time you were so excited about something in your life that your body was, quite literally, vibrating with anticipation?  Where just the thought of the day ahead made you giddy?  When giggles just escaped from your lips because the joy of life was too fun not to share with the world around you?

Even as adults, with our endless "to do" lists and carpool driving and running hither, thither and yon after working all day just to put food on the table and keeping the utilities on and...well, you know your life, but shouldn't it include a hefty measure of joy, too?

Shouldn't we all find that level of pure, unadulterated happiness in our day to day existences somewhere?  At least on a semi-regular basis?

We certainly deserve it.  As stressful as life can be as you get older -- worrying about bills and pending orthodontic consults and what's for dinner and all the rest of the endless things we have to do and care for -- a little unbridled joy goes a long, long way toward getting you through to the next round of crazed exhaustion.

The trick, I suppose, is finding a way to have regular comfort and joy, and to recognize it when you have it, so that there is a balance between the stress and the celebration as you move forward.  Finding a way to live life in the sweet spot on a regular basis, so to speak.

Awesome Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

Here is my version of some seriously awesome Christmas morning cinnamon rolls.  The best part is that you make them the night before and then all you have to do is pop in a pre-heated oven on Christmas morning. 

I got the original recipe from the flylady website ages and ages ago, but it was never quite cinnamon-y enough for me.  As long-time readers know, I can never leave well enough alone and I've tweaked it through the years to add more cinnamony-sugary-yummy goodness.

We love these.  They get made pretty much only at Christmas these days because they are so ooey-gooey-delish and sugary but not exactly health food (which is fine for the holidays, but not something I want to be eating every day, right?).  Whenever I've brought them out for a special occasion or a "company's coming" breakfast, this recipe is always a huge hit.

Here's the recipe:

The Spirit of Christmas

Today, The Peanut and I went to the local WalMart to get a new microwave oven.

Ours died an ugly and smelly wiring death earlier in the week, and life just wasn't the same without my ability to make easy movie popcorn in the popper we use to make it fresh in the microwave.  And so, off we went to the belly of the Christmas shopping frenzied beast.

We got there just as the Salvation Army folks were finishing their annual "shopping spree" event with young children who get to come and shop with a parent for a couple of items.  It was crowded, but really, really fun to see how thrilled these little kids were to get a baby doll or a tea set...the sort of thing we take for granted at our house because we can afford it for The Peanut without worrying about how to then pay for a meal or medicine or something else.

We are lucky.

But we had also gone to the store for another purpose:  this year, we wanted to help someone in need to pay off their Christmas layaway.

We were hoping to find a family that needed a little help or some other way to help out.  So I took The Peanut with me to the layaway counter, and the clerk asked us to pick a letter of the alphabet, and they found an account that had a little over $200 remaining on it to be paid before Christmas...and a lot of toys for little kids on it.

So we paid it off right then and there, and got to stand by while they called the mom whose account it was to let her know they could come and pick up all their toys.  It was really wonderful...as it turned out, she didn't know where she was going to scrape together the money to pay the remainder, so I'm really glad we ended up doing that particular family.

Stripping Down To The Bare Bones At The Holidays

The last few weeks have been insane at our house. 

Between school performances and activities, then The Peanut getting sick, making peace with my slow recovery from surgery (or at least continuing to try, because it is not the easiest thing in the world for my annoying Type A personality, let me tell you, especially with a "to do" list calling out to me), and the myriad of family and friend obligations? 

I feel like I'm about to lose my mind this year.

The holiday spirit is all but invisible with me at the moment.  If it weren't for the fact that I managed to get the tree and several of our decorations up before my melanoma surgery last month, I think I'd still be struggling here.  Thank goodness the tree has been up and lovely - it's a visual lifesaver this year.

And what I really want?

To hibernate away from all the hubbub and just soak in some seasonal joy with Mr. ReddHedd and The Peanut.

The truth is you can not have it all and do it all every single day.  Anyone who tells you that you can has a really, really enormous staff that does a lot of "it all" for them.  Or they are running on no sleep and get a high from being a martyr, which does not exactly sound like a pleasant way to spend your life, now does it?

Since I do not have a ginormous staff staging every holiday event and transporting and picking up and doing "it all" for me, I am exhausted and not enjoying it.  And that has to stop.

Because I love Christmas and want to enjoy it this year with my family.  I really, really want to enjoy it this year.  Especially because we have had a long, hard slog the last few years of a lot of losses and one too many close calls with cancer.  We know the value of every single day that we get together far, far too well at this point. 

So as of today, I'm coming up with a way to strip our next few days down to the bare bones.  My strategy comes down to this philosophy:  More joy.  Less stress.