How to organize a Thanksgiving dinner without stress

One of the most solemn dinners of the year - Thanksgiving Day - will not turn into a nightmare for you if you prepare in advance for unforeseen situations and avoid common mistakes.

Problem: How to buy everything you need for one trip to the store?

Solution: Divide and rule! In addition to the fact that packages with all the necessary products for the holiday table can be unbearable (or extremely exhausting) burden for the hostess or simply do not get into the trunk, you probably miss a couple of other necessary ingredients from the list or you will be met with empty shelves if you go shopping at the last moment.

Write down the holiday menu in advance - even for a month, make a large list of all the necessary products and divide it into two parts: perishable (milk, eggs, vegetables and fruits) and non-perishable (canned, spices, baking ingredients). Buy ingredients from the second list as soon as possible. For turkey, herbs and cheeses you can go to the store a few days before the celebration.

Problem: What to do if purchases do not fit in the fridge?

Solution: Prepare a Thanksgiving fridge as follows:

• Get rid of all unidentified "stale" dishes and expired products; let on cooking on the eve of the holiday all that you find in the refrigerator.
• Move the apples, cranberries and potatoes to cool rooms - a basement or even a trunk.
• Feel free to use a portable refrigerated container - you can leave turkey, side dishes, sauces and other products waiting for its place on the festive table for a day (covered with ice or putting packages with freezing gel). Keep the container in a cool place, such as a garage, and make sure that the temperature in it does not exceed + 5 ° C.

Problem: 1 turkey + 5 side dishes + 2 dessert • 1 cooker = chaos

Solution: Make a strategy for cooking, depending on the duration of their "validity" and the required cooking time.

• First, highlight recipes that can be prepared the day before the celebration: pies and stewed vegetables can be prepared in advance and sent to the refrigerator.
• Second, schedule the time it takes to prepare other dishes, and start preparing them so that you have at least 10 minutes left before the appointed hour.
• In order not to get lost in time, set different timers for dishes that are cooked in the oven and on the stove. Explanatory notes to the timers will not allow you to confuse what each of them was intended for.

Problem: 6 cookbooks at hand, and the recipe you need is nowhere to be seen

Solution: Save your nerves by finding the right recipe by making copies of the selected pages. Printed sheets with instructions better to stick with tape to shelves at eye level, to save precious space on the table. If the selected recipes are useful to you in the next year, these sheets can be put in plastic files and fastened with a folder.

Problem: Everyone offers you help, but there is no space in the kitchen

Solution: Distribute as many tasks as possible outside the kitchen

• Set glasses, ice and drinks in the living room - and guests can also serve them.
• Those who wish to help with the final touches to the dishes, select a small place in the kitchen or a table in the living room, providing the necessary dishes and cutlery.
• If guests want to bring some dishes with them, ask them to prepare those that you can bring to the table chilled or at room temperature, so that you do not have to divide the kitchen in tense final minutes.

Problem: Turkey cooked for too long, and the side dishes had time to cool

Solution: Use a variety of methods to keep food hot:

• A sealed microwave can keep a hot dish warm for half an hour (without turning it on).
• A portable refrigeration chamber, if you do not put ice in it, is also capable of retaining heat, and you can store pans and dishes covered with foil in it.
• In a thermos can keep the sauce hot for a long time.

Problem: I want to relax with the guests, but the mountains of dirty dishes do not forget about themselves

Solution: As long as the pots and pans are filled with soapy water, washing them can wait.

• Take a special place for dirty dishes - in the kitchen, in the pantry or garage.
• For small dishes and cutlery type warm soapy water in large containers - the same portable refrigeration chamber or large pans.

Earlier, the "Forum" reported that last year Barack Obama said Thanksgiving with family at the White House holiday table.