Santa was very good to me this year...

I must say, Santa was very good to me this year. He brought me something I've coveted for quite a long time now - a brand new Kitchen Aid mixer, the professional bowl-lift model with the new spiral dough hook. I was positively speechless. Still am, to be honest. I came quite close to tears. Perhaps a picture will do it justice. It's such a thing of beauty. I can't seem to use it, though. Every time I start to make something in it, I think that whatever it is couldn't possibly be worthy of being the first thing I make in my new mixer. So, here I am, with a three day old mixer that hasn't been used. Oh, the horror! If only I could decide what to make first! BTW, I am fully accepting ideas. Give me some food for thought!

Oh yes, it's the Kitchen Aid Professional 600 Bowl Lift Stand Mixer. In the flesh.

Merry SITSmas!

Baby wishes you all a very merry SITSmas!

Merry SITSmas to you, all my SITSahs!

I'm hoping for several things in 2010. And in typical Type A Mommy fashion, I've made a list!

1. I'm going to have a consistent editorial schedule on my blog for more than just a few weeks. Really.

2. I'm going to try to do some creative writing in addition to my blogging. I've been saying for years (okay, really, since I was like 9) how I've wanted to write the Great American Novel, it's time that I valiantly try. And to help me get my creative juices flowing, I will be participating in Mama Kat's weekly writing meme, which I have said time and time I was going to do for the last several months.

3. In 2010, I'm going to try to cook several dishes I've always wanted to try my hand at but have been scared to try, like creme brulee. I'm working on my list still, and will have it ready by the first of the year, but suffice it to say, this little project will stretch my culinary skills in a (hopefully) nice way.

What are your plans for 2010, ladies? I'm sure whatever they are, they're awesome. I'd love to hear about them.

Need some holiday cookie recipes? You have stumbled upon the right place! I'm having a Christmas Cookie Bonanza, posting tons of tried-and-true holiday cookie recipes this month!

Never heard of SITS? Oh my! You must go visit Tiffany and Heather at the SITS Girls. Pronto. SITS has been one of the biggest chapters in my blogging journey, I've made some awesome bloggy friends, and it's true what they say - The Secret is in the Support!

Christmas Cookie Bonanza: Muddy Buddies

OK, so Muddy Buddies aren't exactly cookies, but they're still holiday fare, in my book. Some of my favorite holiday fare, actually. I've heard these yummy snacks also called dog food, but I can't eat something I call dog food, so Muddy Buddies works just fine. I happened to notice this recipe on the box of Chex a few years ago, decided to try it out, and I've been making them ever since. They're so tasty, you can't eat just one handful. These also wrap up really nice in a some cellophane with some pretty ribbon.

Chex Muddy Buddies

Printer-friendly recipe

9 cups Corn Chex, Rice Chex, Wheat Chex and Chocolate Chex (combination of your liking)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Into a large bowl, measure cereal and set aside.
2. In a 1-quart microwaveable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High for 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. (You may want to double bag, just in case, because wow, the powdered sugar really will make a monster mess if there's a hole in your bag!) Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Christmas Cookie Bonanza: Molasses Cookies

Molasses cookies are a classic at the holidays. One of the best things about this recipe is that the dough can stand in the freezer for a good period of time. It's an easy recipe to make ahead and toss in the oven when you have company coming over. Not only that, but they smell amazing when they're baking. Rolling them in sugar also gives them a nice look. My mom's been making this recipe for my entire life and it's always a hit when she shares her holiday cookies with her friends.

Soft Molasses Cookies

Printer-friendly recipe

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup soft butter

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 1/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

1. Beat butter, brown sugar, molasses, and egg in large bowl with mixer. Stir in remaining ingredients, except sugar.

2. Freeze overnight, roll into 1/2" balls, and roll in sugar.

3. Bake 13-16 minutes at 325 degrees. Store in a tightly-closed container.

Christmas Cookie Bonanza: Peppermint Brownies

Chocolate and peppermint go together nicely, don't they? These brownies are a super marriage between the two flavors and are always a hit. In fact, they were a hit last night at our holiday book club meeting, where we discussed "Nineteen Minutes." Not only are they tasty, but they're relatively easy to make and will please any chocolate lover you know.

Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies
Printer-friendly recipe

Brownies:
4 squares unsweetened chocolate (4oz)
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Frosting:
2 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tbsp milk
pink food coloring

Chocolate Glaze:
6 oz (about a cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips ,you could also use dark
6T real butter

Additional:
1/2-1 C crushed candy canes (Use Bob's)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. The chocolate you want is baking chocolate, which is sold in bars by the chocolate chips. Make sure it is unsweetened baking chocolate. Chop the squares a bit so they'll be easier to melt.
3. Then place them in a microwave-safe bowl along with the 2 sticks of butter (also chopped). Melt in 30-45 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Set aside.
4. In a stand mixer or with electric beaters, beat eggs for about 3 minutes until thick and frothy.
5. Add sugar and vanilla and beat to combine. Then add in the melted chocolate and butter that you set aside. Combine flour and baking powder and whisk into brownie batter by hand until just combined. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. If you want to make the job much easier, line your pan with foil first (I highly recommend this!)
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness and don't over bake! When brownies are done, cool on a cooling rack. When completely cool, pop in the fridge to chill. (makes the frosting spreading easier).
7. Next, combine all frosting ingredients and beat until light and fluffy. Add extra milk by if you need a little more. Spread evenly over cooled/chilled brownies and place back in the fridge to chill again while you do the final step.
8. Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and cook in 30 second intervals until smooth.

9. Set aside for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, so it can cool off just a bit. Quickly spread on top of brownies. I say quickly because the frosting is cool and the chocolate is hot. If you dawdle too much and try to make the chocolate layer perfect, you'll make a big gooey mess. Just spread it on quick.
10. Crush the candy canes. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top and return to the fridge until chocolate is set on top.

11. Remove from fridge a few minutes before serving. Cut into squares, eat, ooh and ahh, and then eat another one. Or two. Or three. Whatever your limit is.

Christmas Cookie Bonanza: Spritz

Our next entry in the Christmas Cookie Bonanza is Spritz cookies, the kind of butter holiday cookie you make with a cookie press. Incidentally, I appear to own three of those handy goodies. And I only make Spritz once a year. I have apparently bought a cookie press every year the last few years, deeming the previous year's model not good enough, for whatever reason. And yet, I haven't come across any of the three of them as I've been working on unpacking my Christmas goodies this week. Maybe this is how I wind up buying a new one every year...

Anyway, Spritz are a tasty cookie that you can decorate, with piped on frosting, non-pareils and other sprinkles, colored sugars and so forth. I honestly like the taste of them without any decorations on them, but I rarely leave any without decoration. They just wouldn't be Christmas cookies without the beautiful decorations!

This is a tried-and-true recipe, I've used it since 2005 and always had wonderful results.

Spritz
Printer-friendly recipe

1 cup 10x sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

1. Cream butter and sugar. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Add egg and vanilla.
3. Sift flour and salt together and add to batter. Mix thoroughly.
4. Use a cookie press and add cookies to ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 400 for 5-7 minutes.

6. Let cool fully before decorating.

7. To decorate, whisk some egg whites in a bowl, and get a paintbrush. Paint the area you want your sugars to stick to with your paintbrush, then either dip your wet cookie in sugar or sprinkle your sugar on top of your cookie, whichever floats your boat.

NOTE: Some people like to color their cookie dough instead of decorating with colored sugars and things.

Christmas Cookie Bonanza: Holiday Cut Outs

This year, I'll be sharing 13 Christmas cookie recipes in my official Christmas Cookie Bonanza of 2009. I love Christmas cookies. So much so that one Christmas cookie is now a year-round cookie in my family, the wagon wheel. I'm kicking off the Christmas Cookie Bonanza here with a traditional cookie cutter cookie, the Cut Out.

This is the first Christmas cookie I'm posting this year because it is the most basic. It's easy to make, and it's a great crowd pleaser. Everyone loves a good cut out cookie, decorated in a cute way. I grew up decorating cut outs every year, so much so that the first few Christmases I was on my own as an adult, I didn't make them. Didn't want to. I was all decorated out. I think this is the first year I'm actually excited about making them! Maybe it's because part of me thinks that my little boy might enjoy them this year, and also because I'm finally starting to take pride in my baked goods.

Butter Cut Outs

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (5 1/2 oz) superfine sugar (see note)
1/4 tsp table salt
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, cool room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cream cheese, cool room temperature

1. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix flour, sugar and salt on low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. With the mixer running on low, add butter 1 piece at a time; continue to mix until mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet, about 1 minute longer. Add vanilla and cream cheese and mix on low until dough just begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds.

2. Remove bowl from mixer; knead dough by hand in bowl for 2 to 3 turns to form large cohesive mass. Turn out dough onto countertop; divide in half, pat into two 4-inch disks, wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until they begin to firm up, 20-30 minutes. Dough can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 2 weeks; defrost in refrigerator before using.)

3. Adjust an oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out 1 dough disk to even 1/8-inch thickness between 2 large sheets of parchment paper; slide rolled dough on parchment onto baking sheet and chill until firm, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, repeat with second disk.
4. Working with first portion of rolled dough, cut into desired shapes using cookie cutter(s) and place shapes on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until light golden brown, about 10 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking time. Dough scraps can be patted together, chilled nad re-rolled once. Cool cookies on wire rack to room temperature.
5. Decorate to your liking using royal icing, canned iccing, sprinkles and other decorations.

NOTE: If you can't find superfine sugar, process regular granulated sugar in a food processor for about 20 seconds. This will make a close approximation of superfine sugar.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Need a recipe for today? Here's a few for you:

Infamous Pumpkin Pie
Gravy 101
Traditional Sage and Onion Stuffing
French Silk Pie

Cream Biscuits

French Silk Pie

This is a classic Thanksgiving recipe. We've been making this pie in my family for years, at least as long as I can remember. The main reason we do it is because I dislike pumpkin pie, so this is the pie for me to eat after Thanksgiving dinner. It's light and fluffy, yet chocolatey and yummy, all at the same time. It's quite easy to make, and, if you use a refrigerated pie crust, it's even easier. This is a pie you can make on Tuesday, set it in the fridge, and enjoy on Thanksgiving, which is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. You could also make it on Wednesday, but I don't recommend making it Thanksgiving Day. It's much tastier if it's been in the fridge at least overnight.

French Silk Pie

Printer-friendly recipe

1/2 cold butter

2 eggs

1 cup 10x sugar

2 squares melted unsweetened chocolate

8" pie crust

Fresh whipped cream

1. Melt your chocolate, in your microwave or over the stove. Pour your hot chocolate over the butter, and beat the chocolate mixture with the sugar and eggs at least five minutes.

2. Pour into crust and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.

3. Serve cold, with fresh whipped cream.

This is the last day of my Thanksgiving Survival Guide for this year. If you missed a day, here are some great recipes for you:

Infamous Pumpkin Pie
Gravy 101
Traditional Sage and Onion Stuffing
Cream Biscuits

And there's also my Thanksgiving Timeline, which will hopefully save you some time and sanity!

Traditional Sage and Onion Stuffing

I love stuffing. And if you've read my blog for any length of time, you know I'm a recovering super-picky eater. I'm still picky, don't get me wrong, but I've grown a lot in terms of what I am willing to try these days. Stuffing used to be on the "I-will-never-eat-that" list. I can't quite remember when I tried it, but I think it was during one of the first Thanksgiving dinners I prepared. And wow, I loved it. Couldn't believe I rejected it all these years. It's quickly become one of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving meal, and half of the reason that I enjoy roasting a chicken every now and again (that and the gravy, of course). Here's the not-so-super-secret method of making stuffing at my house on Thanksgiving:


Traditional Sage and Onion Stuffing
Printer-friendly instructions
You can make this stuffing one of two different ways - you can make it with the bread cubes and spices from a bag mix, or you can make everything from scratch. Both are quite tasty, it just depends on which is more your style.

Stuffing (from a bag):

I've always found that the Kellogg's stuffing mix is the tastiest. It has also become the hardest to find in recent years. Pepperidge Farm is an OK substitute, but try to find the Kellogg's one first.

- Melt butter/margarine as called for on bag, based on the size of your turkey.
- Add ½ - 1 tsp sage - your butter should smell sage-y, that's how you'll know there's enough.
- Stir for a few minutes.
- Use chicken broth for liquid, rather than water, as based on package instructions.
- Follow rest of package instructions.
- If not all your stuffing fits in your turkey, place it in a casserole dish, after greasing it with Pam or Crisco, then cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 (ish) for at least 30 minutes, but wait until the turkey is done or almost done to stick it in the oven.


