The Thanksgiving coutdown is upon us now, so you know what that all means… gettting the perfect bird, making the guest lists, and deciding on all the yummy sides and desserts that will accompany this succulent cooked turkey.

I know it may all seem a little overwhelming at first, especially if this is your first time in hosting your first ever Thanksgiving Bash or maybe your a seasonal Thanksgiving hostess but want a refresher course in the planning arena.

If so then this checklist is the perfect tool for a stress-free holiday.  Here you will find everything that is needed divided week by week leading up to the most fantastic holiday! Well in my eyes, of course!

Before you do anything else, think about the general feel you want for your gathering: whether it be big, casual, and/or kid-friendly? Intimate, elegant, or grown-up?  This will help you decide on how many people you would like to invite.

FOUR WEEKS AHEAD

Give or take a day or two time is coming and there’s four weeks left to plan a wonderful home cooked Thanksgiving meal, so the first things you need to decide on are where and when to order the fabulous “guest of honor” aka the turkey and finalizing the guest list.

• First, decide on whether you will be serving a fresh or frozen turkey for the big day.  If you decide to go with a fresh turkey make sure to order it now from your local market or specialty food store in order to have the turkey picked up or delivered sometime after November 23.  Having the bird arrive a few days prior to Thanksgiving will give you ample time to season and allow the turkey to sit absorbing all its juiciness.   Plan on 1 1/4 pounds per person.

• Second, Make Your Menu. Check back and see if any of your family member have a favorite dish they would like prepared or to prepare themselves.

• Third, finalize the guest list.  Make sure to call family and friends and make sure they are definitely coming for the big supper.  Before you start your calls, have a list of guests and a list of dishes. If someone offers to bring a dish, accept the offer.  And if they don’t offer, ask them.

To find out more,

THREE WEEKS AHEAD

This is the fun part.  This is the week you start turning your ideas into a concrete plan and make shopping lists:

• Get Organized and Creative. Start thinking of table decorations and decor.   This is when you decide on the feel of your party.

• Finalize your general serving plan being buffet or sit-down (I always prefer buffet, but you may want a more intimate gathering).  If there will be hors d’oeuvres and cocktails served beforehand in the living room.  Make a list of any materials you’ll need, such as extra folding chairs,  linens, card tables for hors d’oeuvres, barware, etc.

• Create one big master shopping list, dividing it into three sections: nonperishables that can be bought now if decided (like wine, canned pumpkin, etc.); items for the one-week-ahead grocery run; and perishables to buy on November 24 or 25.

• Take inventory of your dinnerware. If you don’t have enough matching china and cutlery, use complementary colors or patterns, or mixi and match.

TWO WEEKS AHEAD

This is your first shopping week and the beginning of cooking week, if you plan on freezing anything.

• Make sure before you buy anything that you declutter and organize cupboards and freezers.

• Buy the perishable ingredients for all the things you plan on making this week.  Good examples of  items that freeze well: pie dough, rolls, and turkey stock. All of these can be frozen and defrosted just before Thanksgiving.

• Select a wine.  Caterers recommend providing a half bottle for each guest.  In my house wine needs to run like the Niagra Falls.

ONE WEEK AHEAD

This is the week you start prepping your home  for visitor and guests and your kitchen for some incredible cooking.

• If your having house guests make sure to have enough clean sheets and towels for them on hand.

• If you have not done so yet, make sure you buy all non-perishable items.  Polish silver if you are planning on using any.

• Save food containers and paper bags aka doggie bags.  For packing up leftovers and handing them to guests on their way out.

• Confirm the number of guests who will be attending the holiday dinner again just to have a final head count.

THREE DAYS AHEAD

• If you’ve decided on starting with a frozen turkey, very important to calculate the defrosting time, you just may have to start defrosting your bird today.  Remember that you have to allow 24 hours for every 5 pounds if you’re going to defrost a turkey in the refrigerator. That means a 15-pound turkey will take three full days, so get started on Monday. If you choose to prepare a fresh turkey, purchase it one to three days before Thanksgiving and store it in the fridge until time to cook.

• VERY IMPORTANT: If you miss that deadline, you can defrost the bird faster in a sinkful of cold water, allowing about half an hour for each pound of turkey and changing the water occasionally.  (This process will still take 7 1/2 hours for that 15-pounder, when finished refrigerate it.)

