Families all across America (and even further) are travelling to get together with families and friends. So if you’re expecting guests for Thanksgiving dinner this year and need a few tips to get your dinner going in the right direction, take a look at our quick article:
If you’re hosting your Thanksgiving meal this year, make some nice little party favors to send home with your guests afterwards. Not only will they leave well-fed, they’ll leave feeling royally-treated! There are tons of gift ideas to choose from…you can even order custom laser engraved wooden cutting boards with a personal greeting!
If you’re not the hostess this year, make sure you do bring a nice gift for the Host or Hostess. Nothing says thankfulness like a genuine thank-you gift!
This cannot be stressed enough. Unless you are truly the master of your kitchen and can whip up dishes on a dime, we recommend pre-planning your menu in advance. The next step is to do your pre-dinner grocery shopping in advance too. Chances are there will be a few odds and ends you’ll need to pick up the day before, but try to have the majority of your goods ready to cook!
If enchiladas and noodle salad are you favorites, start your own Thanksgiving tradition and serve up what you like. The joy of holidays is the expectation and anticipation of all the goodies and fun, so who cares if you’re anticipating turkey or lasagna! Make your own traditions that fit your family.
Again, if you are the dough-guru, go ahead and ignore our tips. If not, making up your dough recipes a couple days (or even earlier) in advance really helps! Pie and pastry dough is especially easy to whip up and freeze or refrigerate in portion sized disc shape. Early on pie day, pull out and thaw what you need to make your pies.
If you want to make your bread or bun dough in advance, no problem! Prepare your recipes a usual, and depending on how far in advance you are making the dough, wrap it and refrigerate or freeze your dough. If you want to make it really easy on yourself come baking day, shape your rolls and place them in an aluminum pan, wrap in plastic and freeze. When you’re ready to bake them, simply take out your pan, remove plastic, thaw and bake!
Casseroles are a great dish to serve up come dinner time! And they can make dinner-day much simpler if you prepare them ahead of time. Whip them up a day or so in advance and refrigerate. Make sure you don’t leave them sitting out though; you don’t want to serve up bacteria-contaminated food!
There you have it. Some great tips to get your holiday meal off to a delicious, hassle free start!
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Cutting Board USA!