Planning Ahead

The Thanksgiving dinner requires planning. Each dish must be selected and a shopping list written. Think well in advance about place settings, flowers, wines, tables, chairs, serving dishes, timing, and the guest list. It is important to get started early. Don’t wait until the day before or even the week before. Thanksgiving is not a potluck dinner; it is a complex feast that requires organization and considerable precision.

We think about Thanksgiving all year long—discussing and planning, fine tuning the combination of flavors, textures, and colors. But we are obsessed. Normal people need to give the holiday feast some thought by the first of November.