Homemade Stuffing:
2 T butter
1/2 c minced onion
1/4 minced celery
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
1 can chicken broth
6-8 slices of bread, left out overnight to get a little stale, then torn into pieces

- This should be enough stuffing for a 8-9 lb turkey - I usually double this, in part because my turkey is bigger and also because we really like stuffing. A lot.
- Put 2 T butter in a small frying pan, add ½ c minced onion, ¼ minced celery, sauté lightly for 5 minutes, then stir in 1 t sage and 1 t thyme, then add 1 can chicken broth and simmer a few minutes. Meanwhile, put stuffing mix in bowl, put broken up bread on top of that. Now pour warm mixture over this and mix. You’ll need more liquid. The can of chicken broth is a little more than one cup. The package directions call for water, but use broth. Mix all of this up. If it seems too dry, add broth. It if seems too wet, don’t worry about it.
- If not all your stuffing fits in your turkey, place it in a casserole dish, after greasing it with Pam or Crisco, then cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 (ish) for at least 30 minutes, but wait until the turkey is done or almost done to stick it in the oven.
- As soon as turkey is stuffed, you should put it right in the oven.


This is part four of my Thanksgiving survival series. Tomorrow, I'll cover a chocolate pie called French Silk Pie. If you've missed a day, here's some links for you:

Infamous Pumpkin Pie
Gravy 101
Cream Biscuits

And there's also my Thanksgiving Timeline, which will hopefully save you some time and sanity!

Gravy 101

In my family, gravy is the most important part of Thanksgiving. If the gravy fails, the dinner is less than memorable. The turkey is not the star of the day, the gravy is. We put gravy on most everything - the stuffing, the turkey, the mashed potatoes, the biscuits...pretty much everything but the sweet potatoes! My mother has called herself the Gravy Queen as long as I can remember, and it's for a good reason. She can make gravy like nobody's business. Given that I am just the lowly Gravy Princess, and only by birth not through true merit, these instructions come directly from my mother's original Thanksgiving diatribe, the eleven pages of instructions on how to "do" Thanksgiving.

Please note, lots of people make their gravy in their roasting pan - I'm not one of them. In part because I use a foil throwaway roasting pan (the horror, I know), but also because we've always made gravy in a big saucepan in our family.

Photo by chrstphre

Gravy 101

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- Remember most gravy is a mixture of melted fat and flour, to which meat broth is added. Fat and flour will mix lump-free. Flour and any other liquid will not.
- Early in the day, open bag inside turkey (neck and giblets and such). I only cook the neck and gizzard. The other things are the heart and liver – yuck. The neck is the biggest thing, and the gizzard looks like two symmetrically pieces bound together. Liver looks like liver, and heart looks like a heart/diamond shape. Put neck and gizzard in pot, add 2-3 cups water. Add a sprinkle of dried onion. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, and let simmer as long as possible. When the water starts to boil, you may notice this “foamy” stuff. You can skim this off. This is going to be your base for gravy.
- 30-45 minutes before turkey should be done, and you have removed the foil from turkey, gather all the juices from the turkey you can in a measuring cup.
- Remove neck and gizzard from homemade broth (toss out), and strain broth into a measuring cup. Wash this same pot and use it to make the gravy.
- For both measuring cups, remove the fat. Use some of it for gravy, after deducing how much gravy you want.
- For each cup of edible gravy, you need

o 2 T fat
o 2 T flour
o 1 cup meat broth – fat removed

- Skim fat you’re using for gravy off of broth and put in gravy pot.
- Add your flour and a little salt.
- Stir over medium heat with a whisk until mixture boils.
- Remove from heat and stir in broth, return to heat and stir until it boils. Let boil 1 minute.
- Don’t forget to taste the gravy. It might need more salt or Accent.
- If the gravy is lumpy, you can strain it, if you must.
- If it's too thin, mix a tablespoon of melted butter with a tablespoon of flour. Bring the gravy up to a boil and whisk in the butter mixture to thicken your gravy. If the gravy is too thick, add a little more chicken broth, pan drippings or a little water and butter to thin it out.

Gravy Troubleshooting
Gravy is greasy: If the gravy seems greasy, a fat separator should eliminate the problem. You can also try to skim extra fat off with a wide-bowled spoon.

Gravy is doughy: If gravy has a doughy, chalky, or floury taste, you haven't cooked the flour enough. Turn up the heat to maintain a rapid simmer for several minutes; then thin it again, if necessary, with more stock or water.

Lumpy gravy: Don't worry if there are lumps. Really. They're tasty, usually. If the look of lumps really bothers you, just strain it before serving using a sieve. You could also toss your food processor or blender and process until smooth.

Thin gravy: If gravy is too thin, simmer over medium-high heat, allowing liquid to reduce more. If your gravy is still too thin, make a paste of equal parts flour and cold water, and add it a little at a time to the prepared gravy, whisking constantly until the gravy thickens.

Thick gravy: If gravy is too thick, gradually whisk in additional stock or broth, a little at a time into the gravy until it reaches desired consistency.

