There are two types of home cooks who host Thanksgiving: one-oven people, and two-oven people. Two-oven folks are who we all inspire to be. But realistically,
I—and probably 70 percent of people reading this—am in the one-oven crowd. And this can cause a predicament, not just on Thanksgiving, but anytime you’re hosting and have lots of things to cook, like Food52 reader JKLSMITH was when they asked for ideas on how to keep a bunch of smaller dishes warm for serving.
So I hopped into the kitchen to find some solutions to making sure no one has a cold plate of food on Thanksgiving. Here were my favorite hacks:
Slow Cooker
This is probably the most obvious, but slow cookers excel at keeping things warm. And you could just plop one thing in there but, my hack is using foil to create little dividers or sections so that your mac and cheese doesn’t come into contact with your green beans almondine. Set the slow cooker to low and that should buy you about two hours. Any longer and you’ll start to actually cook things further, which could result in mushy, gummy sides.
Electric Heated Blanket
If you are someone who has 6+ dishes you want to keep warm, and a table to spare, this hack is for you. Wrap all the vessels in foil, toss your heated blanket over them, and turn it up to high. The more pricey brands top out at 150º/160º F at the highest settings. This is definitely good enough to keep everything warm for 40 minutes to an hour before you’d have to serve your guests.
Space Heaters
Place all of your foil-line side dishes in front of your space heater (multiple is even better). You’re going to be mimicking the heat lamps that restaurants use on the pass to keep things from setting/congealing before being sent off. Just don’t take it too far and start expo-ing orders to your grandma and cousin like you’re on The Bear.
If All Else Fails: Heat Your Plates
Some people like a cocktail served in a chilled glass, I love a hot dish served on a warmed plate. This isn’t really going to keep your food toasty, but you might be able to help revive some mashed potatoes that may be drifting towards lukewarm. Stick a stack of microwave safe plates in the microwave, let it run on high for 2 or so minutes, then use oven mitts or a towel to remove them. This is great for when you’re building a plate for that perpetually late uncle.
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