I would chop! Actually, I have chopped. Today. Onions and celery - into ziplocks for Thursday.

I am chopping celery but not onion today.Dried fruit, of course,

I chopped today too!

Onions, celery, apples, dried fruit. I even sauteed the vegis and put them in tupperware. On Thursday, I just have to assemble the dressing and stuff the bird.

Get a cuisinart...chopping ahead is over kill!
What would Thanksgiving morning be without the sweet smell of sauteeing onions and celery!....sounds funny, but frankly I can't imagine it..
But...I am also the one who couldn't imagine the night before without standing at the sink with the tweezers plucking pinfeathers!
Somehow I have gotten used to that scenario!

Linda, we'll still smell the sweet aroma of the onions and celery sauteeing Thanksgiving morning; only chopped it all up to get it ready to go!

I made a pan of baked ziti today but didnt put the mozzarella on top yet; On Thanksgiving, I'll cook it through first and then put the cheese on top to melt in. Yes yes, my husband has to have his maccaroni on Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow I'll make the majority of the baked dishes.

I'm so glad I have 2 ovens.

Linda, it all depends on one's schedule - I have to leave the house on Thursday morning to drive one hour to pick up my mom, and then drive one hour back home - and by then the other 3 guests may even be in the house (they have a key, darn them, since they're very close relatives and also, no one would wash the cuisinart :)

I did this last year and loved it. Still saute the morning of.... it is a great time saver. I stink using the FP for chopping...I always end up with chuncks or mush...prefer the knife for this task.

David

Yes of course...I'll be chopping tomorrow though..

However, last week I baked bread and toasted cubes for dressing. A few weeks ago I roasted pumpkins and sweet potatoes for pies and sliced big chunks of SP for casserole and froze them.

I am doing all my prep work tomorrow...did all the shopping today.

Turkey-chop all the vegies,cube the bread and crumble the cornbread, make the compound butter and shove it under the skin, boil up the turkey wings I bought for stock (I like lots and lots of gravy, so I want extra stock to add to the drippings).

Rolls-make dough, and refrigerate after first rise.

Vegetables-clean & chop the kale (and make the bacon), chunk the parsnips, carrots, beets & turnips to be ready for roasting (and decide at last whether I will add the yams to this mix or roast them in their jackets), mince a load of garlic and herbs(for many things)and boil and mash the potatoes, ready to reheat Thursday.

Soup....I've got to make the soup. And I haven't decided what kind of soup to make yet. I'm leaning towards French onion because I've never met anyone who doesn't like it, and though time consuming, it's easy. That or my broth based tomato soup with quinoa and veggies...it's light, easy to make, and a bit spicy to egg on the appetite.

Pies-make the pie crusts, chop the pecans, measure out ingredients so they'll be ready to throw together and into the oven. I'm making a Kahlua pecan pie with chocolate chips and a pumpkin. I think I'll bake them Thanksgiving morning, before I put the turkey in...the smell will make me feel festive and drive my husband crazy. :D

As for appetizers, I think I'm going to keep it pretty simple. Some cream cheese and olive stuffed celery because I've had it every Thanksgiving of my life, and so has my husband. Gouda & Cheddar with crackers. Spiced nuts and olives. I have some yogurt cheese balls marinated in olive oil and fresh herbs, garlic & red pepper flakes that I will serve with some crostini.

I have prepped like this for many years, and it makes Thanksgiving day a much more fun, relaxed celebration rather than a hot, hectic, stress fest. My husband's mother and brother will be a couple to three hours late as usual, but I told them I was serving at 1:00, when I'll actually be serving at around 4:30. Hey, you gotta handle these things...better to be crafty than waste time being annoyed. We have fun, making bets as to when they'll actually show up as we have our sippies and gradually begin not to care when they show up, or if. :D

Hmmmm. Chopping? Sleeping? Chopping? Sleeping?

I'll take that extra few hours of sleep any day! LOL