Hosting Thanksgiving? Here's How To Take Your Gathering To The Next Level

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When it comes to the holidays, many of us enjoy the process of planning and executing big gatherings. Among the most popular and potentially stressful of these is Thanksgiving. While there are plenty of factors to consider if you plan to host the Thanksgiving festivities this year, from ordering a big enough turkey to figuring out a timeline to follow that ensures every dish is prepared on time and is mouthwateringly delicious, we can all use some extra tips and tricks to turn the event from mundane to magical.

Enter Lily Rosenthal, actor, New York Times bestselling author, restaurateur, and daughter of Phil Rosenthal, the host of Netflix's hit foodie-centric show "Somebody Feed Phil." Rosenthal knows a thing or two about the ins and outs of food and entertaining (she recently opened the instant Los Angeles diner hit Max & Helen's along with her father and chefs Nancy Silverton and Mason Royal, who also happens to her husband), and we had the chance to interview her about her favorite ways of taking the Thanksgiving gathering to the next level.

Among Rosenthal's biggest takeaways is focusing on a casual ambiance, connection, and capturing memories of the event. She notes, "I always offer to take family photos for everyone before we start dinner, just makes it feel more celebratory." Read on for more of our exclusive interview with Lily Rosenthal and for some of her best suggestions for hosting a Thanksgiving dinner to remember.

While a formal sit-down dinner seems like a great idea when entertaining, Thanksgiving may not be the best time to bust out the fine china and get extra fancy. Not only do these dinners tend to feature more dishes than usual, the number of invitees tends to be more substantive, making anything overly orchestrated stressful and awkward. The solution according to Lily Rosenthal is to turn the meal into a buffet.

"We start with a buffet and then bring the stuff that's easy to carry to the table, but the heavy hitters are stationed. The gravy, the cranberry sauce, the things you might need more of come with us, and we run back to the buffet for seconds." When planning the ultimate holiday party buffet, there are a few key factors to consider. Among the most important of these is laying the food out using levels, which makes it easier to access all of the dishes, labeling the food so that everyone knows what they are eating, particularly those with any food allergies, and creating different food stations for various courses.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when hosting a buffet dinner is keeping the food at a safe temperature for the duration of the meal. This requires storing hot food at temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit or above and cold foods at temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This is best achieved using chafing dishes for hot menu items and ice baths for cold ones.

An elegant and simple table setting is a must when hosting a holiday gathering. A table that is overly cluttered, has too many mismatching pieces, or has centerpieces that make conversation between guests inconvenient due to their height or breadth can be distracting and make the evening less than enjoyable for all in attendance.

As far as the décor is concerned, Lily Rosenthal enjoys taking a cue from Mother Nature for the most seamless and festive results. "We always get a cornucopia for the centerpiece! It's more fall and festive than a regular flower arrangement and paired with tapered candles and a white table cloth it looks so sweet. For place cards my mom gathers small fall leaves from our front yard and glues them to each one. She gets extra excited if the leaf happens to be shaped like a heart."

While actual plateware or flatware is more sophisticated and sustainable, there is no shame in opting for disposable plates, cutlery, and napkins to save on time and effort when it comes to cleaning up. The key is choosing varieties that are visually appealing, environmentally friendly, and hefty enough to withstand a plateful of food, like the Chic Leaf Compostable & Biodegradable Palm Leaf Disposable Bamboo Plates and the Banbu Bamboo Cutlery Set with Pre Rolled Napkins.

Many of the Thanksgiving dinners served across the U.S. annually feature turkey as the centerpiece of the menu. Entire Reddit threads and even a hotline manned by experts hired by the Butterball brand exist that are dedicated to all things regarding how to prepare this poultry to perfection. Yet, what if instead of turkey this Thanksgiving, you opted to serve another type of meat as the focal point of the dinner? This is exactly what Lily Rosenthal advises. "We mix it up, instead of turkey we do goose. If you've never had it's like a big duck, all dark meat, incredible flavor. We're a big group so we also do a prime rib."

While roasted goose tends to be more commonly served as a delicacy at the Christmas dinner, there is no reason why it cannot replace turkey for Thanksgiving. The only thing to consider when it comes to roasting a goose is that it can be a bit more labor-intensive to prepare properly. The biggest hurdle with roasting a goose is preparing its ample fat to render while it cooks so that the skin gets crispy and brown and preventing the breast from overcooking while the legs reach a safe minimum internal temperature. There are a couple of methods for accomplishing this that involve piercing the fat with a knife or removing the breast meat halfway through the roasting process, and finishing it off in a pan before serving it.

