Cooking food ahead of time for Thanksgiving (homemade, dishes, beans)

[convextech]

Originally Posted by Javacoffee

Help your mother anyway! You've got more excuses for doing nothing but complain while letting your mother do all the work.

+1

[Amelie90]

Originally Posted by Javacoffee

Help your mother anyway! You've got more excuses for doing nothing but complain while letting your mother do all the work.

Has it ever occurred to you that maybe she doesn’t want my help?

[historyfan]

Any baking like pumpkin pie will be done today. Cranberries cooked & refrigerated, 3 bean salad made & refrigerated. That's about it for Thanksgiving cooking done the day before.

[Javacoffee]

Originally Posted by Sweet Like Sugar

Has it ever occurred to you that maybe she doesn’t want my help?

If she doesn't, you've given her reason.

[Amelie90]

Originally Posted by Javacoffee

If she doesn't, you've given her reason.

She’s choosing to make Thanksgiving dinner. No one asked or expected her to, and my dad and I would be fine either way. She chose to start cooking things early because she felt like it, and not because she’s making some huge meal that she needs help with. If I don’t want to eat the veggies, she doesn’t care. She made them the way she wanted to make them when she wanted to make them. If I want to bring something, she’s fine with that too, but she’s content with what she’s preparing.

[warhorse78]

Originally Posted by Humble and Kind

Many times food taste better after it's cooked, put in fridge, and served the next day or two.

Makes her life easier, too. More time to spend with her.

^This 100%. I bake all of my deserts 1-2 days ahead of time, and often anything that requires herbs and broths/stocks like green bean casseroles, stuffings, appetizer soups and dressings.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by ohhwanderlust

Sigh...there's no need to prep any food beforehand, because our Thanksgiving meal is going to be a buffet of despair.

He went to the store and without telling me, bought what will be our Thanksgiving...

- Tofurkey
- Riced cauliflower
- Ezekiel bread

In the interest of not wasting food, I'm stuck with that menu now. And that's going to be our Thanksbutnothanksgiving.

I would have bought a jar of turkey gravy to pour oven everything on my plate.

[pioneer3156]

My mother died two years ago, I would eat those green beans in a New York minute if I had the chance.

[Bunjee]

Dashing around the kitchen baking desserts, and not all of them I had planned for lack of time! I'm not really a dessert person but this is the one time of year I don't mind fussing with it.

While the oven is occupied it's the salad I'm most happy about, actually. Artichoke hearts, ruby ripe tomatoes (the very last off the vine), small cubes of nutty Emmental cheese, chopped Italian parsley and toasted almond slivers, all lightly coated in Caesar dressing and a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano. That way every bite has a little cheese note until you get a nice chunk of the Emmentaler. It's mixed and chilling in a bowl in the fridge.

In the morning before lunch I'll shred a red leaf lettuce and toss, and I have prosciutto and fresh basil I'll sliver up so folks can garnish to make it a nice antipasto. For me, the turkey, shrimp, ham, etc., are all side dishes to my salad.

[sheena12]

I need to cook ahead of time. One day. One person? Not good.

So I made sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole and savoy herb and pecan stuffing a day or so ahead.


I don't want to work all day on TG.