Rethinking the home-cooked feasts

By Brad Ziegler

As we draw near to Thanksgiving, the anticipation of getting together with family and friends grows with each passing day.  For many, however, this joyful anticipation is mixed with a growing sense of anxiety about being responsible for the preparation of Thanksgiving dinner. 

This may be a good year to take a look at your holiday meal plans and try out one or more options to reduce stress and maximize your Thanksgiving joy.

An initial step toward reducing Thanksgiving meal stress is to outsource the preparation of one or more menu items. Choosing an item that is especially time consuming or difficult and purchasing it instead from a trusted professional may make sense this year.  Whether it is picking up the centerpiece of your meal, like a turkey or ham from Fritz’s Smoked Meats at I-435 and State Line Road, a customized order of side dishes from Hemma Hemma in Waldo or Strouds, located in Overland Park and the Northland, or pull apart dinner rolls and delicious apple cupcookie streusels or classic pumpkin pies from McLain’s Bakery (five area locations), taking items off your to-do list can free you up to spend less time in the kitchen and more with your family.

If reducing the number of items that you prepare sounds good, consider completely outsourcing the preparation of the meal while still eating at home. You can find full dinners to-go, with turkey or ham and a myriad of side dish and dessert options for groups of two to fourteen at area HyVee and Price Chopper grocery stores and Fareway Meat Market locations. Some full meal providers even offer Thanksgiving Day pickups that are hot and ready to go.

If you are looking to slightly break tradition with your holiday menu, consider ordering a full dinner from Blind Box Barbeque, with locations in Shawnee and Kansas City, Kansas, anchored by a whole smoked turkey, honey glazed ham, prime rib, salmon, brisket or ribs. 

A slightly greater break from the norm would be a holiday feast prepared by Cousin’s Maine Lobsters, whose food truck is new to the area. They are offering a Thanksgiving Day Pack that includes lobster mac and cheese, lobster pot pie, lobster tail and your choice of clam chowder or lobster bisque, all shipped directly to your door!  You can even add apple cinnamon whoopie pies for dessert!

Even if you decide to outsource some or all of your cooking responsibilities, you are still looking at missing out on holiday fun when it comes time to clean up! There are a few, but not many, options to choose from to dine out on Thanksgiving Day. While most area restaurants are closed on November 28, there are some that embrace the holiday to provide a full service option to individuals and families.  

You can make a trip to the Crossroads and choose from Affäre (featuring their German farm-to-table twist on a classic turkey dinner), Lazia (offering turkey three ways with wine pairings available) or Lidia’s (offering a four course menu of their Italian favorites).

You could also check out one of the three area locations of Summit Grill (open 11am to 4pm with dine-in or Thanksgiving Family Packs to carry out) or Third Street Social, located in Lee’s Summit, Kansas City and the Northland. 

The Blue Moose Bar and Grill in Lenexa is offering a Thanksgiving Day buffet, and the Hereford House restaurant is offering a three course dinner featuring turkey and prime rib in Shawnee. The Other Place Sports Grill and Pizzeria, with locations in Belton, Shawnee, Overland Park, Mission and Olathe, is open on Thanksgiving evening.  

Finally, you are never too far from one of Cracker Barrel’s five area locations and they are all open during their normal hours on Thanksgiving with regular and holiday menu items to choose from.

You can also pair dinner with the lighting of the Plaza lights at several Plaza area restaurants, including Seasons 52, Bo Lings, Capital Grille, Fogo de Chao, Kona Grill and Chaz Restaurant inside the Rafael Hotel. The holiday lights switch is scheduled to be thrown at approximately 7pm.

Whether you are dining in or dining out this Thanksgiving, the key to all of these options is to plan ahead and place your orders or make your reservations before it is too late.