When it comes to the Thanksgiving menu, side dishes are as important as the main entrée to making the meal special and celebratory. Many of us rely on old standards to round out the meal, and while that's not only acceptable, but somewhat expected, there's no reason why you cannot upgrade these classic side dishes with a twist. As Lily Rosenthal illustrates, "We do a vanilla bean cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, sweet potatoes with homemade marshmallow fluff, always torched."

The green bean casserole is another side dish that often gets a fashionable upgrade at Thanksgiving. Among the best ways to add some creativity to a green bean casserole is to jazz it up with different seasonings, make it with homemade mushroom soup, or swap French Fried onions with an alternative crispy topping, like crumbled Ritz crackers or corn flakes. It can also be helpful to swap canned beans with fresh ones that are grilled, roasted, or sautéed for added flavor and a firmer texture.

When it comes to carbs, mashed potatoes are king. That said, plain spuds can feel underwhelming on a festive holiday like Thanksgiving, so why not infuse mashed potatoes with some flavor-enhancing ingredients, like fresh herbs, caramelized onions, pesto, or roasted garlic. You can also swap the butter with alternative fats, like olive oil, bacon grease, or mayonnaise for a velvety texture and savory flavor.

No Thanksgiving menu would be complete without a host of decadent desserts to round out the meal. While pie is always a classic offering, there are certainly other alternatives that can help to round out the menu and spice things up a bit. Lily Rosenthal likes to mix-and-match both classic and non-traditional offerings at her Thanksgiving table. "I make vanilla bean whipped cream, get Harry's berries and an Urth Caffé pumpkin pie. My husband makes chocolate mousse."

If you are searching for ways to bring the autumn spirit into the mix, lean on fall fruits for inspiration. Apples, pears, cranberries, grapes, and pomegranates are all great candidates for transforming into various desserts, from cheesecakes and cobblers to bread pudding and trifles. Alternatively, consider things that are completely unorthodox, like chocolate-centric or custard-based desserts, including brownies, cakes, and crème brûlée, which can easily be spruced up with holiday flair.

When creating these desserts, it can be helpful to keep several factors in mind. Don't skimp on the classic spices you typically find in apple and pumpkin pie, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. And, always incorporate plenty of textural elements that can give these desserts some intrigue, like crunchy nuts or chewy dried fruit. Lastly, presentation is key. Even with simple desserts, it is worth taking the extra time to garnish the finished product to make it visually-appealing.

What's a holiday without some festive libations? According to Lily Rosenthal, while beer and wine are certainly good options to keep on hand when hosting Thanksgiving, cocktails are a must-have for making things truly celebratory. She notes that in the Rosenthal household, "My brother makes an amazing Manhattan, my cousin Jeremy makes the martinis, and my mom and I drink both."

Rosenthal isn't the only one who swears by cocktails when entertaining during the holiday season. A number of celebrity chefs, from Michael Symon to Alex Guarnaschelli, jazz up Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with their favorite holiday cocktails. Among the most popular are stand-bys, like an Old Fashioned or hot apple cider. That said, some chefs think a little outside the box with unique beverages like Glögg or Swamp Water, which tell a story or connect them to their cultural heritage.

To facilitate serving cocktails during Thanksgiving, it can be helpful to prepare them in larger batches. Batching cocktails allows you to serve a lot of people quickly and efficiently and eliminates the need for anyone to play bartender. When batching cocktails, it can be helpful to do so in advance and keep them cold in pitchers or mason jars in the refrigerator. Make sure to have plenty of ice on hand, roughly one cup for every 10 drinks.

If you plan to host a Friendsgiving instead of a more formal Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family, you may want to keep things casual. Lily Rosenthal recommends to "Make something that can sit on your stove and is easy for your guests to help themselves to seconds, like a stew, a chili, or mac and cheese. You'll be more relaxed and able to take in your time with your friends rather than making sure everything's ready on time, save the stress for the actual holiday."

This is sound advice. The last thing you want to do when enjoying a night with friends is to spend the whole time babysitting the food or cleaning up. Lean on family-style dishes and opt for easy-to-clean disposable plateware and flatware. You might even suggest a potluck for the event, allowing each friend to bring a favorite dish to the meal and encouraging them to share why they made it.

Alternatively, you can keep things even simpler by offering an array of cocktails and appetizers and foregoing the big meal altogether. Finger foods can be more than enough for people to feel satiated and it encourages more socialization throughout the evening. Some of the best appetizers to take to a Friendsgiving include cranberry brie bites, eggplant caponata crostini, or classic deviled eggs.