I don't have the privilege of preparing family Thanksgiving anymore.

But I used to and I always so enjoyed doing all the preparation that goes with the Thanksgiving meal, and setting a large table for family.

Day old Thanksgiving dinner?

I posted about this a week or so ago, If I had to cook for a large number of people 6 - 10, That is the route I would go. Just pick the food up the day before or that morning, if possible...makes sense to me.

Many of the things I serve for Thanksgiving are day old homemade - I've never had a complaint, more like raves. I make the desserts, rolls, appetizers, dressing the day before and there are even plenty of recipes for make ahead mashed potatoes, vegetables, salads. If it's becoming a lot of work for anyone, keep in mind nobody wants to see or is going to enjoy an exhausted hostess.

Last year I made the entire meal on Wednesday save the turkey and gravy, transported all to my mothers 2 hours away and put the uncooked turkey in the oven when we arrived. We sat down, visited, watched football, until turkey was done and I made gravy. A very relaxing day and little cleanup in her small (and sparsely equipped) kitchen.

My hairdresser ordered one of those $39.95 complete meals from Safeway this year. She was planning on cooking a holiday dinner and taking it to her elderly parents tonight, having a large brunch on Thanksgiving day they would not be attending. She asked them what they thought of the purchased meal and they were in agreement, she'll pick it up and deliver tonight. Her order number was something the 80's (this isn't a large city) and that was two weeks ago if that's any indication how many take advantage of the complete meal deal.

I sure would take advantage of that deal!

Mother used to do that after my father died. Sister and I would take our fixings to share. Was enjoyable. Family being together matters.

I did that once and it was fabulous. As far as "day old", nobody could tell the difference (and everyone knew). Everyone loved it and raved about the ease and reduction of stress. And I completely enjoyed the day with my company.

Besides ... the day after Thanksgiving, when most everyone is loving the leftovers of the previous day, isn't that "day old" Thanksgiving dinner? Often even better than the day it was made.

I'd do it again in a second if I was hosting.

I know! I just got back from my small town market with "Thanksgiving leftovers", since I always go to my brother's family tomorrow but never have any leftovers. So,I found in the deli: roast chicken (already roasted), a bag of msh.potatoes, a container of real turkey gravy, a pound of ready-to-cook dressing, one sweet potato to bake,a bag of noodles, and a gallon of cider. Then I stopped at the super crowded Amish bakery on the way home for a pumpkin pie. Already have green beans in the cupboard. All for much less than it would have cost me to make from scratch. Yeah, I know not quite the same as all homemade, but it will do for just me.

I might go into town and look for that deal too, sounds great!

Day old Thanksgiving dinner.....why not?
Don't you eat leftovers Monica? Probably not huh?
Your comment makes it sound like someone would be doing something 'wrong' by purchasing the meal the day before.
I think it sounds like a wonderful option for those that don't want to or are not able to prepare a big meal.
And Glenda, it's to bad your family doesn't include you in the Holiday celebrations. Shame on them for leaving you alone. I'm glad you have a friend to share the day with.

That's what we are doing. Dinner is all cooked and in mydaughter'srfriegerator now. With 3 feetor less of counter space in her small apartment, it's the best way to go.

I prepare most of my meal the day before, too. Will just have to cook the turkey and potatoes tomorrow. I like to cook Thanksgiving dinner. We've been invited to go out to a restaurant, and to a friends home. Even though it's just the two of us, I'd rather stay home and cook. I wish the family could be here, but three will be on the West Coast and DS in Pittsburgh will be spending Thanksgiving with SO's family. He'll be here for Christmas. Sure, I'd love the whole family to be here but times change and you have to go with the flow.

I'll be making my pies tonight as well as cooking some cabbage about 3/4 of the way. Crockpot can finish it in the morning.

Thanksgiving leftovers is one of my favorites. We always make casseroles: stuffing on the bottom, then potatoes, then turkey, then gravy. Might throw some veggie or noodles in if we have them. Maybe a couple sweet potatoes too.
I usually freeze mine. Reheat in the oven. Holy Moly are all those flavors together some good eatin'!

I have sinned, friends. I failed to teach my daughter how to roast a turkey and make the stuffing. Ever since she had her sons, who are 2 and 4 3/4, when she hosts her in-laws for Thanksgiving, they order a whole meal from Marie Calendar's and her FIL pays for it. She says it is too much to chase after the boys and cook a feast too. She has an old refrigerator in the garage, so they have plenty of room to store it until the next day.

So this year, with her and family away at the in-laws', I will try to show son or sons and future DIL how to do it if they are here when I start the bird.

I always do the holiday meals as we have the room and the double ovens. My sister brings dessert, green vegetable to cook here, and the salad makings, all of which saves me some time and refrigerator space. Future DIL has offered to bring her wonderful yeast rolls, and younger son flew in from NYC to join us.We always set the table with my mom's crystal and silver, and the nice things I have collected over the years such as an antique set of Haviland Limoges china DH bought me from a PBS auction in Chicago 35 years ago.

$39 to feed 6 is a real bargain! Though I would add a homme cooked vegetable and salad.

"Day old Thanksgiving dinner?"

Everyone I know is busy preparing things for tomorrow's feasts.
soooooo.... EVERYONE here is doing "day old"!
LOL!

You all cook your turkey and vegetables the day before?

Monica, I will have my turkey on Friday. Tomorrow is a vegan dinner with my daughter. I might, if I can find one, buy a day after meal, and skip the cooking.

