The big holiday meal

Like most cooks, I planned a big Thanksgiving feast this year. As I discussed holiday plans with friends, I heard many complain about how difficult and time-consuming it is to cook a big holiday meal. People would say things like “The cook doesn’t get to enjoy the holiday because she’s working all day cooking.”

(By the way, I know men cook big holiday dinners too. Please don’t think I’m biased in my thoughts about cooking. I love a man who can cook a good meal. So umm…. Oh wait I digress.)

The secret to enjoying the holiday meal that you’ve cooked for your family and friends is planning. I’ll be honest here; it took me several years to figure this one out. But with age and practice, comes wisdom.

Planning starts as soon as you decide dinner is at your house. First decision to make – are you cooking alone or splitting the cooking tasks between guests/family members. I decided, this year, that I wanted to cook the meal. That led to the second decision – what’s on the menu. You cannot wait until three days before Thanksgiving (or whatever the holiday) to make this decision.

So I planned my meal. My parents were coming to dinner so I didn’t have to worry about dessert, mom said she would bring those. (My mom is an awesome cook and anytime she offers to bring peach cobbler and sweet potato pies, I say “yes!” very enthusiastically.) This may seem tedious, but I actually wrote the menu down. Then I took a fresh piece of paper and began to make a list of the ingredients I would need to make each item. Why? Because I can streamline my grocery shopping list when I know exactly what I need.
With my ingredient list in front of me I started to arrange the ingredients by the aisles in the grocery store. Most stores have list/map for customers, in case you don’t have the aisles memorized. The timing for this list was about three weeks before I would be shopping (note I didn’t say cooking here).

So when do you shop for your big meal? As early as possible! I went to the store the Saturday before Thanksgiving and it was a regular shopping day. I picked up the turkey that day so it could start defrosting in the refrigerator. (Cooking 101 – frozen turkeys take DAYS to thaw in the refrigerator. Buy yours EARLY.) I went back to the same store two (2) days later on the Monday before Thanksgiving and I was in the middle of a “holiday” shopping crowd. YIKES! There were people EVERYWHERE. It was crazy busy, but I was prepared. I had my list (organized by aisle) and was ready to take on the crowd.

Let me take a moment to explain my life, I’m a single mom with two teenagers (yeah one is 18, but who said that meant he was an adult???). I work full-time, 40+ hours a week and have very active children. I am also a semi-professional jazz singer. So, I go to the grocery store whenever I can squeeze it in. The weekend before Thanksgiving I had a jazz gig where I was singing on Sunday evening (visit cynsingsjazz.blogspot.com for more info). Monday was the earliest I was going to make it to the store for a “big shop.”

I found everything on my list, except collard greens. It took me three stores and two days to find some. (I made a note to myself to buy collard greens when I buy the turkey next time. Even I make adjustments.) While I was shopping I saw common holiday cooking items flying off the shelves and employees stocking as quickly as they could. Which means people that are shopping the day before a big holiday, will probably not find everything they need.
Another reason I bought my ingredients as early as I could… I wanted to start prepping things early. This is the real key to enjoying the holiday meal that you’ve cooked. Do the prep work early.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama