Las Vegas chefs suggest Thanksgiving foods to make ahead

It isn’t likely Luis Montesinos would prepare Thanksgiving dinner without his sweet-potato casserole.

“It’s one of those things … I always think of Ron Popeil: You can set it and forget it,” he said, evoking the classic pitchman who’s the father of the infomercial.

And that’s the advantage of making some dishes for the Thanksgiving meal ahead of time: “I can work on everything else,” said Montesinos, head chef at Jaleo at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

“Thanksgiving should be fun,” said Tucker Shaw, editor in chief of Cook’s Country and America’s Test Kitchen, which published “The Complete Make-Ahead Cookbook,” ($29.95). “You should be able to have a good time. That’s not to say cooking isn’t fun, but you might as well have it done with so you can have a glass of wine and not worry about burning the turkey — so you can have two glasses of wine.”

So Montesinos bakes his sweet potatoes at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes. Then he scrapes out “the goodies” and mixes them with a little condensed milk, butter and bourbon.

“Then mix it all together in the mixer until fluffy,” he said. Put it in a pan and top with marshmallows, then refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 225 to 250 degrees and put the pan in for about 30 minutes, or until the mixture is warm. Then toast the marshmallows under the broiler.

Matt Meyer, owner and executive chef of Served in Henderson, suggests making all side dishes — such as cranberries, green bean casserole and candied yams — in advance.

Steve Barr, executive chef at Green Valley Ranch Resort in Henderson, suggests making sides and desserts in advance.

“Then you can focus, if you’re making fresh bread,” he said, “and pay attention to the (turkey) so we don’t have cooking issues there.”

Josh Crain, chef de cuisine of Bouchon at The Venetian, likes to make the stuffing in advance. He incorporates sausage, and at the restaurant will use garlic sausage. He starts with a mirepoix of onions, celery, mushrooms and fresh herbs such as thyme, sage and parsley, plus a little stock to moisten.

“We layer it in the pan and dot it with little globs of butter,” he said. “The top will get crusty and the inside section will be softer.”

And, while conceding that it may sound odd coming from a chef at a Thomas Keller restaurant, Crain said it’s hard to beat the old-favorite green bean casserole; “you need a quick and easy one.”

“You buy some frozen green beans, Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup,” he said. “You want to get fancy, saute some extra onions and mushrooms and mix that with the soup. And there’s no substitute for Durkee’s fried onions.”

Robert Camacho, executive chef of Andiron Steak & Sea, said cooking in advance helps you focus on the main player, the turkey. A tradition in his family, he said, is to make butternut squash soup and pumpkin pie the day before.

“It’s just a good thing to make with your family,” Camacho said of the pie. “Bake it and leave it out for a couple of hours and refrigerate it overnight.”

Barr said pies made in advance can be part of the decor.

“People like to look at them when they come over,” he said. “It gives them something to look forward to so they don’t get too full on dinner.”

While it may seem counter-intuitive to make the pies in advance — won’t they get soggy? — Shaw said he thinks they actually get better.

“Pumpkin pie, I think, acts a lot like a banana bread in that the flavor settles a little and becomes deeper,” he said. “Even apple pie. I almost never serve a pie the same day, because it slices better.” He suggests removing the pie from the fridge 30 to 45 minutes before serving.

Cranberry sauce made two to three days in advance gets better in the refrigerator. Even mashed potatoes, if carefully prepared (recipe follows), and gravy can be made in advance, he said.

“If you’re using a frozen bird, you’ve got to start thawing it two or three days ahead of time,” he said. “You can get into the cavity a day before to get out the giblets and the neck and you can build a really nice gravy from that. Put it in the fridge and warm it back up when you’re ready to serve it. You can incorporate the drippings from the turkey, stirring it right into the gravy at the last minute.”

Dalton Wilson, executive chef and co-owner of DW Bistro, offers a reminder to do shopping in advance and as much prep as possible; co-owner Bryce Krausman suggests an advance dry run on anything you’re nervous about, such as the turkey.

“Get your kids involved in setting the table,” Wilson said. “Set the table the night before and then the day of, all you have to do is get your goodies on it. And open the wine.”

“Thanksgiving’s always going to be stressful, especially if you have kids,” he said. “Prepping in advance is always going to be a good thing.”

And not being quite so frazzled is just hospitable.

“It’s good hosting,” Shaw said. “You don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen, banishing your guests. A relaxed host really sets the tone.”

Mashed Potato Casserole

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup chicken broth

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons salt

4 large eggs

1/4 cup minced fresh chives

Place potatoes in Dutch oven and add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are just tender (paring knife can be slipped in and out of potatoes with little resistance), about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Great 2-quart gratin dish (of 13-by-9-inch baking dish). Heat half-and-half, broth, butter, garlic, mustard and salt in saucepan over medium-low heat until butter is melted, about 5 minutes; cover to keep warm.

Drain potatoes and transfer to large bowl. Using handheld mixer set at medium-low speed, beat potatoes while slowly adding half-and-half mixture until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down bowl, then beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, about 1 minute. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in chives. Transfer potato mixture to prepared dish and smooth top with rubber spatula.

Bake until potatoes rise and begin to brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Let casserole cool for 10 minutes. Serve.

Casserole, prepared through step transferring the potatoes to the baking dish, can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. To bake, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and continue with final step.

Serves 6 to 8.

Green Bean Casserole

Topping:

2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups canned fried onions

Casserole:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup cornstarch

For the topping: Pulse bread, melted butter and salt in food processor to coarse crumbs, about 6 pulses. Combine bread crumbs and fried onions in bowl. Set aside.

For the casserole: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until mushrooms release their liquid, above 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth, cream and wine and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes.

Toss green beans with cornstarch in large bowl and transfer to 13-by-9-inch dish. Pour warm mushroom mixture evenly over green beans. Let cool completely.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake until sauce is bubbling and green beans are tender, 40 to 50 minutes, stirring green beans halfway through baking. Remove foil and spread topping over green beans. Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Serve.

To make ahead: Casserole and topping, prepared through point where mushroom mixture is poured over the beans, can be refrigerated separately for up to 24 hours or frozen separately for 1 month. To bake, continue with baking instructions, increasing baking time (before topping) to 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Serves 10 to 12.

Classic Bread Stuffing With Sage And Thyme

1 1/2 pounds hearty white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2 -inch cubes

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 celery ribs, minced

1 onion, chopped fine

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon dried

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Spread bread onto rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until bread is dry, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let bread cool completely on sheet, about 30 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, sage, thyme and marjoram and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to very large bowl.

Add dried, cooled bread, broth, eggs, salt and pepper to vegetable mixture and toss to combine. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden, about 30 minutes longer. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

To make ahead: Stuffing, prepared through transferring it to the prepared dish, can be refrigerated for up to two days.

To bake, continue with final step, increasing covered baking time to 40 minutes.

Serves 8 to 10.

Recipes from “The Complete Make-Ahead Cookbook” from America’s Test Kitchen

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.