If you have invited friends and family over at Thanksgiving and are planning to give them a big turkey dinner you don’t want things to go wrong do you? Presumably you will have prepared in advance as much as possible by doing your shopping early to be sure to get the bird you want and all the side dishes and accompaniments that you will need.
Do you have your timetable for cooking planned out? For the inexperienced cook preparing a large dinner for guests on Thanksgiving can be a source of considerable worry and anxiety. Follow the guidelines that you have for the meal preparation but make sure you read this article to avoid making 5 mistakes that could cause you embarrassment.
You may also want to have the stuffing made in advance but you cannot do this and expect it to keep well for a couple of days. Much better is to prepare all the ingredients beforehand and then have this “kit” ready to go for the morning of Thanksgiving.
You can dry out your bread by leaving it out for a day or two or baking it in a medium oven till crunchy. Fry off your onions and vegetables, let them cool, and then refrigerate. You may need some broth and some eggs, refrigerated. Then on the morning of Thanksgiving day you can make up the stuffing and pop it into your turkey.
The 5 common things that can go wrong are as follows:
Dry turkey If the turkey is too dry you can slice it and put into a roasting tin with some of the juices plus some chicken stock. Then add some knobs of butter around the pan and cover with foil. Place in a warm oven for a while until the butter melts.
Turkey is done too soon. If the turkey is cooked before you are ready to serve you can keep it warm by making a tent of foil over it after removing it from the oven. A turkey should rest for about 15 minutes anyway after cooking so a little longer won’t hurt.
Gravy is too thin -Mix together equal parts of cornstarch and water. Then add this slowly to the mixture stirring constantly to incorporate. If there are lumps they can be removed before serving by straining the gravy. An alterative is to leave the gravy on a light boil to evaporate more liquid and allow it to thicken naturally. Don’t let it boil too hard or for too long though, or you won’t have enough gravy left!
The gravy is too salty tasting Another common problem that can be solved, either by adding a few pinches of sugar, testing as you go, or, putting a peeled potato into the pan and letting it simmer for a while The potato will absorb salt and is then removed before serving.
5. The mashed potato is too watery – This can happen if the potatoes are boiled for too long. However, all you need to do is to add one of the following ingredients: baking soda, instant potato mash, or some powdered milk and then stir vigorously or whip to get a good consistency.
Being prepared for any of the above problems and knowing how to deal with them should give you more confidence in being able to prepare a fine dinner without too much stress.
Author: Juliette White is an skilled chef. If you don’t want to risk your Thanksgiving and you want to surprise your mates and relatives with a great Thanksgiving meal make sure you get a free Thanksgiving Recipe Ebook . If you want more truly simple and free recipes and register here
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