Thanksgiving Dinner Planner
There's nothing better than a great, home-cooked Thanksgiving meal.
But if you think hosting one has to be stressful, cookbook author and cooking teacher Tori Ritchie says, "Think again!" She has plenty of ideas to take the stress out of the big day.
Ritchie says that if you plan appropriately, your Thanksgiving can actually be enjoyable rather than stressful.
On The Early Show Monday, Ritchie offered a planning guide and other tips on having a good time during the holiday.
She spelled them out for co-anchor Hannah Storm at the flagship store in Manhattan of specialty home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma.
It was the first part of a weeklong series surrounding Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Timeline
Ritchie suggests pulling things out a week ahead because it enables you to really take inventory of what you have and what you need.
1) A week ahead: Confirm the number of guests; plan table settings and serving dishes; choose menu; order turkey.
2) A few days before: Read through all recipes and make shopping lists; inventory cooking equipment; choose wines.
3) The day before: Pick up fresh turkey; prepare things you can make ahead, where possible, such as toasting bread for stuffing, making pastry for pies, preparing bread and pesto for crostini appetizer; write timeline for Thanksgiving day itself; set table.
RECIPES
Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Crostini
1 baguette, cut into 1⁄4-inch thick slices
1⁄4 cup plus 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 Tbs. slivered almonds, toasted
3 Tbs. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1⁄4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 oz. goat cheese
Preheat an electric panini press according to the manufacturer's instructions. Or preheat a broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush lightly on both sides with the 1⁄4 cup olive oil. Working in batches, place the bread slices on the preheated panini press and cook until light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Or toast baguette slices in broiler, turning once, until golden brown.
While the crostini are still warm, rub the top of each slice with 1 of the garlic cloves. Set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the bell peppers, the remaining garlic clove, the almonds, cheese, 3 Tbs. of the parsley, the lemon juice, the 2 tsp. olive oil and the cayenne pepper. Pulse until a coarse puree forms. Season with salt and black pepper.
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Place the crostini in a single layer on a baking sheet. Spread about 2 tsp. of the goat cheese on each crostini. Bake until the cheese is slightly soft and the crostini are warm, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter and top each with about 1 Tbs. of the red pepper pesto. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 Tbs. parsley.
Makes 24 crostini.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.