I'm the queen of multi-tasking and when it comes down to it, I try to avoid any task that involves doing just one thing at once. I catch up on my favorite US TV shows while scrapbooking, watch the news while working out, talk on the phone while making dinner and the number of work tasks I do at the same time is unlimited. I find blogging rather hard to do while doing something else which is probably why I don't blog as often as I'd like to. And I have to say, for working at home and having so many potential distractions around, I stay surprisingly focused. I guess when you have so much going on that literally moving the laundry from the washer to the dryer seems an impossible task, it's easier to overlook other possible distractions.

But there is definitely one day of the year when working from home specifically comes in handy. Since Thanksgiving isn't celebrated over here, and it seems rather pointless to take the day off, I've worked out how the right amount of planning can lead to the perfect Thanksgiving feast, perhaps a little later than we would eat if in the US, but that's not a big deal.

I can see how easy it would be to get stressed out by cooking a huge meal. Obviously the pressures of family and friends coming over, hoping everything turns out, but more fundamentally, just getting everything done in time. My biggest problem is always trying to figure out how to have everything finish at the same time so it's all hot when it hits the table which is difficult to do with a limited supply of pans and one rather small oven. My other obvious dilemma is that I did not have all day to cook. But careful planning and a lot of prep made the whole thing rather stress-free.


Thanksgiving 2009 Menu:

• Stuffed Dates wrapped in bacon
• Pear and Gorgonzola crostini
• Cider-Brined-and-Glazed Turkey and gravy
• Apple, sausage & French bread stuffing
• Green beans with garlic and lemon
• Homemade French fries
• Bisquick biscuits
• Pumpkin cake
  

Since we were lucky enough to have guest this year, Dave's friend from work Andrew, I wanted to make sure they had something to snack on while I was finishing cooking. After much debating, I finally decided on the dates and the crostini. Both were easy to prepare in advance and cook up in less than 10 minutes so I would definitely do something like that again. I used a similar turkey recipe to last year and also a similar stuffing. Dave prefers French fries over any other kind of potato so homemade frites it was. I still haven't found a great biscuit recipe so I spent 10 bucks at the American Store for a small box of Bisquick, still not too impressed with the results. I turned to Paula Deen again this year for dessert and her Pumpkin cake was delicious. Actually, I just had to get up to have a piece -- I have to get it while I can because before I know it Dave will finish it off :) I just asked him and we both agreed, we might even like this more than pumpkin pie!

So while my menu wasn't too over-the-top, it was still a lot of food to prepare for 3 people. So here is the game plan I created last Sunday to make sure everything would be ready in time and I wouldn't be too stressed out at 6:30pm on Thursday.

Monday morning before work: Took the car before Dave went to work because I didn't want to be walking home with the heavy turkey, multiple bottle of cooking oil for the fries and various apple ciders for the brine. Turkey was frozen (and about 9lbs), which required 2 days to defrost in the fridge.

Tuesday night: Dave was in London so I prepped (while catching up on Desperate Housewives). Prepared brine, cleaned up turkey and put it in the brine overnight. Chopped veggies and prepped the bread for stuffing. Cooked up sausage for the stuffing. Trimmed green beans.

Wednesday night: Removed turkey from brine, dried off and returned to fridge overnight. Stuffed the dates with cheese, refrigerated overnight. Made pumpkin cake and frosting, did not frost cake until just before serving.

Thursday lunch break: Walked to the boulangerie for a baguette for the crostini, picking up autumn leaves for my 'tablescape'. Sliced, dressed bread in olive oil and baked for 20-minutes. Set aside for later. While that was cooking, wrapped dates in bacon and returned to fridge. Sliced up the potatoes for frites, left in cold water until shortly before cooking. Made glaze for turkey. Cooked up veggies for stuffing, reheat sausage, added apple and bread, put in the oven. Back to work. Swapped stuffing out for turkey, luckily there's nothing more you need to do with the turkey, no additional seasoning, just put it in and the turkey I got needed about 2.5 hours.

When Dave and Andrew arrived, about 6:15pm: While Dave poured the Champagne, I sliced up the pear, topped the already-baked bread and added some Gorgonzola, pecan bits and a drizzle of honey. Added that to the oven with the dates. The crostini only needed about 4 minutes, took that out, returned the dates to the oven for another 8 minutes. This is when it gets difficult -- the fries don't stay crispy long, so having those done at the same time as the green beans, rolls and gravy is not easy. But you just sort of go for it. The fries and green beans don't need too much attention once cooking, so prepare the biscuits which takes about 3 minutes literally. Get those in the oven, swap out the batch of fries, have your guest carving the turkey (thanks Andrew!) and start on the gravy. I found it easiest to steam the green beans until not quite done, then put them in a skillet and crisp up just before serving. Overall everything worked out pretty well as far as timing, but I know we would have been eating at 10pm (and I would have been so stressed out) if I hadn't prepped so much in advance.

The recipes:

Bacon-wrapped, cheese-stuffed dates: Mix 2 tbsp of Mascapone cheese and 2 tbsp goat cheese in a bowl with sliced chives. Slice into the dates to remove the pits, then stuff each on with a little bit of the cheese mixture, careful not to overstuff. Wrap in bacon (just so the bacon barely overlaps, then stick with a toothpick. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes or until the bacon is crisped.


Pear and Gorgonzola Crostini: Slice a thin baguette, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until crispy. Slice a pear thinly and add one slice to each piece of bread, then top with a bit of Gorgonzola cheese, a few pecan bits and a drizzle of honey. Bake at 400 degrees for 4 minutes or until the cheese starts melting. Serve immediately.


Turkey: This is my favorite turkey recipe to date (from Bon Appetit, November 2005) and I don't know if I'll ever want to try another one. While it does take advance work, needing to start at least 2 days in advance with a thawed turkey, it's well worth it and requires little work on Thanksgiving. Last year I added an herb butter rub, but this year we liked it even better following this recipe exactly, including the gravy and turkey glaze.


Stuffing: Same recipe as last year, but I used a thick French baguette instead of brioche. This year's was better, but I would cut the bread into smaller pieces next time.

Green Beans with garlic and lemon: This one is pretty straight forward. Trim the green beans and steam until almost done. Remove from steamer, add to a skillet with 2 cloves chopped garlic and the zest of 1 lemon. Season with salt and pepper.

French fries: Same recipe as last year.

Bisquick biscuits: I just followed the box directions and while they were fine, Dave didn't tell me until afterward that the ones he grew up loving were actually the Bisquick drop biscuits. Oh well, next time.

Pumpkin cake: I'm always a huge fan of Paula Deen's pumpkin trifle, which I've made for several Thanksgivings, but this year Dave and I sat down and browsed some recipes together and this is the one he decided he wanted. As I've already said, it was delicious. Doesn't feel too heavy (although the frosting is rich - make sure you have milk!), but the cake is light and moist. Nice alternative or addition to pumpkin pie. I followed Paula's recipe exactly, however when I tested the cake after 30 minutes (the cook-time the recipe recommends), my toothpick came out clean so I assumed the cake was done. I set it aside to cool, then covered it with foil overnight and when I took the foil off the next evening to serve, the whole center had sunk in -- the cake clearly wasn't done. Luckily the thick perimeter was fully cooked so I served that and it was great. But I'd definitely do a few more tests next time, as I think this one would need 40-45 minutes to be cooked though. Maybe it was my oven...

We ended the night with more wine and a screening of a classic, A Christmas Vacation. It was a great Thanksgiving and it was nice to share it with another American too, especially since he said it was his first real Thanksgiving in 5 years! Of course that makes my day :)