West Chester has some of the best restaurants in Chester County. But when you’re committed to cooking for the holidays, you need a strategy. Living in a small apartment or just having a small kitchen in general, can make it difficult to fix a holiday meal. The following tips will make it much easier and allow you to enjoy cooking and spending time with all of your family and friends. If everyone takes turns with the different steps of preparation, cooking your holiday meal will go smoothly and everyone will get their fill of all their favorite foods.
Prepare Dishes Ahead of Time
One of the best things you can do to save time on turkey day is to start cooking ahead of time. Many of your favorite foods, especially desserts, can be cooked days before you need them and stored in the freezer. Take them out the night before and they will have just enough time to thaw before you carve the turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Some of your side dishes may be able to share oven time, just leave them in a little longer.
Make It a Potluck
Every member of the family has a favorite holiday dish. If you don’t want to make all of the food yourself, have each family bring a dish. Make a list of what everyone plans on bringing so that you won’t end up with a dozen pumpkin pies and no green bean casserole. Sharing the cooking chores will allow everyone to feel included when it comes to planning the holiday meal.
Set Up Another Table for Extra Space
If you start to run out of counter space, set up a table for the side dishes and desserts. This will give you more space to work and you will be able to organize the food. This will make it much easier to serve the food. If you are having a potluck, label each area of the table so people know where to put their dishes. It saves time and everything will go much more smoothly.
Clean As You Cook
When you have a small work area, you can work much more efficiently if you clean as you cook. Dirty dishes take up extra space. Taking care of them right away helps you maintain a clean work space. Your kitchen will look neat and tidy and your guests will wonder how you cooked such an amazing Thanksgiving dinner and still have a spotless kitchen.
Don’t let the size of your kitchen intimidate you. With a little creativity and a few simple tips, you can make the best Thanksgiving dinner ever. Planning ahead and staying as organized as possible will allow you to keep your holiday traditions alive!
