Holiday Survival Guide:

Thanksgiving:

Think that Butterball is the best gobble going? How about a turkey with your name on it? This season, you might want to look into a "heritage" turkey. Some farms will grow a bird, just for you, descended from the ones the Pilgrims ate. As for cooking any bird, here's how to make it tender:

  • Plan on about one pound of turkey per guest when purchasing.
  • Remove the thawed or fresh turkey from the refrigerator at least two hours before you put it into the oven, giving it a chance to warm up to room temperature and cook evenly.
  • Don't salt the exterior of the flesh. Salt draws the juices to the surface, where they'll evaporate.
  • Try roasting your turkey upside down, with the breast on the bottom of the pan. With all the juices dripping down to the bottom, the white meat can't dry out.
  • Before carving, let your turkey stand for at least 20 minutes after you remove it from the oven to allow the flesh to absorb the juices.

Step 1: Lay the Best Plans

Whether you serve the same folks the same menu every year, or tend to mix it up a bit, this information, from updating the menu to handling the unpredictable guest, will help you avoid holiday overload. And if you're ready for some professional help, pay attention to this advice on hiring a personal chef. So grab a cup of eggnog, kick back and enjoy these five easy steps to a fabulous holiday dinner!

  • Pre-plan carefully and take it one step at a time, even if you've had the same guests year after year.
  • If you've never tried it before, customize a notebook or three-ring binder, complete with divider tabs and pockets for recipes torn from magazines and Internet printouts. If you're more comfortable keeping records in a computer file, go for it.
  • If your group holds the holiday at different homes from year to year, consider passing the binder to the host on duty that year, along with the recipes for reference.
  • Extend invitations three weeks ahead of the big day. Written invites aren't necessary, but you absolutely must at least make a phone call to each family - no "please pass along the invite to... "
  • The best time to serve dinner really depends on your family. If your guests have other obligations, consider a late or early dinner so they can maximize their time. If your dinner is the only stop, then consider making it at 3 p.m. dinner to maximize your time together.
  • Consider hiring a few elves of your own this season. It might be a lot less expensive than you think. The best option is a call to your local culinary school. There are hundreds of students there anxious for quick money and willing to help you serve, clean up, chop, cut, etc.
  • Catering companies also offer staff for hire.
  • If you live in a crowded neighborhood, consider booking a parking valet - also known as the teenager next door.
  • Why not lighten your cooking load by ordering side dishes from the local market?
  • Want to eliminate the cooking load entirely? Hire a caterer or even the ultimate helper - a personal chef who will cook for you right in your own kitchen.
  • Hiring a chef doesn't have to mean breaking the bank. Most will offer an a la carte menu of services, from shopping days, to prep days to the Full Monty.
  • Whether you like it or not, guests do want to help. So decide in advance what kind of tasks you can set aside for guests to do if they like.
  • If you can grab some chef hats and put everyone in one you'll have an event that is photo ready.
  • Choosing hors d'oeuvres:
  • Simple is better, so forget the fondue or the homemade pate.
  • Save the sweets for dessert.
  • Shrimp cocktail is a traditional favorite.
  • Only choose appetizers you can make several days ahead and serve quickly.
  • Include the kids - they can help put the hors d'oeuvres together and serve them or take them out to the party.


Step 2: Gear Up

  • Simplify your holiday cooking with these essential kitchen tools: peeler, electric knife, knife sharpener, wire whisk and a meat thermometer.
  • Consider the benefits of a hand mixer in place of your grandmother's whisk - it gives better results and saves your energy, too.
  • Time to retire that tired old roasting pan. The modern host should think heavy-duty, long-term and no-fuss. Try an 18-gauge aluminum roasting pan.
  • If you really want to streamline holiday prep, purchase the best food processor you can find.
  • Never enough room in the fridge? Bring out the cooler and fill it with things that aren't critical to cooking - soft drinks, wine or even the chilled dessert. In colder climates, put the cooler outside and you may not even need ice. If you don't have a cooler, you can rent one for under $20 a day.
  • If your holiday crowd is waiting for the big game, consider renting a big-screen television, at a cost between $150 and $200 a day. Just don't turn it on during the meal, only before and after.

Peter Post, Etiquette Author
The Emily Post Institute
444 South Union Street
Burlington, VT 05401
802-860-1814
www.emilypost.com

Joseph Shilling, Chef
Art Institute of New York
75 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
212-226-5500
www.nyrs.artinstitutes.edu

Crate & Barrel
Michelle Cosmo, Housewares Store Manager
Cuisinart PowerPrep Plus Food Processor, $199; Cuisinart Quick Prep Hand Mixer, $40;
18-gauge Aluminum Roasting Pan, $50
www.crateandbarrel.com

Rent-a-Center
Big screen TV rental, $150-$200 first day, $25-$50 per day additional
www.rentacenter.com

Step 3: Re-think Your Floor Plan

You'd be surprised what a difference you can make just by re-arranging a little furniture. Consider the following:

  • Keep people from crowding the kitchen by creating fun or play spaces in another area. For adults, set the bar in the living room or the crudite in the den.
  • Resist the urge to make a ring of seats around the living room, an concentrate on arranging several "conversation areas" - three or four seats in several different areas where people can sit and chat.
  • It's particularly important to establish a place away from the adults where kids can go and relax and be kids.


Step 4: Design the Dining Space

When you are hosting a holiday dinner, it's important to see your dining area through different eyes. Look carefully at your house before you decide whether full- or self-serve would be better. While most folks prefer the family-style sit-down dinner, some experts say buffet is best. Here are some rules of thumb for seating:

  • One table is perfect for a family style sit-down dinner, but if you must (or want to) use two or more tables, buffet-style is more appropriate and easier on all.
  • Avoid confusion and encourage people to sit next to someone different for a change with good old-fashioned name cards.
  • Never seat spouses together.
  • Seat the guests of honor to the right of the host.
  • Always pair "talkers" with "listeners".
  • It's really important for the children to be spread around the table just like the adults and for them to be seated where they can be engaged in conversation. Don't treat them as second class citizens and use a kid's table
  • Setting a formal table:
  • Forks on the left, knives and spoons on the right.
  • If you want to put desert utensils on the table, put the desert fork and spoon up on the top of the plate.
  • Around the immediate place setting, place glasses to the right and the butter plate to the left.


Step 5: Dine and Serve with Grace

 

If you're going to host the party, go all out. This is your opportunity to show that you're proud to be part of the family. You want to make sure there's something memorable, and that you make dishes guests will long remember as spectacular. And you also want to have a special drink or two around, something that's unique. Consider the following ways to make the dinner extra-tasty:

  • Don't know if you want to make turkey, duck, or chicken? Why not all three? To make Turducken, stuff a turkey with a chicken and then stuff the chicken with a duck. All the juices melt together and baste the inside, so everything comes out juicy, tender, and absolutely delicious.
  • "Light" cooking techniques:
  • Don't salt everything - try squeezing a lemon on your green vegetables, instead.
  • Cut down on fat and calories but keep the moisture by substituting applesauce for oil in muffins and cakes.
  • Thicken milk with cornstarch for an ingredient that has the same consistency as heavy cream but only a fraction of the fat.
  • Offer fewer starch dishes and a couple more steamed vegetables or fresh salads in their places. One potato dish ought to do it...
  • To keep the dishes warm while the family chills, try chafing dishes, the "hot-steam" method, or buy a heat lamp, which is an infrared light. Hot plates are a good option, too, if there's a place on the table or buffet you can plug one in. That way not all the hot food has to be crammed into one spot.