Make ahead sides for thanksgiving?

[Anonymous]

What are your favorites? I'm trying to reduce the time in the kitchen and maximize time with family.

[Anonymous]

Pie? Roast vegetables?

[Anonymous]

Cooks Illustrated online has a great make-ahead guide for Thanksgiving. I've used it for many years for my mashed potatoes and stuffing.

[Anonymous]

Pie
Cranberry sauce
Prepping green beans
Roasting sweet potatoes to use in casserole
Spinach gratin
Spiced nuts for before dinner
Dressing (to be remoisterized and cooked in oven on Thankgiving)
....

Most things can be made at least partially before hand, but will need to have a final step or two done in the final hours. Last year, I was responsible for Thanksgiving dinner for 16 people in Connecticut, but I had to work through Tuesday, so I couldn't leave here until Wednesday. It took some planning, but in the end it was fairly easy to pull off. I had no trouble finishing it all and even got to hang out with relatives a bit prior to dinner. The key is to go through each recipe and look at what steps can be done before hand and then make a time charts so that you aren't being unreasonable, for example:

Saturday before:
-shop

Sunday before:
-cranberry sauce
-spiced nuts
-dry bread for stuffing
-cut vegetables for stuffing
-make bacon to get bacon fat for rolls

Monday Night
-prep green beans
-Pie
-grate cheese for mac and cheese

Tuesday Night
-Roast sweet potatoes
-prepare cream topping for pie
-prepare spinach gratin
- make breadcrumbs/butter mix for mac and cheese

Wednesday (for me this was just driving)
-check on bird

Thursday
-10:00 - put bird in oven
cook macaroni
-11:00 - flip bird
make macaroni and cheese filling
-12:00 - make mashed potatoes and keep in crock pot
-12:30 - check on bird
put macaroni in dish and add bread crumbs
-1:45 - put macaroni in oven at 375 for 1 hour (recipe said 350 but comprimised with spinach recipe that said 400 to use oven at same time)
-2:05 - put spinach gratin in oven at 375 for 40 minutes
...

I'm not actually making Thanksgiving this year because I will be out of town (which makes me very sad, except that I am excited about my trip), so this isnt' an actual schedule or list of everything that I would make, just an example of the type that I use in order to make sure that I get to socialize (I am a big talker!) and things get done. Putting in a couple hours early to write down every step is invaluable to me and leaves me fairly stress-free.

[Anonymous]

I make (and freeze) the pie crust the weekend before; make the cranberry sauce on Tuesday night; prep (but don't bake) the stuffing and sweet potato cassarole on Wednesday night. I make the pie and prep the brussel sprouts on Thursday morning; do the potatoes while the turkey is going, then throw the sweet potatoes and stuffing in the oven about 1/2 hour before the turkey comes out.

[Anonymous]

Make-Ahead Gravy

Delicious and totally worth it. Good gravy can save a Thanksgiving meal!