6 genius Thanksgiving hacks from a caterer who knows time and space are crucial

Get ready to give a big thanks to the Thanksgiving host in your life — but if you are the one hosting, you may feel extra grateful for these useful time-saving hacks.
Danielle Sepsy, chef and founder of The Hungry Gnome bakery and catering, joined “Good Morning America” on Saturday with six hacks to help alleviate stress this turkey day.
Plus, shop some must-have tools and other handy kitchen items below.
1. Post-it note tableware trick
Once you’ve selected all your tableware — serving plates, bowls and platters — place a post-it note with the name of the dish that it should be used for so you know where everything is going, or if someone is helping prepare the final touches, they’ll see right where it belongs without having to ask.
2. Use a cooler as a warming drawer
If your oven is full and the warming drawer is jam-packed, Sepsy said to use a cooler to keep hot dishes like sides nice and warm. Line the inside with foil and towels for extra insulation to trap the heat without drying out food.
3. Make gravy in advance
There are lots of dishes and prep that can be done ahead of Thanksgiving Day, in order to to free up some time and space in the kitchen. For example, Sepsy recommends making a base gravy ahead of time.
“You can also use store-bought turkey stock, a butter roux, shallots, garlic, white wine and aromatics to make an quick and easy gravy. Then when the bird is done, add in the drippings, simmer and you’re ready to go,” she said.
4. Ice-water bath for faster mashed potatoes
“Instead of waiting for potatoes to cook right before dinner, cook them the night before,” Sepsy suggested. Once the spuds are done boiling, “give them an ice water bath” to shock and stop the cooking.
“This speeds up prep and ensures perfectly creamy mashed potatoes — no gummy texture, and it frees up stovetop space,” she said.
5. Make a variety of desserts
“When it comes to desserts, I like to have four flavors or dessert types present that appeal to the masses and feel festive,” Sepsy said. “A pumpkin dessert — pumpkin pie or my easy pumpkin Biscoff mousse version that is way less fussy and a beautiful presentation — an apple dessert, a cream based dessert — think banana cream pie, chocolate cream pie or even cheesecake bars — and finally some sort of cookie or bar that contains chocolate, such as brownies or chocolate chip cookies.”
One added tip for anyone serving a pie or crumble a la mode: “Pre-scoop the ice cream onto a tray, cover and freeze it so when it’s time to plate you can easily place a scoop of the ice cream on each pie slice.”
6. Help guests easily leave with leftovers
“Use disposable tins or muffin tins so everyone can take home leftovers and you don’t have to worry about using your Tupperware,” Sepsy said.
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