Pie and stuffing the day before.........?

[kim2310]

Can I make my cherry pie and stuffing the day before Thanksgiving, then reheat it on Thanksgiving day? My stuffing has no eggs in it and I'd like to be able to make it the day before........then either cook it partially through the day before and reheat it on Thursday. Same with the pie.

[charmedgirl]

Hmmm... I am so glad kim asked this question, because I was wondering too. But now I have more questions based on the replies.

1. Stuffing: I am making a chesnut, fig and sausage stuffing. The sausage, onions celery etc. are cooked on the stove top, then mixed with bread, broth, other ingredients etc. and put in a pan to be baked. Can I just take it to that step the day before, and bake it entirely on Thanksgiving? Or do I need to bake it the day before, then simply reheat the day of?

2. Pie: I am making an apple/cranberry struesel pie (Emeril recipe with a little Martha thrown in). Emeril's recipe actually CALLS for it to be refrigerated overnight before serving. Is this a mistake? Will the crust get soggy? Should I leave it at room temp, notwithstanding the direction otherwise?

[chowkari]

What I usually do with stuffing is cook everything that needs to be done on the stovetop and keep it separate from the dry ingredients and stock/eggs. I mix together the afternoon of Thanksgiving or when I stuff the bird.

I would imagine, though, that it would be better to cook and reheat.

In regard to your pie, I would do as the recipe says!

[JoanN]

Regarding the stuffing, you can do either--whichever is more convenient for you.

Despite my general recommendations on how to keep a fruit pie, I would absolutely follow the instruction to refrigerate it overnight. If the crust does get soggy, that's a fault in the recipe. It shouldn't happen, but you won't know until you try it. I don't know the recipe, but perhaps it has special instructions regarding the heat of the oven or the placement of the pie dish that will help keep the crust as you would want it.

[charmedgirl]

Great, thanks you two! (And thanks again to kim for asking)

[JasmineG]

I always get the stuffing all ready the day before, except for baking. It gets all mixed, then in the casserole dish covered (we don't stuff our bird) and then I pull it out and put it right in the oven when it's time to bake it.

[JoanN]

All stuffings can be made the day before; many can be made two days ahead of time. It depends on the ingredients. Refrigerate overnight and bring to room temperature before using.

Although nearly all pies are best fresh out of the oven, they can be kept at room temperature for two or even three days. If you refrigerate the pie it's likely to pick up moisture and make the crust soggy. It's best, even at room temperature, to cover as little for the crust as possible for the same reason. For instance, if it's an open-face pie, cover only the fruit filling with waxed paper. For a double crust pie, I just cover the vents in the top crust with plastic wrap. Same for a lattice crust pie.

[nickblesch]

Regarding stuffing: I'm planning on making a cornbread and sausage stuffing (sausage, celery, and onions to be cooked stovetop beforehand). It'll have eggs in it.

Should I just cook the stovetop stuff and then do all the mixing together the day of, of is it possible to mix everything together and cook it halfway, and then just pop it in the over the day of in order to brown it off?

Thanks!

[JoanN]

If you want, you can do both the stovetop cooking and the mixing the day before. The day of, you can just take it directly from the fridge and put it in the oven. No problem at all having a stuffing that contains egg sitting in the fridge overnight.

[nickblesch]

Wonderful - thanks again!

[Sooeygun]

I would never make the pie the day of a big dinner. Too much else going on to make a pie. Pie gets baked the day before and then reheated in the oven. You probably wouldn't even need to turn on the oven, just use the residual heat from roasting the turkey.

[clamscasino]

Can't speak to the stuffing....but as far as the pie...I make my cherry pies in advance and freeze them before cooking. Then on T-Day I bake the pie (still frozen) a couple of hours before dinner. Of course, I don't have many oven constraints since the turkey gets cooked in the neighbor's oven. You could also fully cook the pies the day before and just warm them up, but I don't imagine the crust would be quite as good.

[dolores]

Of course. Just don't refrigerate the pie and don't cook the stuffing until browned. Brown the stuffing the day of and serve the pie with whipped cream. I'd eat it if it were a week old.

Cherry pie and whipped cream. Yum.