Like or not...Thanksgiving is almost here!
Every year I volunteer to do the whole Thanksgiving thing in my little cottage near downtown Raleigh. This requires much planning as space is at a premium! Needless to say, the buffet approach is the only way to serve! It may not be the Norman Rockwell ideal of the patriarch carving the huge bird at the head of a table loaded with traditional sides, but we have this down to a science by now.
I have taken to the Barefoot Contessa school of thinking...you don't have to prepare everything yourself. Buy what you can and make the important foods yourself. Dear Ina also taught me how to de-bone a bird and cook the white meat and dark meat separately for optimal results. Not only does this save time, but the clean up after is easy breezy! I do make my own stuffing (we call it dressing), some sides, buy some sides, always buy the deserts and bread, and BOOM....lunch is served! And gravy...lots of gravy.
Now I have time to dress up the place with a nice centerpiece, creative place-cards (yes we do sit), and in general spruce up the buffet line so it does not look like the school cafeteria. Here are a few ideas I have collected this year.
Start your prep early!
As always...xx.DT
I have taken to the Barefoot Contessa school of thinking...you don't have to prepare everything yourself. Buy what you can and make the important foods yourself. Dear Ina also taught me how to de-bone a bird and cook the white meat and dark meat separately for optimal results. Not only does this save time, but the clean up after is easy breezy! I do make my own stuffing (we call it dressing), some sides, buy some sides, always buy the deserts and bread, and BOOM....lunch is served! And gravy...lots of gravy.
Now I have time to dress up the place with a nice centerpiece, creative place-cards (yes we do sit), and in general spruce up the buffet line so it does not look like the school cafeteria. Here are a few ideas I have collected this year.
Start your prep early!
As always...xx.DT
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