Thanksgiving Tips Part 5 & 6

Alright everyone we are down to tips for the day before and Thanksgiving Day! I hope the tips have helped you stay the course and enjoy the planning of this holiday. If you are able get the family involved in helping with the final prep.

• Finish your pie's. Remember to use your pie shields or tent your crust with tin foil to prevent over browning. Also be sure to place a pan lined with tinfoil to catch the juices that may overflow. No one wants to deal with that mess ever but especially during a Holiday.
• Get your turkey prepped or in the brine solution. Also remember to figure out your cooking time per pound of the turkey.
• Peel your potatoes and place in a bowl of water and place in fridge.
• Prepare side dishes
• Prepare your appetizers, dip and cheese trays
• Make sure you have plenty of ice for the big day.
• Light dusting of the house
• Stock bathroom with extra toilet paper
• Empty all trash receptacles and line with new garbage bags
• Run to the grocery store for any last minute items you may have forgotten
• Get a good nights sleep

Thanksgiving day!!!!

• Remove turkey from frig and bring to room temperature before starting the cooking process
• Reheat your cranberry sauce
• Make the mash potatoes
• Make your appetizer tray
• Cook ore reheat your sides
• Make your gravy
• Enjoy the day!!!!!

Thanksgiving Tips Part 4

Thanksgiving tips for the Tuesday before the big day. I know this year by this time you will be relaxed because you have been more organized and moving right along with the plans. I know how busy mom's are these days running here and there and there just never seems to be enough free time but be sure to get the family involved especially if you are hosting the Holiday.

 

• Make your pie dough ahead of time
• Make your cranberry sauce
• Cut your bread for the stuffing
• Cut up any veggies you may need for dishes or a veggie tray
• Shop for your remaining groceries.
• Start chilling your beverages



Thanksgiving Tips Part 3

Thanksgiving Tips day 3!!!! Today we will be focusing on the Monday before Thanksgiving but for those of you just reading for the first time you can go back and see what you missed.

• Take your turkey out and to start the defrost process. You will want to place your turkey in a foil pan or metal pan while it is defrosting in the fridge just in case there is any wetness.
• Start shopping for all your non-perishable groceries
• Purchase extra plastic food containers, tin foil, seran wrap, toilet paper, paper towels and garbage bags.
• Set your table if you are able. Those with young children and pets you may want to wait on this until the night before or morning of.
• Clean your wine glasses and silverware.
• If you are going to do a buffet style wrap your silverware in your napkins and set them in a basket. Easier for your guests to carry.

I found this Thanksgiving Etiquette  for proper table settings for those who may be hosting a formal dinner that day. Below you will find two of our TOP selling gadgets for the Holiday Season! TRUDEAU'S Fat Separator and RSVP Potato Ricer. They were both rated number one in Cook's Illustrated.



Thanksgiving Tips Part 2

Good Morning Everyone! Yesterday I shared what you should be working on two weeks before Thanksgiving and today we will be covering one week before the big day. Those of you who are just checking in can look back at yesterdays post to catch up. Be sure to grab a notebook or legal pad too. I have a notebook for everything here at the store and I find they keep me organized and hold my ideas.

• One week before Thanksgiving you should start working on your seating arrangements & name tags.
• If there will be little one's that require a highchair or booster seats ask the parents if they will be bringing one along if you do not have access to them.
• Be sure to have activities for the younger children or ask parents to bring those items with them.
• Review your recipes and create a cooking schedule and your grocery list. I found a notepad for grocery shopping that is divided in sections of the grocery store and I can write my menu for the week in a box for each day of the week. Love it because it saves me from running back and forth to sections where I may have forgotten something. Check on Pintrest  or On-Line and I am sure you will find a link to print something similar out.
• Prepare your kitchen by cleaning out your fridge and pantry to make room for groceries. Be sure to check your spices to make sure they are fresh too.
• Clean your wine glasses and your silverware
• Decide what food item is going in what vessel. Write that item on a post it note and stick in that vessel along with a serving spoon.
• Clean up the yard

I would highly recommend purchasing Urban Accents Gourmet Gobbler Kit! I have carried this in my store since I opened 6 years ago and we keep it in stock year round. It will make your turkey so moist and flavorful! It is also All Natural & Gluten Free. You can roast, deep fry or grill too.

