KitchenSlave Help with Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Recipes

RSVP
Let your host know right away if you can come or not. If you received a “family” invitation, let him know how many of you can come. Don’t show up with uninvited guests. There is usually room for one more at Thanksgiving, but this is something you must discuss with your host ahead of time.

Offer to help with the clean-up
Family or non-family, this is one day where it is a great idea to pitch in.

Say thank you.
A phone call or, better yet, a hand-written note of thanks to your hosts shows your appreciation for all their hard work.

Turn off the TV during Thanksgiving dinner
Thanksgiving has been around long before
football or television.
VCR’s, TiVo – use the technology! Focus your
attention where it
belongs – on the
lovingly prepared food,
your family and your
friends. When the
dishes are done,
EVERYONE can enjoy
the games (or the chat in the other room!)

Thanksgiving

Are planning Thanksgiving dinner at your house? What do you think you will be making? Holidays are always a great time of year for food. Our family has a variety of favorite recipes that we enjoy and you might enjoy too.

There are also a few other things to think about like etiquette. A lost art that you can help restore. Take the time to model and teach manners to your children. What a better place to practice then a holiday family meal. Grandma will be thrilled! I have gathered a few ideas for your holiday meal, in hopes of making your Thanksgiving dinner easier and filled with family fun.

Turkey

Plan
Cooking a turkey takes a little planning; Before buying a turkey, make room in your refrigerator. Purchase a disposable aluminum roaster to store your turkey in so any leaking juices won't contaminate other foods in the refrigerator. When purchasing your turkey, just as other meats, place the turkey in a separate plastic bag to avoid contaminating other foods, and refrigerate it immediately when you get home.

Thaw
Thawing your turkey should be done gradually. If your turkey is frozen, the safest way to defrost it is in the refrigerator, but keep in mind you need to allow 24 hours of defrosting for every 5 pounds of turkey. For Thanksgiving, that means a 20 pound frozen turkey needs to start defrosting on Sunday. Turkeys wrapped in leak-proof plastic can be defrosted in cold water, but the water should be changed every 30 minutes and allow 30 minutes of defrosting per pound of turkey.

Fresh Turkey
If you decide on a fresh turkey, buy it only one to two days before you plan to cook it.

Get ready to cook
Before preparing the turkey, clear the your counter area and clean it thoroughly. Clean any thing that come in contact with raw turkey juice immediately with hot soapy water including sponges and hands. Sanitize sponges by running them through your dishwasher.

Cooking
When cooking a turkey, use a meat thermometer. Even if you use a "pop-up" thermometer, it's a good idea to check the temperature with a conventional meat thermometer. Preheat the oven to 325 F and cook the turkey to 180 F in the inner thigh. The juices should run clear. Here are approximate cooking times for turkey, but use a meat thermometer to make sure it’s done.

Weight (pounds)	Unstuffed Cooking Time (hours)	Stuffed Cooking Time (hours)
8 to 12	2 3/4 to 3	3 to 3 1/2
12 to 14	3 to 3 3/4	3 1/2 to 4
14 to 18	3 3/4 to 4 1/4	4 to 4 1/4
18 to 20	4 1/4 to 4 1/2	4 1/4 to 4 3/4
20 to 24	4 1/2 to 5	4 3/4 to 5 1/4

Source: USDA

Turkeys on the run. More and more busy Americans are opting to buy hot pre-cooked turkeys for their holiday meal. If you choose this option, be sure to keep the turkey at 140 F or above if you will be eating it within two hours of picking it up. If you will be eating the turkey more than two hours later or if you buy a cold pre-cooked turkey, you should dismantle your feast and refrigerate it. Remove the stuffing from the bird and cut the turkey off the bone. Wings and legs can be left whole. Refrigerate all the food, including any side dishes, in separate shallow containers. Reheat food to 165 F and boil gravy.

The grand finale. Your efforts have paid off. The turkey is beautiful and your guests are duly impressed. To keep the food safe while it being served, leave it out for no longer than two hours. If you're having a buffet, don't serve all the food at once. Keep the second and third servings either hot at or above 140 F in the oven or cold in the refrigerator. To prevent contamination, put additional food out on clean platters instead of adding it to the platters already on the table.

What about stuffing?
For many people stuffing is the best part of the turkey, but it must be carefully prepared because it is warm and moist -- a perfect environment for bacteria to grow in. Stuffing can be contaminated by bacteria from eggs and shellfish in the stuffing or the turkey itself. The safest way to cook stuffing is on the stove or in the oven, but separate from the turkey. If cooking the stuffing inside the bird, loosely stuff the turkey just before you stick it in the oven with cup stuffing per pound of turkey. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the center of the stuffing reaches 165 F. A "pop-up" thermometer that comes with a turkey won't tell you the temperature of the stuffing. Avoid pre-stuffed fresh turkeys.

Leftovers
Thanksgiving dinner usually means lots of leftovers. Although you may not feel like doing much after a big meal, be sure to refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours of cooking the food. Separate leftovers into shallow containers. Turkey should be removed from the bone and stored separately from the stuffing and gravy. Use leftovers within 4 days, except stuffing and gravy which should be used within 2 days. If that seems like an impossible feat, freeze the leftovers.

Revisiting the holidays. To serve the feast again, reheat leftovers to 165 F and boil soups, sauces, and gravies.