• If you plan on serving ice cream with dessert, which is a given especially with Deep Dish Apple Pie,  scoop it now, arrange on a baking sheet and place in freezer until frozen hard. Transfer ice cream balls to a resealable plastic bag and freeze until needed.  I know this is very cool…

TWO DAYS AHEAD

• Make a cooking schedule for Thanksgiving Day.  If guests are invited for 5 P.M. , count backward from a 6 P.M. dinner, writing down the time everything goes into the oven.   Don’t forget the dishes that will have to be reheated.

• Thaw out frozen pie crusts, biscuits, and/or rolls in the refrigerator.

• Make soups and store in a covered container along with prepared salad dressings in the fridge.

ONE DAY AHEAD

• Set the table with decorations, centerpieces, arrange chairs, set out flowers, candles, and any other decor.

• Clean the guest bathroom.  Tell all family members that it is off limits until after Thanksgiving.

• Assemble and bake pies; store them at room temperature (unless they’re custard-based, such as pumpkin pie, refridgerate after.)

• Prepare any side dishes, such as mashed potatoes, that can be made ahead and reheated in the microwave.

• Clean and dry salad greens and store them in a resealable plastic bag.

• Oh Yea one other thing, take the night off from cooking, order something in!

THANKSGIVING DAY

Today’s the day… before you go on and try to take over the world remember that this is suppose to be a joyous occassion so walk in smiles on and just have fun!

• Make sure to eat a good breakfast.  Because you probably wont be eating until much later make sure you and your family eat a good breakfast and are not starving all day.

• Make the stuffing in the morning and stuff the turkey right before it’s ready to go in the oven.  Then roast that puppy.

• Chill white wine and beer. Set up the bar for any other drinks you’ll be making.

• While the turkey is roasting, complete all your other side dishes. These can stand at room temperature or, if ready more than one hour ahead, refrigerate.

• When the turkey is ready, take it out and let it rest while you make the gravy and reheat the side dishes on the stovetop, in the oven, or in the microwave.

• If you have little ones and want them to feel that they are helping give them each a job whether it means that one greets the guests at the door, or takes their coats.

• Have a great Thanksgiving!
  

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Elbows off the table.

Feet in the center of the chair.

Back straight, don’t slouch.

Bathroom breaks.

Chatter non-stop.

Burping, Slurping… I’m sure I could go on with the lovely list…

These are the issues that every parent finds they have when sitting at the table trying to eat as a family… I know I do.

I know at my table I sometimes feel as if I am a broken record, that keeps spinning and spinning, and spinning.  Anytime when we are eating at the table, I am always a big stickler for teaching my children the proper ways to eat.  I try to enforce these rules because I know that as they get older and when they are in public people will judge them based on their table manners.

The best way to teach kids tough is through PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Not only do good manners provide them with more confidence but also as welcomed guests.

To avoid burping and slurping all throughout dinner, teach your children some of these important rules:

• Wait until everyone is seated and ready to begin eating. In our house, no one can eat until after we bless the food and the hands that made it.

• Place your napkin on your lap.  This usually oversized napkin definitely comes in handy due to spills and messes little ones tend to have while eating.  Allow your little one’s the opportunity to do it themselves and feel independent.

• DO NOT talk with food in your mouth.  I know my two have such an issue with this.  It’s as if they have everything under the sun to want to talk about while they are chewing.  Remind them to chew all of their food, swallow, and then speak.  (We all know that children are NOT the only ones with this problem)

• DO NOT chew with your mouth open.  Explain to your kids that only cows smack their lips and unless they live in a barn they too should keep their mouths closed.

• Teach your children the use of using their napkins to dab at the corners of their mouth, and how at the end of each meal to wipe your entire mouth.

• At home, go through all the foods that are allowed to be eaten with your fingers and which ones aren’t.  For example, fried chicken, french fries, and hamburgers are all ACCEPTABLE to be eaten with your fingers.  But macaroni and cheese, carrots, pasta, and rice etc. are a big no no.

• Last but not least try to instill in your children that though you may be a quick eater and finish before others do, NO ONE gets removed from the table until EVERYONE is finished eating.  This will help instill great eating habits especially when you are eating out at a restaurant as a family and your child wants to go off and visit another table.

Need to know how to decipher whether or not you should keep that lasagna you made a week ago?  Follow these guidelines to know what is fresh and what need to be thrown out.