Thanksgiving Tips Part 1

Thanksgiving is approaching and over the next two weeks I will be helping you get organized and have a plan for your Thanksgiving gathering. Now I know I am typing this four weeks ahead but two weeks before Thanksgiving my focus turns to Christmas here in the store. I do not rush the Christmas season so I and my elves flip the store over to Christmas the week before Thanksgiving and my Christmas Open House is November 21. I will be a very busy girl and will not have much time computer time.
No matter if you have a small gathering, large or you go out for dinner that day I hope there will be something I can help you with so that you can enjoy this Thanksgiving day with your family and friends.

• Decide if you want a fresh or store bought turkey. If you are looking at fresh you will want to call and make those arrangements now. You will also need to make arrangements for your turkey to be delivered or picked up also. If you are not turkey fans decide what you will be serving instead.
• If you will be going out to dinner make your reservations now.
• Guest list and invites. Some do formal invites for their Thanksgiving gathering and other's may just email, Facebook or call. It's nice to have an idea of the number you will be having that day.
• Time to start working on your menu. If you are having guests you may want to check for any food allergies they may have that would require you to pay attention too. Also be sure to include your guests in helping prepare the meal by asking them if they would like to bring something and make a note of who is bringing what so that there are no repeats. Less time in the kitchen for you too!
• If you need to special order anything such as flower arrangements or pie's you will want to get your orders in and arrange to pick them up or have delivered one or two days before the big day.
• Do a deep clean of the house this week as well.
• Make sure your video equipment is working as well as camera's and you may want to have extra batteries too.

ZULA

I can not believe November 1 is a week from this Saturday! I apologize to those I might be putting into shock with this information and you are also Welcome because I know you needed the reminder that Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and you have things to do to prepare!
Zula was my Grandmother who live directly behind me growing up. She was beautiful, classy,  loved her soap opera's, Johnny Carson, Lawrence Welk and she was a great cook! That being said she amazed me during the Holidays because she could create a feast, get it all out on the table and every item was the perfect temperature. She would also prep as many dishes she could ahead of time. I would help polish the silver, the fall table cloth that was stored in her beautiful buffet cabinet would be cleaned and ironed and placed on the large dining room table. Appetizers would be set out in her best dishes for nibbling and the TV was set to the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. I still watch that parade to this very day. Her table would hold many around it and a few of us may have had to eat at the kiddie table which was her coffee table in the living room but no one seemed to care. We enjoyed the delicious meal and our time together as a family. Our family has grown and some traditions have changed but  I enjoy stepping back in time when the Holidays arrive because I have many wonderful memories of my Grandmother, her big beautiful home, the aroma's filling her house up and her in her apron singing or humming as she prepared her dishes and did so without appearing to be stressed. Notices the word appearing she could have been but you would never have known.
All of us have traditions and it could be sitting down altogether at the table with the Thanksgiving meal placed upon it, other's may choose buffet style and others may dine out.
Next week I will be sharing a two week schedule or planner to help you get prepared for your Thanksgiving gathering. I want you to enjoy the planning, preparing of the dishes and making memories you, your children & grandchildren will look back on in the future and smile because they were happy and even relaxing times.  So while you have some down time this weekend grab a notebook or your laptops and  start jotting down your Thanksgiving to do's and meet me back here on Monday!

HOLIDAYS

I know some of you may be reading this title and shaking your heads because Halloween is still a few days off and some of you are tired of retail shops bringing Christmas items out in September and you feel that Thanksgiving is overlooked. I want you to know I agree with you but I as a business owner have to order months ahead in order to offer you, my great customers  great seasonal  merchandise. I choose to keep it locked up tight in the storeroom until the week before Thanksgiving because that is  when Christmas merchandise makes it's début in my store. It is always an exciting and busy time  dressing the store in it's Christmas décor. I am thankful for my elves that help me through it because with out them I would be stressed. So I am going to try and be your personal elf this year!
Many of us know how much time, energy and prep goes into Thanksgiving and  Christmas plus you still have work, kids activities and everyday household chores that need to be completed. I have decided that starting next week I am going to do my best to make this years holidays more enjoyable and less stressful for each of you in one way or another. I want each and everyone one of you to enjoy each holiday, your family, the beauty and special memories that you might otherwise miss out on because of running here, there and everywhere. I will be sharing tips, recipes and  gadgets that make life easier. Table top décor and gift ideas that may just help you enjoy the holidays a bit more and RELAX a bit more!

