Mashed potatoes can absolutely be made the day ahead. I farmed it out this year to a friend but for years my aunt had 18 people for Tgiving and always made the potatoes the day before. She reheated in the <gasp> microwave and they tasted just fine.

15:40 said pretty much everything I was thinking.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks pp. Do you really think 3 sides from scratch is a lot to bit? I will make rice because I am from Latin America and we just love rice... and honestly, I don't really like thanksgiving food (I like it all separately but not the combination), but my husband is American as apple pie. He enjoys all that stuff and I am doing it for him I will cook just a little bit of each, small portions, except for the turkey itself.

In previous years I also got the rolls, green beans casserole and mack n` cheese, so I though I was dowsing it this year (even though in past year it was mostly catered from WF).

So, I will probably cancel the carrots and buy green beans casserole instead. I will also keep the brussels sprouts because I love them.

Thanks again

We make more sides than just 3 including the rice. We have a sampling of each and some are sides that we only serve at Thanksgiving and they last through the weekend!

Ne wyork times had a very good guide especially for a forst timer

New poster here. I like the WF stuffing mix that you just add to water and butter, which is probably what you picked up. It's flavorful without adding anything to it. I wouldn't fuss with making a fancy stuffing.

Don't heat the cranberry orange relish!

You can make the cranberry sauce several nights before. Prep the stuffing the day before, but bake it when the turkey is in the over. Prep (clean and cut) the brussel sprouts and carrots the day before, but cook while the turkey is cooking. If there are sauces that go with, mix those up the day before or measure up the ingredients the day before.

Mashed potatoes you need to do day of.

I once used this recipe and then drove the mashed potatoes to Richmond. They were fine; not quite as good as fresh but everyone seemed to eat them.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/do-ahead-mashed-potatoes/907d6ced-69bb-4197-bea7-062a5d6f8b30

I wouldn't cut out an orange vegetable - how about buying glazed sweet potatoes instead of the green bean casserole and then just reheat while the turkey is resting?

Agree with PP that you can make the dressing the day before and then reheat while the turkey is resting. Also agree with PP's ideas about adding celery, onion and possibly sausage. Take dressing out of the refrigerator about an hour ahead of time so it loses its chill and reheats more quickly and follow what PP outlines. Agree with PP that you can make pies ahead of time and store in refrigerator.

Set your table and get all glassware and serving dishes ready to use the night before.

You can mash your potatoes a few hours ahead of eating. Put your mixing bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water for up to two hours. (place a piece of tin foil loosely over the top of the mixing bowl). Then, when it's time to serve just whip with a folk and a little warm milk to make them really fluffy again.

Happy Thanksgiving.

OP here. Thanks pp. Do you really think 3 sides from scratch is a lot to bit? I will make rice because I am from Latin America and we just love rice... and honestly, I don't really like thanksgiving food (I like it all separately but not the combination), but my husband is American as apple pie. He enjoys all that stuff and I am doing it for him I will cook just a little bit of each, small portions, except for the turkey itself.

In previous years I also got the rolls, green beans casserole and mack n` cheese, so I though I was dowsing it this year (even though in past year it was mostly catered from WF).

So, I will probably cancel the carrots and buy green beans casserole instead. I will also keep the brussels sprouts because I love them.

Thanks again

Yes, you can do the pies ahead. Not sure freezing is necessary to get the pies from Sun-Thurs, but if you freeze them, be sure to allow thawing time.

You are making a lot of sides for just 3 people (particularly if one is a kid). You also have picked a number of sides that should not be made ahead. In a pinch, I'd do the mashed potatoes ahead, but you should plan on warming them up slowly (very slowly) while stirring constantly and rehydrating with warm milk before serving. No way would I do glazed Brussels Spouts ahead. The crispy parts are the best and you lose that when you reheat - they'll get a lot moister which is ok as leftovers but for your main event you want them at their best. Don't go to the trouble of making them if they aren't going to be as good as they are supposed to be. I don't know what you are planning to do with the carrots but I'm dubious about whether that's something that could be done the day before. But think about whether you can make a choice between the Brussels Spouts or the carrots. (I'd go with Brussels Spouts - you can make the carrots the next day to have with leftovers if you really want them.) Also, do you really need both mashed potatoes and rice?

I am also dubious of your stuffing plan. Just add water? If you got the stuffing cubes, that is going to be gross and tasteless. First, use chicken stock instead of water. Second, it is so much better if (at a minimum) you saute some onions and celery and add to the cubes with some chopped fresh herbs. All the better if you first make some sausage and then saute the onions and celery in the sausage grease and add the sausage to the stuffing too. You can do all this ahead and put it in a baking pan so that you just need to heat it up for 45 mins (depending on volume) the day of. Cover in foil but remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of heating time to get the crispy on top. You can put it in the oven as soon as you pull your turkey out to rest before you carve it.

Also, you don't heat cranberry orange relish.

Thanksgiving is a lot of work, unfortunately, and there's not a really good way around that. Don't forget to think about your oven room and what you have the ability to cook or reheat at one time, particularly if you have a moderately-sized turkey in there. And you shouldn't be opening the oven a lot to put in and take out stuff while your turkey is cooking. Once or twice is ok, but more than that and your going to extend the time it takes for your turkey to cook. You also will extend cooking time if you put a bunch of other stuff in the oven with the turkey that cools the cooking temp down.

Bottomline, you've bitten off a lot here and you might want to reassess.

I will be cooking this year a small mean for the 3 of us. In past years I have either ordered the complete meal from WF or spent the date somewhere else.

Anyway, that is what I am planning for Thanksgiving:

Turkey (got a 12lb brined one at TJ) - it was the smallest available.
Mashed potatoes (from scratch)
Glazed brussel sprouts (from scratch)
Carrots (I am planing on trying a recipe someone mentioned here - from scratch)
Stuffing (got a bag at WF - only have to add water to it)
Cranberry Orange relish (got that already at WF, only have to heat it I guess)
Gravy (already prepared from WF)
White rice (rice cooker)

Dessert:
Pumpkin pie (will only prepare the fill)
Chocolate pie (same as above - I hate pumpkin pie, so this is for me)

My question is:
What of all that can I make ahead of time, and how far ahead? E.g: can I prepare the pies on Sunday and freeze them? Can I prepare all the sides (mashed potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts) on Tuesday and save them on my fridge?

I REALLY would like to worry only about the Turkey on TK day, and the rice I don't mind because it is rice cooker anyways....

Is this plan doable? Can we even freeze pie? If not doable, any suggestions?

Thanks!