This is part two of my Thanksgiving survival series. Did you miss yesterday's Infamous Pumpkin Pie? Make sure to check it out here! I've also got my super-OCD Thanksgiving Timeline posted, too. And there's more to come next week, too, so stay tuned!

Infamous Pumpkin Pie

In my family, we make two pies for Thanksgiving - a pumpkin pie and a chocolate pie (since I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin). This year, I will also be making a Pumpkin Icebox Pie this year, which I'm looking forward to trying, for Husband's sake. Today, I'm sharing my Infamous Pumpkin Pie recipe. This is actually the first pumpkin pie I've ever made - my mother has always been the one who made the pumpkin pie, but according to my official taste tester, I have taken over the Pumpkin Pie throne with this masterpiece.

This recipe is for all of you true pumpkin fans out there. I'm not one of you, but my husband sure is! If you're looking for a classic Thanksgiving pie recipe, this is the one for you.

Infamous Pumpkin Pie

adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Printer-friendly recipe

Pie Crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled

4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled

4-6 tbsp ice water

1. Process the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Scatter the shortening over the top and continue to process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seoconds. Scatter butter pieces over the top, and using short pulses, process the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Sprinkle 4 tbsp of the ice water over the mixture. Stir and press the dough together, using a stiff rubber spatula, until the dough sticks together. If the dough does not come together, stir in the remaining water, 1 tbsp at a time, until it does. Form the dough into a 4-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. Let the chilled dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling it in a 12-inch circle and fitting it into a pie plate. Trim, fold and crimp the edges and freeze the unbaked pie crust until firm, about 30 minutes, before filling or baking.

4. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line the chilled crust with aluminum foil and pie weights. Bake until the pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25-30 minutes. For a partially baked crust (like the one for pumpkin pie), transfer the crust to a wire rack and remove the weights and foil. For a fully baked crust (but NOT for pumpkin pie!), remove the pie weights and foil and continue to bake until the crust is a deep golden brown, about 12 minutes longer. The pie crust may be cooled completely or used warm, according to the pie recipe.

Filling

1 15-oz can pureed pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix!)

1 cup packed dark brown sugar (NOT light brown sugar)

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup whole milk

4 large eggs

1. After removing the partially baked pie crust from the oven, leave the oven rack at the lower-middle position and increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. The crust must still be hot when the filling is added. (This is what makes the filling so creamy!)

2. For the filling: While the crust bakes, process the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, spices and salt in a food processor until combined, about 1 minute. Transfer the pumpkin mixture to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook the pumpkin, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the cream and milk, return to a simmer briefly, and then remove from heat.

3. Process the eggs in the food processor (no need to clean the processor bowl of residual pumpkin!) until uniform, about 5 seconds. With the machine running, add about half of the hot pumpkin mixture through the feed tube. Stop the machine, add the remaining pumpkin, and ontinue to process the mixture until uniform, about 30 seconds longer.

4. Immediately pour the warm filling into the hot, partially baked pie crust. If you have any extra filling, ladle it into the pie after it has baked for about 5 minutes, by which time the filling will have settled in. Bake until the filling is puffed and lightly cracked around the edges and the center wiggles slightly when jiggled, about 25 minutes. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool until warm or room temperature before serving.

To make ahead: (makes Thanksgiving that much easier!)
The pie can be refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days!

NOTE: The easiest way to do this is to make the pie dough first. Set up your pie crust and put it in your pie plate. Heat the oven to 375 to bake your crust, and put it in the oven. Set a timer for about 10 minutes. Then start making your filling. You should be wrapping up your filling just as the pie crust comes out of the oven. Perfection!

This is part one of my Thanksgiving survival series - tomorrow, I'll get into Gravy 101, followed by stuffing and my favorite chocolate pie, French Silk Pie. Make sure to stay tuned! Don't forget to check out my Thanksgiving Timeline, also, which can be a real time-saver!

Thanksgiving Timeline

I tend to overthink things. Kind of a lot. That's why you shouldn't be surprised that I have a ridiculously detailed timeline for Thanksgiving. It helps me make sure that everything is ready, and it's great to use for your first Thanksgiving. It's a combination of things I've learned over the years, the Thanksgiving manifesto I inherited from my mother when I held my first Thanksgiving, and what I've learned from Martha, too. I've also included a printable version of this, to post on your fridge. Trust me, it will make your life easier during this hectic time!

