WASHINGTON 鈥� At this point, you probably have all the recipes you need to get through Thanksgiving. Um, right? (If you don鈥檛, we鈥檝e got .) But whipping up a once-a-year meal for a houseful of people requires a lot more things to go right, and that鈥檚 where foodie and food attorney Mary Beth Albright comes in with 10 tips to get you through.
- Have things for people to do while you鈥檙e cooking.聽鈥淧eople always want to help out,鈥� Albright told 草莓传媒, but usually they just end up 鈥渞oaming around the kitchen, picking at things,鈥� asking whether you need help with anything, and 鈥渟itting around drinking.鈥�
Give them a task, Albright said, and if delegating sounds like its own challenge, don鈥檛 be afraid of handing out busy work. “Just have a bag of onions for people to cut up 鈥� and then put them in your refrigerator for your cooking next week.” - Sharpen your carving knife. It鈥檚 the detail so many people overlook, and it can make a big difference in how cleanly you carve your turkey. And you do know how to carve a turkey, right?鈥� There鈥檚 nothing worse than taking a bird out of the oven, and you鈥檙e like, 鈥極h, right; I don鈥檛 know how to carve this 鈥� I guess everyone鈥檚 just going to have to dig into it, like a trough.鈥� No,”聽Albright said.
If you have time between now and Thanksgiving, roast a chicken for yourself, and practice carving on it. It鈥檚 the same basic principle as a turkey, Albright said, just smaller. (And have a look at from Amphora Catering.) - Pick compatible wines. Go to a fancy wine store and get expert help if you can, Albright advised, but 鈥淚f you鈥檙e standing in front of a bajillion bottles of wine at Costco,鈥� just get a few bottles that will go with a wide variety of food, 鈥渂ecause you鈥檙e going to have a wide variety of food. 鈥� She suggests an unoaked chardonnay and a Pinot Noir.
- Make your own turkey stock. It鈥檚 not a hard process, and it comes out so much better than a boxed stock, Albright said. Just toss some turkey parts into a big pot, cover them with water and add some vegetables. And they don鈥檛 have to be fresh, new vegetables.鈥�
The wilty old celery that鈥檚 at the bottom of the bin? That鈥檚 fine for stock. Same thing with carrots; same with onions. “Anything that looks like you would never actually use it in a dish 鈥� that鈥檚 fine for stock,鈥� she said. - Your turkey needs a stylist. 鈥淲hen you put your turkey on a platter, there鈥檚 nothing on it,鈥� Albright observed. Those fancy-looking turkeys on the covers of magazines are styled 鈥� surrounded with figs cut in half around them, purple kale, little pears and a collection of relatively simple things.鈥� You want to make sure that you have a platter that looks inviting and warm, and like you didn鈥檛 just plop a piece of meat on a plate and say 鈥楬ere you go!鈥欌��
- Remember (as hard as it might be sometimes) that you like the people at your table. 鈥淭hings are going to go wrong,鈥� Albright said, and it鈥檚 reasonable to be a bit nervous on Thanksgiving. 鈥淏ut these people are people who you love; they鈥檙e people who have chosen to spend this great American holiday with you. And if you just remember that you want to be around these people, that鈥檚 like human Xanax.鈥�
Encourage everyone 鈥� including yourself 鈥� to turn off the phones, pick up a beverage and 鈥渓et it be a meal together.鈥� - Warm your plates at a very low temperature in the oven. The ideal, of course, is for every dish to come out at the same time at its optimal temperature. Yeah; well 鈥� 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just never going to happen,鈥� Albright said. Warm plates will make a big difference in how people perceive the temperature of their food.
- Label your serving dishes. Write the name of each dish you鈥檙e making, and put it in the serving dish you鈥檙e going to bring it to the table in. It not only saves you from having to make such decisions on the fly, Albright said; it forces you to figure out whether you have enough serving dishes. If you don鈥檛, that鈥檚 not something you want to find out with the guests already sitting at your table.
- It鈥檚 just a turkey! 鈥淚t鈥檚 already dead,鈥� Albright said; 鈥測ou鈥檝e already won. Don鈥檛 worry about it.鈥� The worst that will happen is, it鈥檒l get dry, and that鈥檚 what gravy鈥檚 for. And it won鈥檛 get dry if you just remember to baste it every 30 minutes.
Afraid you won鈥檛 remember? Set a timer for every 30 minutes. 鈥淚t has never been easier to set a timer in the history of humankind,鈥� Albright said. - Have a cocktail ready. Maybe two. 鈥淵ou can drink the wine,鈥� Albright said, 鈥渂ut I think that it鈥檚 nice to have a seasonal cocktail. She has two recipes, both involving bourbon and apple cider. The hot version also includes whole cloves, whole star anise, whole cinnamon sticks and whole allspice, all thrown into a cauldron-like pot. The cold version uses applejack brandy, lemon juice, Angostura bitters and a bit of simple syrup.
In either case, however, Albright is clear: 鈥淭aste it to make sure there鈥檚 enough bourbon. That鈥檚 all I鈥檓 gonna say.鈥�
