holiday – welcome to the blog

I LOVE Thanksgiving. I love that its a simple holiday where family and close friends gather together to share a meal. There’s no gifts to stress over or other things to organize, it is simply about the food and the company. Over the past few years, I have loved being the host of Thanksgiving dinner. Getting to cook for people and welcoming them into my home brings me a lot of joy. I understand, for some, its a bit more of a job to take on regardless of whether its your first or fiftieth time hosting. So I thought I would share some of my methods for staying organized and getting it all done. Hopefully, this helps and we can all enjoy the holiday with those we care about, and not spend all of our time stressing about preparation for the big day!

How To Get Organized

My process is simple. Right after Halloween, I start by writing out all of the menus. This includes appetizers, the main meal, desserts, and beverages. Leave nothing off the list. Literally, I write butter on there, because I do not trust myself enough the week of Thanksgiving to remember it. I also write out my entire grocery list for the whole meal. That way I am not overwhelmed when it gets closer to the holiday. As I’m sure you are aware, many stores are packed the week of and for me I find it very stressful to shop during this time. Therefore, to make it easier and reduce the stress, I buy it little by little throughout the month as I come across it.

Extra Touches

Now if I’m being honest, I like to do a few things that some would consider over the top, but I really enjoy the added touches so I do them anyway. When we lived in the states I loved to order printed Thanksgiving invitations. Even though it was just family attending, it made it a little more exciting. Also, my grandma loves things that have a little “extra” touch, so mainly I did it for her excitement and enjoyment. Shutterfly had some of the cutest ones and I just couldn’t resist. Plus, they were super affordable. I also liked to have little favors at each place setting. Sometimes I would do chocolates and once, I did little ornaments. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive or ultra fancy, but just a little touch of something to make it personal and welcoming.

Must Haves

I highly recommend investing in a few crockpots for Thanksgiving day, if you don’t already own some. As a disclaimer, I do not like to cook with them on a regular basis, but on a day when your oven and stove are at max capacity, it just makes things bit easier. Its so nice to be able to make something earlier in the day and keep it warm for when you are ready to eat. Personally, I prefer to use them for my mashed potatoes and corn. I find that those items do really well in the crock pots, and don’t get dried out. Also, they make these fantastic things called crockpot liners, which makes the cleanup about 5 seconds long.

Make Your Action Plan

As I mentioned earlier, I love to host but I also love to enjoy the day and relax which I’m sure you do as well. That’s why preplanning is key. Therefore, about one week before Thanksgiving I create my action plan. I sit down with my menu and write out the order in which I will cook everything while making note of the things I can make the day before. Below is a sample list from years past. While it can vary from year to year based off of who is coming and if they are bringing a dish, this is a pretty standard guide. So, if you are interested check it out.

Favorite Thanksgiving Memory

If you haven’t noticed by now,I really love this time of year. So, I thought I would share my favorite Thanksgiving memory with you all before I wrap up. Thanksgiving 2016 was the first major holiday my family celebrated after the death of my grandpa. We were all still mourning the loss and his presence was deeply missed. It just felt a little like something was missing from the day. We had gathered together to celebrate in the home he and my grandma had shared. The home we had celebrated so many holidays in together and on each holiday, especially Thanksgiving, my grandpa ALWAYS said the blessing over the food. There were no exceptions. He was the patriarch of our family after all. However, when it came time to pray on that day, we all stood there and looked at each other. Nobody quite knew what to do or say. Now, if you know my brother, you know he is a funny guy. The comedian of the family. He grabbed the hand of the person on his left and his right. And without missing a beat he began to sing. “Blessed be the tie that binds, our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds, is like to that above. AMEN.” We all joined in, we had all been raised baptist so we knew these words by heart from the age of 2. While it was a bit comical (we all chuckled a little), my grandma decided not only did she like what he had done, but it would also suffice as the blessing. And now every year, we join hands and sing the old hymn. Partly to have a little laugh and partly to bless the food before us.

You’ve Got This!

Now, finally, I just want to leave you with a bit of encouragement. Whether your green beens come from a can or you picked them from your garden. Whether the mashed potatoes are instant, or made by hand. Whether you use china or paper plates. Remember none of that matters. None of that ever mattered. The only thing that matters are the people around your table. The fellowship you all will get to have with one another. And the memories you will make together. Those are the things people will remember. They will remember how you made them feel when they walked in the door. And they will be thankful they were able to spend such a special day together.

My Personal Action Plan

Here are the things I cook or prep the day before:

Make the cheeseball for appetizer
Slice all cheese and meats for appetizers
Bake all pies and make the whipped cream for topping
Make deviled eggs
Prep turkey the for next day
Set the dining room table

Here is my day of Thanksgiving timeline:

1. Turkey
2. Begin rolls (they take a while since they have to rise 2 times)
3. Set out butter to soften
4. Begin sweet potato casserole
5. Plate and set out all appetizers
6. Cranberry sauce (I like it room temp, so this gives it time to cool and be perfect for dinner)
7. Corn (I do this one in the crockpot)
8. Green Bean casserole
9. Mashed potatoes (once finished I place in crock pot to keep warm)
10. Stuffing
11. Gravy
12. Remember to grab deviled eggs from the refrigerator ( once we forget them haha)
13. Set out dessert right before you are ready to eat your meal
14. Enjoy!

