Last week, (November 3^rd), I began what will be a 5-part Blog series focusing on the pre-preparations for a successful Thanksgiving Day dinner.

If you happened to have missed that 1^st Blog, it’s available on our Nino’s website for you to review which I recommend you do so that you’re all caught up because THIS week, I’m going to build on that initial conversation by talking about the “star” of our show.

Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey dinner with fresh red pears and parsley.

Namely, the turkey.

In the end, it’s ALL about the turkey.

We’re now about 2 weeks away from Turkey Day and it’s definitely NOT too early to make plans for that bird. ESPECIALLY if you’re planning on ordering a FRESH Amish turkey from Nino’s which you can then pick up a day or two before the big day.

Now you may be thinking that it’s kind of early to be making plans for a turkey. Not if you’re looking for a fresh turkey and especially this year, as it being forecasted that their will likely be a shortage of these types of birds due to a number of supplier issues mostly related to…you guessed it, Covid 19.

BUT, if you order now, you can expect that you’ll be all set and have the peace of mind that there WILL be a fresh turkey on your table this year.

Of course, Nino’s has other types of turkeys for you to consider, including frozen turkeys of different brands, most all of which are available the week of Thanksgiving for you to consider. However, if it’s fresh turkey you’re counting on, I highly recommend you place your order this week.

If you’d really like to get ahead, here’s something to consider? Buy a small turkey now. Roast the bird, pull the meat and make a nice, rich stock/broth from the carcass, neck, wings, and drumsticks. Make all your Thanksgiving gravy right now from this stock, and use some of the giblets and turkey meat in the gravy. Place the finished gravy in 1 quart freezer containers and freeze it until thawing it the day before Thanksgiving. Dice up some of the remaining meat and save it (with perhaps some of the stock) for your Turkey stuffing, which you’ll find out in my following Blogs that I’ll suggest you make the day before Thanksgiving. Slice and freeze whatever additional meat you recover from the bird and I’ll have another great idea for that, coming up.

Before I leave the subject of turkeys, I want you to know that my Blogs of Wednesday, November 17^th and the week of Thanksgiving I’ll be sharing MUCH more turkey preparation and cooking tips and recipes including to stuff or not to stuff, how brining can improve your bird’s flavor, tenderness and juiciness and few extra cooking dos and don’ts.

And while we are still 2 weeks out review your menu and check to see that you have all the appropriate platters & service wares for the turkey and all the sides. In addition, be sure you have all the cookware, casserole dishes, and roasting pans. Don’t expect much choice of these essential preparation and display items on the week of Thanksgiving.

And lastly, speaking of your table presentation, be sure to place your order for any fresh flowers or arrangements for your Thanksgiving Day table at Nino’s floral department this week.

There you have it, your 2 weeks of suggestions and assignments. My 3^rd Turkey Timeline Blog will be coming your way on Wednesday, November 17^th where I’ll be talking about more things you should consider doing to stay on track of a successful holiday meal including side dishes you can actually make and freeze one week out!

Chef Pete Loren is now in semi-retirement, after a storied 40 plus year career. He now serves as the Chef Emeritus at Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace. Explore more recipes HERE.