It can be great fun to have all your family around for a big meal and a chat, but the fact you have to cook such a big meal means it is a lot of hard work. Depending on how many people are coming then you may need to start juggling your furniture around to try and fit everyone in, and finding enough plates and place settings for everyone, however the thing that takes the most work is all that food!

The biggest single part of the meal will usually be the meat, or whatever the meat is contained in if you create something like a marrow stuffed with mince (very tasty if you haven’t tried) or a lasagna for instance. That means you need to pick the right main piece to feed your guests for the least amount of effort. Obviously for thanksgiving then it is going to be turkey, but I think that is a great idea for a meal any time of the year! I mean if you decide to go for something like a casserole or a pasta bake or something like that then it is going to take you an hour or so to make all the different part of that before you even start cooking it, so this saves you a whole lot of effort.

Having a turkey can go wrong though, if you don’t cook it right. If you want to make sure your turkey tastes nice and juicy after cooking then the only way really is to use an indoor turkey fryer. By frying it in oil then it traps the juices inside the meat as it cooks, while making the skin crisp. The outdoor ones are a bit dangerous, so try an indoor turkey fryer instead because it works just as well but uses a thermostat to regulate the temperature so it doesn’t set on fire, and is less likely to get knocked over.

Now you have the meat sorted then it is time to move onto all the rest and decide what you want to have with it. Some of it will be things you always make, maybe things you know your guests love, or thing you are particularly good at making. For the other accompaniments then you either go shopping and grab some things, or you can check to see what you can make from food you already have at hand, after all you don’t want to waste money on new food if you have some to use up! A problem that most people run into when they make big meals is having enough of all the extras, that is why I allocate every person a certain amount of everything to make sure I have enough. Rather than just pouring out some roast potatoes and seeing if it looks enough, instead allocate 2 or 3 to each person and count them, then you know you have enough.

The meal would not be complete without a dessert though. I think the dessert is a waste of time though which can be used better elsewhere. Don’t fret about making this yourself, nobody really cares if you did or not after all the work you put into making the main meal. So just grab something from the supermarket that looks tasty, or if you want something special then head to a fancy cake store to get something a little more exotic and tasty.


Be Sociable, Share!
  • more Cooking A Nice Family Meal

Related Articles