Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Logistics of Thanksgiving

For me, the secret to a successful Thanksgiving dinner is knowing when to make what. This year's menu is not that big so it shouldn't be too difficult. However, three extra people did get added to the guest list at the last minute ... good thing I always cook too much.

I'm planning to serve at 3:00, so if I get started at around 11:30 I should be okay ...

Each of the following items has to go into the oven for the listed amount of time:

Turkey breast - 2 hours 10 mins
Quarter spiral glazed ham - 1 hour
Seafood casserole - 4o mins
Dressing - 30 mins
Macaroni & cheese - 40 mins
Cake - 35 mins
Dinner rolls - 12 minutes

I'm going to start the collards tonight and just let them simmer until I'm ready to turn them off. I'll probably make the cake last because once it's done it has to be stored in the refrigerator and right now the refrigerator is full.

None of the above listed times include preparation ... chopping vegetables and cleaning the shrimp for the casserole, cooking the sausage for the dressing, making the sauce for the macaroni and cheese ... this is a labor intensive dinner.

And I love every minute of it.

5 comments:

LadyLee said...

You know, it's all that chopping and "Sous chef" type work that's tedious...

But the end result is well worth it. It really is.

Rose said...

Sounds like a great menu. I'm sure your guests enjoyed it all.

lyre said...

I just showed up and ate. I like that better.

princessdominique said...

Hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving.

Bballmom said...

How did the seafood casserole turn out? I'd like a recipe for that if you don't mind sharing. ;)