Ultimate Thanksgiving Planner: Time-Saving Tips
Five strategies and 17 mix-and-match dishes for a delicious, stress-free and beautifully organized holiday, with recipes from the F&W Test Kitchen.
A Thanksgiving turkey can monopolize the oven for hours. You can choose to wait, or you can leave that bird alone and use other appliances to keep cooking—baking the stuffing on the grill, say. When the bird is ready, the rest of the meal will be, too.
Use the freezer
Dishes can be made ahead and frozen for up to a week.
Use the refrigerator
Prepare dips and salads at least one day in advance.
Use the grill
It can serve as a second oven or stovetop.
Use the stovetop
Make side dishes that don’t compete with the turkey for oven space.
Use the oven
Since the turkey cools for 45 minutes, there’s time to make sides and dessert in the oven.
Menu 1
Wine: 2006 Bogle Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel
Menu 2
Wine: 2006 Handley Cellars Anderson Valley Chardonnay
Menu 3
Turkey from Menu 1 or 2
Wine: 2007 Simi Roseto