It’s a week before Thanksgiving, which means you can start prepping for your feast — including thawing your turkey. The more you prep now, the better off you’ll be on the big day.
There are plenty of things you can make now and either freeze or refrigerate — like cranberry sauce, stuffing or dressing, casseroles, gravy, soup, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, pies and even the sauce for mac and cheese.
But what do chefs do to make their lives easier on Thanksgiving? As part of TODAY’s eighth annual All-Star Thanksgiving, Marcus Samuelsson, Melissa Clark, Elizabeth Heiskell, JJ Johnson, Hetty McKinnon, Matt Abdoo, Maya-Camille Broussard and Alejandra Ramos each shared one thing they always do when it comes to preparing their Thanksgiving meal.
Offer my guests a warm drink when they walk in.
“I always have my drinks ready for my guests,” said Samuelsson. “This is my delicious Swedish glogg.” Glogg is is a spiced mulled wine or spirit, and his has red wine and cinnamon. Not only does it taste great — it also makes your home smell like Thanksgiving.
Go outside and gather leaves to make a pretty table display.
“I always gather leaves from my backyard to put on the table because I am cooking, I do not have time to do a fancy table arrangement,” said Clark. “These are beautiful, you put them on the table, they’re sustainable, at the end you just throw ’em out.”
Give leftovers to guests in “giftable” to-go containers.
“It’s the best way to make sure your guests know when to leave,” said Heiskell. “So when you’re ready for them to head on out the door, hand them this and open the door.”
Leftovers are a given, so be sure to stash and fill some to-go containers for guests upon departure. Every guest loves a parting gift, and as the host, you’ll cut down on the amount of required fridge and storage space afterward.
Sharpen my knives the night before.
“I always have a sharp knife and I make sure everyone in my house has a sharp knife,” said Johnson. “It’s key because ... you don’t want that turkey to be shredded, so if you can’t sharpen your knife, you go to your local hardware store ... there are people who will show up to your house in a truck that will sharpen your knife. But the knife is the most important part to make sure the meal looks and tastes good.”
Make place cards with the tiny apples that are around this time of year.
“I always create these little place settings with these cute little apples, put that on every plate, and that way, everybody knows where they’re sitting, so no fights at the table,” said McKinnon. This trick also adds a nice pop of color to the table.
Keep my turkey uncovered in the fridge the night before for extra crispy skin.
“I always like to take my turkey, after it’s been brined, and put it in my refrigerator without anything on top of it,” said Abdoo. “It’s going to help dry out that skin, so when it comes time to put that butter on it — we don’t all have Martha Stewart in our homes to butter our turkeys for us — so it’ll help get that butter to really adhere to that turkey really well, so when it comes time to roasting it, you’re gonna get a nice, crispy skin.”
Use Mason jar lids to make individual pies.
“I always use the lids of Mason jars to make individual pies because, you know, moderation is key when it comes to sweets,” says Broussard. “I just take the lids, put a little bit of crust in it, puncture some holes in it of course to dock the crust, fill it with whatever filling you like.” Then, stick them in your convection oven, and these mini pies come together in just 15 minutes.
Keep dirty dishes out of the sink.
“I always keep the sink clear,” says Ramos. “Keep a tub filled with soapy water, you can put the dishes in there after you scrape them, and then afterwards, you can do the dishes, or have someone do the dishes for you.”
