Thanksgiving should be a time to spend with family and friends, for relaxation, and for the promise of leftovers. It should not lead to any stress when it comes to cooking the perfect meal. Hosting Thanksgiving dinner may seem like a daunting task whether you’re cooking for 2 or 12.  But in reality, with a little planning ahead and some pre-Thanksgiving organization, you can cook like a pro without breaking a sweat.  Clean-up, on the other hand, is another story.

Over the next three days, I’ll help you plan every aspect of your Thanksgiving preparation.  Here is the fool-proof menu: 

Appetizer: 

• Butternut Squash and Apple Soup 

Main: 

• Oven Roasted Turkey w/ Homemade Gravy
• Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Parmigiano Reggiano 
• Cranberry Sauce
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Mushroom and Walnut Stuffing (courtesy Martha Stewart)
• Roasted Carrots & Parsnips with Thyme (chop carrots and parsnips on the bias, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and 6 sprigs of time.  Roast @ 375 for 35-45 minutes)

Dessert: 

• Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting 

Sounds like too much to handle? If everything is timed properly, you will be just fine. But remember, it never hurts to ask for help.  Tell a friend to bring the brussels sprouts, or your brother to make the stuffing. 

TUESDAY CHECKLIST: 

• Go Grocery Shopping!  Make a list of all the ingredients you will need, and get it done early.  The last thing you’ll want to do is head to Whole Foods on Wednesday night.  Yikes!

• Clean out your refrigerator!  You’ll need to make room for all the ingredients and prep you’ll be doing over the next four days.

• Make Chicken Stock!  Stop at the market after work and grab yourself a rotisserie chicken.  Then you don’t have to cook tonight, AND you can make yourself the best homemade chicken stock which you’ll be sure to use plenty of throughout your Thanksgiving Prep.  It doesn’t hurt to have a couple extra cartons on hand in case of an emergency. 

• Roast Garlic!  This will be your secret ingredient.  Roast about 6 whole heads.  Slice the top (stem side) off, exposing the individual cloves of garlic still intact in the head.  drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil.  Roast at 325 F for about an hour and a half.  This will come in handy for your turkey, and for the mashed potatoes, and can be stored in the fridge for a whole week. 

• Make Cranberry Sauce!  This will keep in the fridge for almost a week, so why not make it now?  You’re guests will never know you didn’t slave over it on Thursday morning.  And please, whatever you do, don’t buy the canned stuff.  This recipe is too easy for you to skip. 

Make sure to keep checking back for other updates, tips and tricks, and of course the Wednesday and Thursday checklists. And if you have any questions, tweet me and I’ll try get back to you as soon as I can! 

It’s a good idea to have plenty of chicken stock on hand for Thanksgiving - it helps with everything from roasting the bird to thinning gravy to creating a perfect fall soup. Here’s a tip: pick up a rotisserie chicken for dinner and use the carcass for stock - you’ll have dinner AND delicious homemade chicken stock with no fuss!

You can use this same method with your Thanksgiving turkey as well.  Make sure to leave a pot on your stove that can collect all your scraps from a day of cooking - onion skins, tops of carrots, parsnip peels, extra herbs - throw them all into the pot with your turkey and fill it with water.  Bring it to a simmer while you enjoy your feast and catch up with family, and you’re all set with the most delicious turkey stock you’ve ever had!

Check out this 60-second how-to video on how to make the perfect stock!