The Thanksgiving Plan by Sam

The Thanksgiving Plan by Sam Beall, cookbook author and Proprietor of Blackberry Farm.

Food takes center stage during Thanksgiving at the Beall House. From traditional holiday dishes to southern-inspired, new creations perfect for the fall season, our table is adorned with delicious dishes and surrounded by friends and family.
Because Thanksgiving is such a food-forward holiday, we know we will spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so it is best to plan out your day ahead of time to ensure proper cooking times, resting times and that you don’t leave your guests hungry!

The Day Before

The day of Thanksgiving can be hectic with warm welcomes from family and friends, setting the table and other finalizing details. So you want to take care of as many cooking items as possible the day before!

Things to think about ahead of time:

Make sure if working with a frozen turkey that it has had several days to thaw. Ensure you are working with a fully thawed bird. Otherwise, throw cooking times out the window and you are on your own…with an undercooked bird!

Cornbread used for the stuffing should be done a day ahead of time, and is a unique example of where fresh is not necessarily better. Cornbread that is for the table, you will want to cook the day of. The cornbread for the stuffing works better if made the day before.

PLAN TO START EARLY - You will want to get started in the morning, because the bird will need at least 3-4 hours in the oven, but the resting is key, don’t underestimate the resting time. Cutting into a hot bird right of the oven is the worst thing you can do!

You want to have the cornbread for the stuffing done a day ahead so you can whip up the stuffing in coordination with the bird and you aren’t delayed in putting the bird in the oven.

While the turkey is in the oven, you will want to get started on the next thing which takes the longest. Consider those items that don’t have to be hot when served. In this case, we would start working on sweet potato pie, because we in fact want it to cool to room temperature before serving!

Next, we would start on the oyster dressing because of it’s many components.

To prepare for this – it is worth the extra mile if you have the opportunity to shuck your own oysters. It is an activity that your guests can get involved and fresh oyster “liqueur” can give the dressing that special touch. If you are planning to work with freshly shucked oysters, please allow a good hour or two based on your shucking experience. Pre-shucked oysters are a fine substitute as well.

Have all of your “mise en place” in place before you start cooking, you want to have all of your ingredients out and measured before you start cooking. If you spend your time up front the rest will go a lot smoother.

Because the Thanksgiving meal is a cooking affair, it is always nice to have something for people to nosh on. In our kitchen, we find a big bowl of southern roasted peanuts and peanut soup satisfies the chill in the air. Warm soup, and the roasted peanuts give those itchy fingers and waiting tongues something to do. You can make the soup the day before and leave it on the stove staying warm to hold one off until the feast.

At the end of the meal, at Thanksgiving especially, we always have more than enough food, don’t go skimpy leftovers.

The Thanksgiving Plan by Sam Beall, cookbook author and Proprietor of Blackberry Farm.

Food takes center stage during Thanksgiving at the Beall House. From traditional holiday dishes to southern-inspired, new creations perfect for the fall season, our table is adorned with delicious dishes and surrounded by friends and family.
Because Thanksgiving is such a food-forward holiday, we know we will spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so it is best to plan out your day ahead of time to ensure proper cooking times, resting times and that you don’t leave your guests hungry!

The Day Before

The day of Thanksgiving can be hectic with warm welcomes from family and friends, setting the table and other finalizing details. So you want to take care of as many cooking items as possible the day before!

Things to think about ahead of time:

Make sure if working with a frozen turkey that it has had several days to thaw. Ensure you are working with a fully thawed bird. Otherwise, throw cooking times out the window and you are on your own…with an undercooked bird!

Cornbread used for the stuffing should be done a day ahead of time, and is a unique example of where fresh is not necessarily better. Cornbread that is for the table, you will want to cook the day of. The cornbread for the stuffing works better if made the day before.

PLAN TO START EARLY - You will want to get started in the morning, because the bird will need at least 3-4 hours in the oven, but the resting is key, don’t underestimate the resting time. Cutting into a hot bird right of the oven is the worst thing you can do!

You want to have the cornbread for the stuffing done a day ahead so you can whip up the stuffing in coordination with the bird and you aren’t delayed in putting the bird in the oven.

While the turkey is in the oven, you will want to get started on the next thing which takes the longest. Consider those items that don’t have to be hot when served. In this case, we would start working on sweet potato pie, because we in fact want it to cool to room temperature before serving!

Next, we would start on the oyster dressing because of it’s many components.

To prepare for this – it is worth the extra mile if you have the opportunity to shuck your own oysters. It is an activity that your guests can get involved and fresh oyster “liqueur” can give the dressing that special touch. If you are planning to work with freshly shucked oysters, please allow a good hour or two based on your shucking experience. Pre-shucked oysters are a fine substitute as well.

Have all of your “mise en place” in place before you start cooking, you want to have all of your ingredients out and measured before you start cooking. If you spend your time up front the rest will go a lot smoother.

Because the Thanksgiving meal is a cooking affair, it is always nice to have something for people to nosh on. In our kitchen, we find a big bowl of southern roasted peanuts and peanut soup satisfies the chill in the air. Warm soup, and the roasted peanuts give those itchy fingers and waiting tongues something to do. You can make the soup the day before and leave it on the stove staying warm to hold one off until the feast.

At the end of the meal, at Thanksgiving especially, we always have more than enough food, don’t go skimpy leftovers.