Here is my basic bread recipe. From it you can do so many things, dinner rolls, loaves of bread,
cinnamon rolls, pepperoni rolls. Below is the recipe along with step by step directions. Because Thanksgiving is coming up, this is the perfect time to get a few practices in before the holiday. If your family is anything like mine, they won’t mind one bit being the test subjects! Making bread is such a relaxing and fun activity for me, and I hope you will find it just as enjoyable.

Homemade Bread Recipe:

1 T Active Dry Yeast
1 T Sugar
1/2 Cup Warm Water
5 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 T Salt
1 1/2 Cups Warm Water
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 T Melted Butter

1. Gather all ingredients and begin by activating the yeast. I do this by combining 1 tablespoon of yeast and with 1 tablespoon of sugar in a glass measuring cup. You will then need to add in your warm water. I like to water that is about 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the water to the 1/2 cup line and give it a quick mix with a fork. Set it aside.

Before and after yeast activates

2. While your yeast activates (about 5 or so minutes) begin to combine your dry ingredients. In your stand mixer combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Make sure it is all mixed nicely together. If you do not have a stand mixer that is ok. Just combine all of your dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl, you will be able to make your bread by hand with a little extra effort!

3. Once your yeast is nice and bubbly you may add it to your dry ingredients. Next, add the vegetable oil followed by the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water. NOTE: When adding the water, I like to take the measuring cup I used to activate the yeast and fill it back up so that any yeast left in the cup will be added in.

4. Combine all ingredients into mixing bowl, at this point the dough will look very “shaggy”, that is ok. If using a stand mixer attach the dough hook and turn the mixer to a medium low speed. Let it knead for approximately 5-7 minutes. If mixing by hand, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and begin to knead for about 12 minutes. Once finished, do the window pane test with your dough to see if the gluten has developed enough. Hold from the top and let it slough. If it stretches thin enough for you to see light through it without ripping, your dough is ready. If not continue kneading until you achieve this result.

A. B.

A.”Shaggy” looking dough B. Windowpane test

5. Form the dough into a nice ball by rotating your hands around the base and pulling the dough toward you from the bottom. Place the dough ball back into the mixing bowl. You can then either cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap. I like to place my dough in the oven with the light on to rise. This provides just a small bit of warmth to help rise well. Let rise for one hour.

How to shape dough into tight ball to rise

6. Once your dough has doubled in size remove it from the oven and GENTLY place onto a lightly floured surface. Do notpunch your dough down. As tempting and satisfying as it sounds, your dough will get sad and not rise as well the second time around. It is a sweet delicate dough baby and needs to be handled with care. All you need to do is gently press onto your dough until it is completely degassed.

Dough before and after after first rise. Nicely doubled in size.

7. Spray your dish that you plan to make your rolls in with cooking spray (I like to spray mine outside so I don’t get my kitchen greasy). And set next to your dough.

8. I like to divide my dough out evenly before placing it into the pan. For smaller rolls, divide into 24 even dough balls, for larger rolls do 18. I like to use a kitchen scale for this to make sure they are all even. To roll the dough into a nice ball takes a bit of practice. I flatten it out a bit using my thumbs and going around the entire ball. I then make a circle connecting my thumb and middle finger, while pushing the dough through with my other hand and pinching the bottom together to form a smooth ball. Then place gently into the dish.

How to form individual balls of dough for the final second rise

9. Once your dough is evenly divided into the appropriate amount, it is time for the second rise. Cover the dish with a tea towel or plastic wrap that is sprayed with cooking spray. This time I like to preheat my oven while the dough is rising so, do NOT place back into the oven. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes the second time, or until they are properly doubled in size.

Before and after the second rise. Dough is now ready to be baked.

10. Bake your rolls for about 15 minutes. This will depend on your oven. I rotate mine halfway through so they brown evenly.While the rolls are in the oven melt about 2 tablespoons of butter and set aside (microwave for 30 seconds to melt). If the rolls are still pale at all on top they are not ready to come out. Once they look like this (see below), remove from oven.

How your rolls will look when they are ready to come out of the oven

11. Brush the hot rolls with the melted butter. Let your rolls cool for a few moments in the pan (about 5 minutes or so). Then take them out and place into a large serving bowl or dish covered with a tea towel. This is a very important step because if you let them sit in the hot pan too long they will sweat and get tough.

12. It’s time to enjoy your hard work! Your Thanksgiving guests will love them and be begging you to share your secrets. Homemade bread adds such a special touch to any dinner and makes your house smell INCREDIBLE! I can’t wait to see your guys rolls.

Tag: holiday

How To Host Thanksgiving Dinner | Plus My Favorite Thanksgiving Memory |