Thanksgiving Side Dish Tips

If you have “side dish stress� at Thanksgiving it may help to know that you are not alone. One of the biggest challenges of Thanksgiving just may be getting all those little casseroles and accompaniments to the table at the right temperature and on time. With a large menu and usually limited cooking space this can be a struggle as chef/hosts work to bring all the food to the table at the same time. The stress of the logistics may lead you to want to give up and pare down your menu. But before you give up and resign yourself to just eating turkey this Thanksgiving here are some Thanksgiving side dish tips to make sure they work out-

· Organize Your Cooking Space-It is crucial that you think about all of the cooking methods available in your home and plan your side dishes accordingly. Planning extensive side dishes when your cook top/oven and kitchen space are very limited will just give you more stress to worry about. Make sure your menu is doable.

· Don’t wait until the day before-Experts recommend that at least three days before Thanksgiving you write down a list of the side dishes you plan to make and consider which cooking method you will use to prepare each one: oven, stovetop or microwave. Then you must decide if the side dishes must be cooked right before the meal or if they can be made a day in advance and reheated. It may not seem important but you should also think about a place for the turkey when it comes out of the oven. Many people put the cooked turkey on their stovetop to “rest� before carving, only to have to move it again when they realize they have to cook on the stovetop. While you are still three days away from Thanksgiving it can be helpful to make a sixty minute countdown cooking plan. This plan will let you know what items will need to be cooked right before dinner and help eliminate that last-minute chaotic rushing around. A plan of action only works if you can easily follow it. Take the time to write it down!

· Know what works-You can dream of the most delicious side dishes for your Thanksgiving meal but if you do not have the right cooking tools, space and cooking method to complete the dish you may end up frustrated with a bunch of ingredients you can’t put together. Following is a list of the best success side dishes along with their cooking and reheating methods: