This is what I do the day before:

Prepare the stuffing and place in pan ready to bake (I cook it outside of the turkey)
Prepare cranberry sauce (actually can be done up to 2-3 days ahead of time)
Prepare the sweet potato puree and place in par ready to bake (add any toppings, like nuts or marshmallows, right before baking)
Brine the turkey
Prepare pie dough (can be done weeks ahead of time and frozen)

Here's an article from the NYT suggesting prep/cooking tasks for the week before--

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/what-can-i-prepare-before-the-actual-day-of-thanksgiving/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please don't fully cook anything ahead of time except refrigerated foods like cranberry sauce. Food fully cooked ahead of time and left to sit just don't taste as good. Please, no cold or reheated rolls or biscuits. Please, no mashed potatoes left to sit for more than half and hour. Please, no pie crusts left to sit for a day and now less than crisp and flaky. People kid themselves that these and other food can be done ahead. They cannot without sacrificing flavor and/or tecture. If youn can't do T-day dinner right, then just go out to a restaurant. Seriously.

This is untrue of almost all soups, stews, casseroles and bakes. Lasagna is better the next day. Chili is better the next day. Beef Stew is better the next day. Lasagna is better the next day. And stuffing/dressing is better the next day.

I was obviously referring to the usual T-day foods, not stews like chili. As for casseroles and lasagna, they are better the same day they are baked if there is a crispy crust that will get soggy the next day. Alos, I disagree that stuffing is better the next day; I like it better right out of the turkey on T-day. Perhaps you are accustomed to eating day-old food and have developed a taste for it. I simply prefer to have my food served at the right temp, at the right consistency, and at the peak of flavor, and for many T-day foods such as mashed potatoes and pies and sweet-potato pudding with a crust on top, people are just kidding themselves if they think fully cooking the food the day before will give top flavor and texture. For a special holiday like T-day, I just don't believe the short cuts do justice.

I peel and cook mashed potatos the night before. 1 hour before the meal I add whatever and mix it up. The mashed potatos go into a casserole dish with butter [or lactose free ] and paprika on top and enter the oven. That gives a nice crusty top. I put in stuffing and vegetables to roast 1.5 hours before the meal.

The night before i also cook cranberries with some orange pieces and sugar. Also do the chopping of celery and onions for stuffing. the turkey is in a brine mixture [water, salt, sugar] overnight [6-8 hours].

Since I'm lazy the turkey is in the roasting pan in the brine. Why wash 2 big things? I then dump the turkey in a clean sink and hose it off sticking it back in the pan.

Each of my children have assumed special Thanksgiving food prep tasks. They're older now but it still is special to them.

These are the things I can and often do make ahead of time:

cornbread two days before, to dry out before it is mixed into the stuffing

sausage browned the day before, to be mixed into the stuffing

pecan pieces toasted the day before, to be used in the stuffing and in pies

cranberry sauce the day before

orange fluff the day before, a Jello-based salad of canned fruits -- a Southern thang

sweet potatoes cooked and mashed up to a week before, which will go into a sweet-potato pudding (can also be frozen up to a month or two before)

pie crusts up to a week before, formed into discs and wrapped in plastic wrap, ready to roll out (can also be frozen up to a month or two before)

a complete unbaked apple or pear pie, to be frozen until the time of baking


-- Oh, wow, this makes me want to get in the kitchen and
make my crusts today.

Cooking and mashing sweet potatoes the day before is fine and makes no difference if they are being incorporated into a casserole/pudding/pie. In fact, this you could do several days ahead. I've even cooked and mashed and frozen sweet potatoes a month ahead when I had found them on sale.

I think cooking and mashing/ricing the sweet potatoes the day before is fine and makes no difference if you are going to make a casserole.

I could however cook my sweet potatoes the day before and then incorporate them into the recipe the next day right? That saves huge time roasting and mashing.