These ranges of dates are based on a refrigerator with a setting of  40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. Shelf life also depends on the freshness of foods at the time you bought it home from the grocery store.

  
• Cheese, hard: six months

• Cheese, soft (unopened): 3 to 4 weeks

• Cheese, soft (opened): 1 to 2 weeks

• Fresh eggs (in shell): 3 to 5 weeks

• Hard-boiled eggs: one week

• Butter: 1 to 3 months

• Olives and pickles: one month

• Bacon (cooked): one week

• Uncooked Steaks, roasts: 3 to 5 days chops

• Bread dough: 3 to 4 days

• Cooked Fish: 3 to 4 days

• Mashed potatoes: 3 to 4 days

• Cooked Meat: 3 to 4 days

• Cooked Poultry: 3 to 4 days

• Cooked Stuffing: 3 to 4 days

• Soups and stews: 2 to 4 days

• Fresh Chicken or turkey: 1 to 2 days

• Fresh Fish: 1 to 2 days

• Fruit or pumpkin pies, unbaked: 1 to 2 days

• Fruit or pumpkin pies, baked: 2 to 3 days

• Gravy, meat broth: 1 to 2 days

• White wine, recorked: 1 to 2 days

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Image: bitchcakesny/Flickr

This is the one pan that has the ultimate potential to last a lifetime, which is more that I can say about most.

As long as you season and clean it right!

Seasoning a cast-iron skillet is a technique in itself.  Due to cast-iron skillets not coming home with a nonstick surface, one must season or coat the skillet with cooking oil and baking it in a 350 degrees oven for an hour.  Every time oil is heated up in the skillet it, this will reinforce the nonstick coating.

Cleaning a cast-iron skillet is a little trickier.  Pre-soaking this skillet will not help in the cleaning process.  Once you are done using a cast-iron skillet, make sure to rinse the pan with hot water immediately after cooking.  If you need to remove burned-on food, scrub with a mild abrasive, like coarse salt, and a nonmetal brush to preserve the nonstick surface.  Adding a few drops of mild dishwashing soap every once in a while is ok as well.  If the pan gets a sticky coating or develops rust over time, scrub it with steel wool and reseason it.  To prevent rust, dry the skillet thoroughly and lightly coat the cooking surface with cooking oil. Cover with a paper towel to protect it from dust.

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Do you know that there are 6 different types of salt that can be used in the kitchen?

Let’s first start of that salt is a mineral. In chemical terms, it is known as sodium chloride (NaCl), the combination of one sodium ion and one chloride ion. Salt is 40% sodium and 60% chloride by weight.  Salt enhances the flavor of food, preserves food, helps to regulate and control normal body functions, and acts as a building block for more complex chemicals.

Here are a few easy to find types of salt with different ways to use them.

Kosher Salt

Use it for: All types of cooking. Kosher salt dissolves fast, and its flavor disperses quickly, so use it on everything and anything.

Origin: Either the sea or the earth. Widely sold brands include Morton and Diamond Crystal, which are made using different methods. Kosher salt got its name because its craggy crystals make it perfect for curing meat―a step in the koshering process.

Texture: Coarse. Cooks prize crystals like these; their roughness makes it easy to pinch a perfect amount.

Flaked Sea Salt

Use it for: Take a pinch, crush the crystals between your fingertips, and let them fall on freshly cooked food. Doing this brings a complex flavor to steamed vegetables or shellfish.  This salt will add a hint of briny flavor.

Origin: Is harvested in England’s Essex coast.

Texture: Soft, sheer, pyramid-like flakes. This is the fastest-dissolving of all of the salt grains.

Rock Salt

Fleur de Sel

Crystalline Sea Salt

Pickling Salt

Not sure how long you should keep that package of ground beef, or what about those pork chops you never got around to cooking the other day.

If your asking yourself these questions then I think I might be able to help you.  Our friends at the Kitchn are knee deep in their Kitchen Cure and have the answers for this “Big” question.

So although we might think we know all of this already, it never hurts to have a printed copy lying somewhere in your kitchen.

You can also check all these guidelines at the FDA/CFSAN’s Refrigerator & Freezer Storage Chart.

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 Our friends over at Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn, is in the process of having its second annual Kitchen Cure.  If you are confused and in need of  some clarity on what the Kitchen Cure is, let me let you in.  Just like the name it is a series of posts, different assignments, reader interaction to get  your kitchen organized and spick and span in six short weeks.

