gathr’s Thanksgiving Tips.
Thanksgiving is a holiday that is often greeted with a lot of unnecessary anxiety, mostly involving the kitchen. For some reason, many find cooking to be such a burden or unholy chore, and Thanksgiving dinner is the biggest cooking hurdle of them all. After all, it is a holiday dedicated almost solely to cooking and eating. While I can’t force you to enjoy cooking, I can give you a couple tips and tricks to make your life a bit easier in the kitchen, or maybe just give you a little peace of mind during the holiday. Instead of putting unnecessary pressure on yourself, consider your expectations versus reality and just enjoy it—it is a holiday after all. Though this Thanksgiving might look a little different for some, hopefully most are celebrating. We wish you the happiest of holidays from the gathr kitchen to yours.
1. Don’t overthink your turkey: What I’m about to say might be controversial, but hear me out. It is totally unnecessary to brine your turkey in some fancy turkey brine for days on end. At the end of the day, a turkey is a turkey, and after you smother your plate with all the sides, sauces, and gravies, the nuances of your fancy turkey brine will be lost. Sure, it might make your turkey juicier, but all that briny liquid will hinder your skin from becoming as crispy as it should be. You can get just as juicy of a turkey with even crispier skin by dry brining it overnight. So don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have a PhD in meat brining. One more thing, if you’re okay not having the Norman Rockwell moment on the dinner table, try having your butcher spatchcock the turkey. Taking out the turkey’s backbone will ensure an evenly cooked turkey in half the time. No more dried out white meat!
2. Don’t be a hero: Alison Roman said it perfectly, “…you are the same person on [Thanksgiving Day] as you are on every other day.” If you aren’t the best cook in the world, don’t think you are going to magically turn into Martha Stewart or Bobby Flay. Choose a menu you can handle, plan ahead, and delegate to those attending dinner. No need to make rolls from scratch if you’ve never opened a package of yeast before. Keep it classy, but know there’s no shame in buying store bought foods to help your dinner go smoothly.
3. Mix it up: I never suggest anyone make a new recipe for the first time the day of serving dinner guests. Testing recipes is always a good idea. With that said, try to mix it up. The traditional Thanksgiving menu can get old sometimes, so I say have fun with it. Maybe make a roast chicken instead of a turkey or crispy roasted potatoes instead of mashed. Try mixing up the sides. If you usually have green bean casserole, make sautéed or roasted squash. Mixing it up can also be a great way to free up time or space in your ovens and fridges.
4. Make your own pie: If you try nothing new this Thanksgiving, or maybe you’re not even hosting, you should still make your own pie. Making a homemade pie is a nostalgic tradition that has been lost over the past decades and we should bring it back. Making your own pie, crust and all, is a lot easier than you think. Why else would our busy grandmas make pies all year long? Even if your pie comes out ugly, I promise it will taste better than anything you can buy at the store or pie shop. And for goodness sake, make your own whipped cream!