Countdown to Thanksgiving

Day 11: Plan your menu and order your turkey. Thanksgiving is 11 days away, if you haven’t given any thought to what you’ll serve (or bring with you, if you’ve been invited elsewhere), now is the time. Many supermarkets and specialty stores have a two-week sale that runs through Thanksgiving weekend, take advantage of that — and the relatively empty stores — now. (Mind, I say “relatively empty” because some of the shopping craze has already started, especially among the bakers. So if you can’t find something on the shelf, ask; chances are they have it, they just haven’t gotten around to restocking it.) If you need some inspiration for menu, check out my menu for both traditional favorites, and new ideas to shake things up a little. Also make use of cooking TV shows and web sites, such as www.foodtv.com, epicurious.com, and allrecipes.com.

When you’re planning your menu, keep in mind the following:

• The food doesn’t need to be fancy. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it’s all about the family and the food, but you don’t need to go overboard. People look forward to your signature dishes, don’t apologize for making the same menu as last year, or just throw one new recipe in the mix.
  
  
• It’s a long day of eating, don’t go overboard on the appetizers. Something to tide people over is fine, but don’t make a meal of it.
  
  
• The turkey will be large and will be in the oven the longest, and until the last 30 minutes before you carve it and serve it. Plan side dishes that can make use of that half hour of turkey resting time to be cooked or reheated in the oven.
  
  
• If you’re making gravy, that will be happening during that 30-minute turkey resting time as well, so don’t plan on a lot of hands-on sides.
  

Finally, if you’re planning to serve a fresh turkey, order it today.