HALLOWEEN

Those who know me well know I enjoy all holidays and for those who did not know this now you do! Halloween is one of those holidays you either like or you don't like. I find most people enjoy it because it is a holiday for all ages and no gifts are expected to be given unless you consider chocolate a gift. My husband and I used to hold an annual Halloween party. Since my living space is not large enough to host more than one other couple in it I figured the shop was large enough to host a Halloween party. I would decorate one whole side of the shop with fun decorations, work on fun menu items, rent tables, have a friends band play and there was costume judging too. It was a family affair all kids welcome and everyone would bring a dish to pass and their own beverages. Those who did not dress up made sure to the next year because they saw how much more fun it was to be in costume. We no longer have those Halloween parties which many miss as do I but I still enjoy looking at costumes, decorations and fun recipe ideas. I am sharing some recipe ideas found on Pintrest you can use the Wilton Candy Melts we carry to create! Happy Halloween Everyone! 

 

 

 

 

 

HIGH FIVE FRIDAY!!!!

High Five Friday!!!! What a great week we have had here at the store! I would like to share five things that have impacted & brightened my week! There is this new class being offered for  Juniors & Seniors in and around the Whiteside School district who want to own or work in business called CEO and the calls was here at the store on Thursday morning to learn about my business and how I got started. We also spoke about customer service and how I market my business. I and the instructor thought it would be fun to split them up into teams to create two displays. They did quite well and you can see their displays by looking at yesterday's post.
I had some new customers in the store which is always great because you see your business growing before your eyes and I also had a regular customer stop in to purchase another jelly roll pan from USA. These pans are amazing and I always tell the customer you will be back for more because they are just that remarkable and made in the USA.
I am happy to announce my final Christmas orders arrived this week! My store room is filled and I am happy to see this because it is comforting to know all of the orders we worked so hard on since March are here. It is very difficult to look and order Christmas right after Christmas but this is how it works in retail.
You will be able to add a little spice to your life because we have found a spice company to order from!!! I am so stinking happy about this connection. I will be placing an order for what we have been asked for already like Dutch Coca, Sumac, Espresso Powder, Dried Chili Peppers but it their is something you are in need of we will be happy to look at the list to see if we can bring it in for you.
Last but not least I have a new logo for our first Thursday events I host each month. It will now be called Late Night-Date Night rather than Girls Night Out. The reason I am changing the name is because I have had some men interested in attending as well as there are more and more men who enjoy being in the kitchen baking/cooking and couples who enjoy being in the kitchen together. I do not want to exclude anyone from our events and there will be more information on our Late Night-Date Night events in future posts.
Enjoy your three day weekend everyone & add some spice to your life!!!

Fall is here and I am enjoying this beautiful day even if I am inside working on orders and the Christmas Open House Menu.
My day started out bright and early with the CEO class  stopping by to learn about small business, how I got started & customer service. This class offers the students who want to go into business for themselves or work in business a first hand look at what it takes and how to go about it. They had great questions and we even had them work on setting up some displays to see how they would do. They did a great job and I posted some picks of their work.

 

It's always a great time to share your passion with others.

 

High Five Friday!

Friday's are the day's I post about 5 positive things that happened to me this week! Chef  Anna & I finalized the menu for our Christmas Open House. There is a great deal of time & prep that goes into this menu every year. My fall flavors have arrived!!! So those of you who enjoy apple, maple or pumpkin flavored anything you will be happy to see the pumpkin pancake mix, spiced pumpkin latte mix, maple honey caramel sauce, apple cranberry chutney, apple cider jam, cinnamon apple jelly & mulling spices! I had some new people in the store this week which is always fun & a sign my business is growing. I do enjoy chatting with foodies!!! I received some beautiful table linens from a wonderful customer. She was doing some fall cleaning & thought I might enjoy them & I will be looking forward to using them in my displays. Finally I am making my first blog post. I will be learning as I go & I am ok with that but I wanted to do this to stay connected to my customers without social media trying to control my page. I like many other businesses have worked hard to be here, build our customer base & keep connected with you on a daily basis. I look forward to seeing how the A Cook's Corner blog develops!!! Enjoy your weekend & Happy Eating!!!!