13 Cooking Hacks To Make Your Thanksgiving Dinner Delicious And Easy

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<article> 13 Cooking Hacks To Make Your Thanksgiving Dinner Delicious And Easy

CULTURE // FOOD
NOVEMBER 23, 2014

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Thanksgiving is about spending time with family and friends. It's a holiday of sharing love, gratitude, and happiness for everyone. Oh, and you stuff your face with as much food as you can before the tryptophan kicks in.
Preparing for the gobble-fest can be overwhelming for those stuck in the kitchen all day. Before you start to feel like you're drowning in a sea of gravy, take a look at these simple cooking hacks to make the tasks a snap.

1.) Wash your potatoes in the dishwasher. (Just be sure to skip the soap).

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Heavenly Homemakers

2.) Keep your turkey from drying out by cooling it down with an ice pack before you cook it.

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Kendall Jackson

3.) Create a roasting rack by scrunching up and swirling aluminum foil.

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Saveur

4.) Also use aluminum foil to keep your pie crust from burning.

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Flickr

5.) Add a dash of baking soda to your mashed potatoes to make them light and fluffy.

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Flickr

6.) Get more juice out of your lemons by zapping them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.

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Flickr

7.) Pre-slice and dice your veggies and spices a day or two in advance.

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Flickr

8.) Keep your potatoes and other potted dishes warm in a crock pot set on low.

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Flickr

9.) Use a wine glass to create perfectly sized biscuits.

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South by Se

10.) Grate cold or frozen butter for baking needs.

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Flickr

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11.) Make single-serving stuffing in a muffin pan.

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A Cozy Kitchen

12.) Cook your potatoes in the microwave. You're just mashing 'em up anyway.

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Shutterstock

13.) Step up your pie crust game by using other utensils instead of the same 'ole fork.

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YouTube

Now your mother-in-law won't have anything to nitpick about. You'll finally be able to enjoy the dog show in peace.

11. One grammar quibble - if it is not inside the bird, the "stuffing" is called "dressing" ...

1. Y'know, I do not trust that there is not soap residue somewhere in the dishwasher - I would never wash a food product in it! Yuck!

Never mind the soap. If you've ever seen what collects in the bottom of even the best dishwashers you'd never put food in it.

I don't mind scrubbing potatoes. It's one of the few Thanksgiving dinner tasks that I don't need to think too much about! I love the idea of using something other than a fork to crimp the edge of a pie crust- will have to give that one a try some time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karen

the "stuffing" is called "dressing" ...

In my New England upbringing - it was "dressing" whether it was inside or out. I've gotten away from using that term as much as I used to, since most people in this area used to look at me like I had two heads when I said that.

This is my own - never peel butternut squash* raw again! Yes, it is annoying, and time consuming, especially with the curves. Never boil it, as you lose some of the taste in the water! Baking in takes a while, and

One year I decided to try this and it worked perfectly. Cut the narrower part of the squab into slices, about and inch and half or so thick - just keep them all about the same thickness. Then halve the bottom "bulb" part, scoop out all the seeds and stringy stuff, then cut those in half again.

Place 4 of the slices in a microwave safe dish - I use a pyrex baking pan. just plunk them in there, cover the pan with plastic wrap and microwave - I usually start at about 6 minutes on high, then see where we are, and keep going until they are "fork tender," it really depends on the year and the water content how long this will take. When the "slices" are done, dump them onto a plate or anything, and let them cool a little, while you do the same thing with the bottom quarters - they usually take a bit less time.

Once they have cooled a bit, the peel tears right off, easier than a banana peel! Then I usually add a bit of brown sugar, butter, and several generous shakes of cinnamon, beat with a mixer, and viola! Done! (Quantities of these ingredients depend on the size and quantity of squash, sorry!)

*works for other winter squashes, too, but this is the Thanksgiving thread. Always have butternut on Thanksgiving!

I won't have that many potatoes - but if I did, I might run the dishwasher with a good whack of vinegar first before I washed the potatoes. And I'd keep them in the upper rack!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catty1

I won't have that many potatoes - but if I did, I might run the dishwasher with a good whack of vinegar first before I washed the potatoes. And I'd keep them in the upper rack!

It wouldn't matter, the area between the agitator and the lower arm and pump intake is a harbor for all sorts of stuff, which gets flung around as it contacts the spinning spray arms. The smaller stuff gets sucked in and sent up to the spray arms, which is why you occasionally get clogs in the arms. The pump intake finally grinds the stuff up small enough to get through the screen.