My other daughter would do just that, after she came home for TG, but wanted plenty of left overs once back home.

Moni

PS, I never cooked the day before... I always did the whole meal on the day off in the past.

DH went out and got one of those deals this week,he got the 49.95 one and it looks like plenty of food to me.He did also buy a ham as well.There is only going to be 5 of us this year for dinner,so we'll probably have plenty of leftovers.

My BFF brought us over a sweet potato pie yesterday,she does this every year,even brings the cool whip.
Kathi

Sounds like a great idea. I'm not quite ready for it,tho. I have a turkry breast brining right now. it will be 5 of us-myself,DH, two daughters and one boy friend.

This sounds like a great idea. You are smart to do it and I am glad you put the word out. I am the first to take the easy way out especially in cooking. It is not my passion.

If they did turducken I would get in line.We do things a little differently by request.

I cooked my turducken today and do not have to get up too early to feel great on Thanksgiving day.

It really isn't about the food is it? Sometimes this is the last time you will see a person at your table or ever. I take lots of videos and pictures.

Tomorrow there will be ten of us gathering (eight adults and two small children). I am working 12-14 hours per day nd several hours on the weekend (working today and Friday also). Just could not do everything this year and offered to take my family out to dinner. What an uproar! I called the same restaurant and ordered their dinner to feed 12-16 for $99 (I could not make it for that with groceries and my time cooking and cleaning). We will add some sides and make no apologies.

I baked my pumpkin bread and cranberry sauce already. My sister has made the meringues for our dessert already. But everything else will be cooked fresh tomorrow.

I always buy a year's supply of fresh cranberries to freeze and use as the year goes by for the roasted chicken I like to fix.

I think these ready-to-go holiday meals were a brilliant idea by supermarkets. When family is all together (and for me it's not all that frequent anymore, with people spread here and there), I don't want some people stuck in the kitchen all the time, or running back and forth checking on things. I want to laugh and hear old stories and have fun!

One year when I was pet-sitting, I went over to Boston Market and ordered a very small prepared meal. Lasted for several days while I was not in my own home. And with the exception of some of their items (like vegetables swimming in sauce), they make good food! I'd probably poison people with my cooking!

I'd guess that the only part of this meal that I might not like would be the gravy. I'm finicky about gravy. But if I really didn't want to cook....I'd learn to love that stuff, I'm sure! lol

ellie, you're right...it's NOT about the food, after all. Even when it seems like it is, it's the memories, the love, the stories, friends and family that are truly important. It's the food and the tradition that brings us together.

Had a great meal at brother and sister-in-law's with their children and grandkids, my mom and stepdad. Came home and decided to fix my store bought meal around 4pm. Well....I'm going to be honest. The bag of mashed potatoes was not very tasty, but I'll save them for potato pancakes in the morning. The dressing was pretty good (being homemade in the deli), the gravy was horrible with a capital "H" (rhizo, I should have been like you and listened to my conscience), the two roast chicken pieces from the deli didn't taste good to me - not sure why, the noodles I cooked were ok, decided to reheat creamed corn instead of green beans..didn't eat any of the corn as I was put off by other food on the plate(!). Getting ready to try the pumpkin pie, pretty sure that will be the best thing about the whole meal.

Maybe I just wasn't hungry enough. I am so lucky to be able to say that aren't I?

I'm sure that they beat TV dinners. Look around here and the cooking forum and you'll see make ahead gravy, stuffing, even turkey. Many with large groups cook a turkey before and one the day of the event. At the convention I attended I could see them out grilling the steaks the night before the event. Sometimes it's nice to have everything done right away but what happens if something is burnt or the oven is the wrong temperature, miss an ingredient. The yeast wasn't good so the dinner rolls didn't rise, etc. You take a chance of eating at McBurger.

Remembering back to my mother being up until nearly midnight getting things ready, and yes, she'd be starting the rolls to get them punched down, 2nd rise, punch, form the rolls, cover them up and then go to bed for maybe a couple hours and be up at about 2am-3am to start baking the rolls (the recipe she used made probably 4 - 6 dozen or more. And they were absolutely delicious!) then get the turkey started and whatever else was the meat choice. Usually it'd be a beef roast or ham - my Dad always felt you had to have 2 kinds of meat for these affairs. Then baking pies, dressing and everything else. Then serve it up, serving 15-20 people in a small house, clean it up and these things would go on until 9-10 at night because you always had to have a "lunch" before people would leave, and then the cleanup. It was downright criminal what she went through. The pittance of help that was offered from guests was an insult. I say go for letting someone else cook.

Now don't get me wrong, occasionally the big hoohah is great, and fun, albeit exhausting but there's a limit. Maybe that's part of the reason she only lived to be 57.

Nothing wrong with shortcuts either. Some can criticize it and of course my folks were from the era of no shortcuts except buying the bird rather than raising it!

Cost of doing everything yourself compared to the cost of them cooking it? I think it'd be a great bargain. You can always supplement it with your own dressing if you want, or your own pies, or have ham with it or homemade dinner rolls or whatever. You can get different parts of it done. I think it makes a lot of sense. And compared to the cooking of a lot of people I know, heck, I'd take McBurger to some of their cooking!

While it was not exactly "no stress" it was just fine. The food was good and plentiful. The fridge is full of leftovers. I am told the gravy was good (don't eat it myself). The turkey came as a whole bird and we carved it. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.