Recipe(tried): Thanksgiving Dinner Suggestions for Marcia

Dear Marcia,

I would probably not cook the turkey the day before. You would have to refrigerate it, obviously, and poultry gets that "day old" taste when it is refrigerated. There are directions right on the package of turkey for how long to bake it, depending on the weight. Also, many of the poultry companies have hot lines that you can call during the holidays. If your ham is already fully cooked (unless you are doing a Smithfield or something like that) all you have to do is warm it in the oven, again according to the package directions.

What I do on Thanksgiving is this:

I figure out what time I want to serve. Let's say it's 2:00 p.m. Then you simply work backwards from there. You will need 1/2 hour for the turkey to "rest" before carving. This also gives you time to make the gravy from its drippings. The turkey package tells you how long to cook it. So if you need to pull the turkey out of the oven at 1:30, and it has to cook for 4 hours, you would put it in at 9:30 a.m.

I don't think I would try to cook both a turkey and a Smithfield-type ham on the same day. Smithfields require a soaking period, then a boiling period, and finally a baking period. Why not just get a Honeybaked?

You can make some side dishes ahead and heat them in the microwave oven. Some vegetable casseroles reheat very well (like the green bean thing everyone's mom used to make). I find that yams reheat well. White mashed potatoes do not, so I would do them on the same day as the turkey. Lastly, you can make your dry stuffing several days ahead. Don't add the liquid until just before your put it in the oven, again on the day of the turkey. Reheated stuffing gets soggy. Poultry companies recommend not cooking the stuffing inside of the turkey because of the danger of salmonella.

Another thing I do, even weeks ahead of Thanksgiving is make extra turkey stock for the gravy. I get several packages of turkey tails and necks (whatever is least expensive), roast them in the oven and then simmer them for several hours to extract the flavor. Seems like there's never enough gravy in my household.

Pies can be made the day ahead.

Good luck and bon appetit!

I hope these tips help you.