 Even though this series kicked off April 13th… you can still start now.  
 The first week was dedicated to cleaning out your fridge and pantry.  Then they have had tips of organizing your freezer and refrigerator.  There are  so many other great tips that can get you started.

 Do you want to be part of The Cure?  Sign up here!

Join the discussion board and like they say over at the kitchn… Let’s get cookin!

This past weekend my little sister got married and I remembered when I asked her if she had a registry all set up for the guests to get her gifts.  She said yes of course… I then asked her well what things do you have on their.  She replied” You know what I really want to get my kitchen in perfect order.”  I said I think that would be a GREAT idea!

I am always one to have all the kitchen tools needed for cooking and baking recipes, as you already know

So I decided to help her and tell all the must haves she should have in the kitchen.

Wüsthof Classic Ikon 10-Piece Knife Block Set

If your not sure if you are fully equipped in your kitchen, here is what you need…

 - Measuring Cups and Spoon Sets, essential cooking and baking equipment, get microwavable and dishwasher safe.

 - Garlic Press, his gadget is so handy to have in the kitchen.  This helps you to avoid having your fingers smell like garlic, unless your into that then I say skip it.

 - Silicone Nonstick French Rolling Pin, this rolling pin allows you to feel the dough under your hands as it rolls, definitely feel like a true baker.

 - Glass Prep Bowls, these definitely make hands on cooking alot easier.  Setting up your ingredients is always great.  Plus with these multi-purpose bowls allow you to use them as holdings for condiments for guests.

 - Palm Held Pizza Wheel, is the perfect size for cutting through pizza.  The wheel offers optimum control with less force needed because the pressure is applied directly to the cutting wheel.  My daugher was given one of these with a plastic wheel for the cutter and even that one is great.

 - Swinging Mandoline, this little contraption has a multitude of different cuts: slices, julienned, and cubes.  Compact and simple to operate, it includes two doublesided blades.

 - Recipe Divider, this allows you to recalculate a recipe in order to make smaller or larger servings.

 - Two-in-One Citrus Squeezer, allows you to get the maximum juice from your lemons and limes without seeds or the bitter taste you can get from traditional juicers.

 - Fancy Corkscrew, this definitely aka “a grown-up corkscrew.”  Allowing you to open the bottle in less than 3 seconds, love it!

For KitchenAid’s 90th anniversary, they launched their special edition iconic mixer in different colors.  They were released at the Home and Housewares show in Chicago this week.

The new color is called “Candy Apple Red” and ”Yellow Pepper” which was inspired by three things that cooks are anticipating this time of year; summertime, farmers’ markets and fresh garden vegetables.

It features a clear glass bowl with a special anniversary insignia panel.  As for the glass bowl, it is exclusive to this model in 2009, it will become available for general purchase in 2010.  You will also be able to interchange a stainless and glass bowl for your mixer.

Now that sounds really convenient!

Try these easy tips to cut costs without losing the nutrition.

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Each day we are all feeling a little tense when it comes to money especially when the need to go grocery shopping arises.  

In these economic times it is appealing to buy  high-calorie processed foods (such as cookies, chips, donuts), because they usually cost less, than lower calorie nutritious things such as vegetables, fruits, and whole-grains.  

With a little knowledge, you too can save big without losing big.  

Try these helpful tips from Linda McDonald, M.S, R.D., editor of SupermarketSavvy.com. 

1.  Balance the Bulk.  Stocking up on whole-grained rice, pasta, and other staples in bulk can save you money.  Just remember to not buy more than can be used before expiration dates.

2.  Practice Portion Control.  When it comes to meats, the biggest mistake people make is overestimating how much they actually need, McDonald says.  According to McDonald, let your palm be the judge: 3-ounces roughly the size of a woman’s palm, is an average serving per woman; or 4-ounces (the size of a man’s palm) for men.

3.  Keep Walking.  Do a little more prep work yourself and skip the pre-made pizza crusts, shredded cheese, and pre-washed salad greens.  This trick alone can trim 10 to 20 percent off your food bill, McDonald says.

10.  NO, Sometimes Is The Best Answer.  Try to always plan your list ahead of time before going to to the grocery store.  This will give you a chance to resist the impulse to buy items not needed; and never go grocery shopping hungry.