Heather says
Today is pretty short and sweet, you have two goals:
1. Take your soft menu plan from Monday and go over it. Are there any recipes you haven’t tested? Is there a cooking technique in one that you haven’t tried? Have ever even roasted a chicken?
If the answer is yes to any of these, pick a day this week or weekend and practice. Don’t stress yourself out on Thanksgiving itself. You have enough to think about without worrying if a recipe will come out well or not.
If you’ve never mashed potatoes before, serve that as a side on Sunday.
If you’ve just moved, not naming any names Heather, and you don’t know your oven very well, do the toast test and get used to it. (I learned this from Nathalie Dupree and it makes a lot of sense. You buy a cheap loaf of white bread and arrange the pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 350 and place the baking sheet on the center rack. Then observe the bread as it toasts. What zone gets brown first? Which areas take the longest to toast? These clues let you get to know your oven’s hot and cool spots. Take a picture of the toast to help you remember and tape it to the inside of a cabinet door near your oven in for a reference the next time you bake something.
If you’re trying a gluten-free version of something you’ve only ever made with wheat flour, please give it a trial run.
2. Throw away, recycle, or donate three – five things that are just taking up space in your house. (And if it’s a set it only counts as one, no cheating.) Why? You’re going to have guests and the holidays are coming, you’ll appreciate the extra space.
While I’m thinking of it, how is that dining room table looking? Is it still clear from Sunday? No? Fix it.
Are you getting excited for Thanksgiving 2014?