Type A Mommy's Thanksgiving Timeline

Printer-friendly version

2-3 weeks before Thanksgiving

* Plan your menu
* Decide if you would like guests to bring anything, like side dishes or desserts
* Decide if your dinner will be sit-down or buffet-style
* Make your master grocery list, with all the items you need in order to make the recipes you've selected.
* Create a list of everything you need to purchase/gather
* Go grocery shopping and buy your non-perishables now. It's easier on your wallet this way, and easier in case you forget something. Don't forget other items like aluminum foil, paper towels, and decor items like candles and napkins and such.
* Take an inventory and make sure you have:
* Table(s) big enough for your guests
* Chairs (though you can always ask guests to bring a chair if you're short)
* Plates, glassware and silverware for guests
* Table linens
* Serving ware and dishes
* Roasting pan or disposable aluminum roasting pan

One week before

Thursday
* National Thaw Day! Time to take that turkey out and put it in the fridge to thaw. Allow one full day to thaw for every four pounds of turkey you have. A fully thawed turkey may remain in the fridge for four days before cooking. Better to thaw early than late!
* Wash all of your holiday dishes, glasses, and silverware. Iron all tablecloths and napkins.

Friday
* Review your shopping list. Cross off the non-perishables you bought last week, and review to make sure you've got everything covered. Don't forget to include munchies for the living room while your guests await dinner. You can always make pumpkin bread for snacking or roast some nuts.

Saturday
* Do your final grocery shop. Trust me, you don't want to be at the grocery store on Wednesday, or trying to find one that's open on Thursday (but you want to know which one is open on Thursday, just in case!!).


The Week of Thanksgiving

Monday
* Decorate your house. Use pumpkins and gourds, Indian corn and the like. If you need to create arranged seating, do so and make placecards.

Tuesday
* Review your recipes, and make your Turkey Day Timeline. What needs to go in the oven when? What early prep work can you do to make your life easier?
* Bake desserts and side dishes that can be refrigerated a few days before.

Wednesday
* Clear out your coat closet (unless you live in Florida, in which case, this is totally unnecessary).
* Clean the guest bathroom and put fresh towels in it.
* Pick out your Thanksgiving outfit, as well as your cooking outfit. I always cook in a different outfit, because I don't have a full-body apron. Inevitably I get something on myself every year in random locations - sleeves, pant legs, etc.

Thursday
* Set the table.
* Eat breakfast - you will be much more delightful to be around if you do.
* Make the stuffing in the morning, but don't stuff the turkey until it's ready to go in the oven.
* Make sure to get the turkey in the oven on time or early so it will be ready on schedule.
* Take a deep breath and relax. Try to enjoy the day. If something goes wrong, so be it. Try to learn something from it, or at least have a laugh about it.
* Enjoy yourself!

Thanksgiving is a-Knocking!

How did it get to be November already?

Thanksgiving is positively one of my favorite holidays, primarily because it has so much to do with cooking and baking (Christmas is my all-time favorite, thanks to Christmas cookies). My mother, being the Type A Mommy that she is, actually wrote a lengthy instruction guide for Thanksgiving dinner when my older sister first skipped coming home for Thanksgiving, so she could prepare her own authentic Thanksgiving in her new hometown, and I ultimately got that same guide many years later, when I also began starting my own family traditions for Thanksgiving.

These days, Mom comes to my house usually for Thanksgiving, and she still really loves to cook on Thanksgiving, so we spend a good bit of time together in the kitchen. I wanted to give you all a quick preview of what I'm going to be sharing with you this Thanksgiving to help you prepare the best Thanksgiving ever.

Later this month, I'm going to sharing a timeline and shopping list to help you get things together for Thanksgiving. I will be sharing many, many recipes leading up to Thanksgiving, including Authentic Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Icebox Pie, French Silk Pie, Homemade Bread Stuffing, as well as a Gravy 101 tutorial. In the meantime, I'm going to share with you my Thanksgiving Day Menu:

Thanksgiving Breakfast:

Pumpkin Pancakes

Thanksgiving Lunch:

Fend for yourselves! Or eat a pumpkin mini-loaf.

Thanksgiving Dinner:

Classic Thanksgiving Turkey

Homemade Bread Stuffing with Sage and Thyme

Mashed Potatoes

Bourbon Sweet Potatoes

Green Beans (but not green bean casserole, because Baby's not a fan)

Baking Powder Biscuits (because biscuits and gravy on Thanksgiving are a family tradition)

French Silk Pie

Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Icebox Pie