It’s that time of year again, when you gather together with friends and family for a splendid slap up dinner - and you have decided to host it! Hopefully you have done all your shopping and not left it till the last minute as you may not find a suitably large turkey and the, assuming it’s frozen, it will need two fays to thaw slowly and evenly in the refrigerator. Have you invited your guests and worked out your menu?

Preparing ahead as much as possible makes it easier on the day but there is always a chance of something going wrong, Read on to find out the most common mistakes and problems and how to deal with them. Don’t leave your frozen turkey in the sink or on the countertop to defrost. It does not do so well left at room temperature, but should instead thaw more slowly in the refrigerator. This can take two or three days for a large bird so you need to allow for this. There is nothing worse than when you come to cook it on the big day it is still part frozen.

You may also want to have the stuffing made in advance but you cannot do this and expect it to keep well for a couple of days. Much better is to prepare all the ingredients beforehand and then have this “kit” ready to go for the morning of Thanksgiving.

You can dry out your bread by leaving it out for a day or two or baking it in a medium oven till crunchy. Fry off your onions and vegetables, let them cool, and then refrigerate. You may need some broth and some eggs, refrigerated. Then on the morning of Thanksgiving day you can make up the stuffing and pop it into your turkey.

The 5 common things that can go wrong are as follows:

1. The turkey is done too soon.- If you misjudged the cooking time or your guests are late you can take the turkey out of the oven and let it rest on the counter with a covering of foil tucked in round the sides.

2. The turkey is too dry - If it’s dry cut the breast into serving slices and place in a roasting dish with some of the meat juices and some chicken stock. Slice a slab of butter and place around the pan. Then cover with foil and leave in a warm oven until the butter is melted.

Gravy is too thin -Mix together equal parts of cornstarch and water. Then add this slowly to the mixture stirring constantly to incorporate. If there are lumps they can be removed before serving by straining the gravy. An alterative is to leave the gravy on a light boil to evaporate more liquid and allow it to thicken naturally. Don’t let it boil too hard or for too long though, or you won’t have enough gravy left!

The gravy is too salty tasting Another common problem that can be solved, either by adding a few pinches of sugar, testing as you go, or, putting a peeled potato into the pan and letting it simmer for a while The potato will absorb salt and is then removed before serving.

5. The mashed potato is too watery - This can happen if the potatoes are boiled for too long. However, all you need to do is to add one of the following ingredients: baking soda, instant potato mash, or some powdered milk and then stir vigorously or whip to get a good consistency.

If you are aware of what can go wrong and are prepared to deal with any problems that may arise you will be under less stress and more able to enjoy the dinner!

Author: Juliette White is an experienced chef. If you don’t want to risk your Thanksgiving and you want to surprise your mates and parents with a great Thanksgiving meal make sure you get a free Thanksgiving Recipe Ebook . If you want more truly simple and free recipes and register here

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