<p>I think I might try combining mootmom’s wild rice and cornbread stuffing with my oyster stuffing - so I’ll replace the herb-seasoned bread in my recipe with wild rice - making it Oyster Stuffing with Wild Rice and Cornbread. I forgot to mention that I have recently begun replacing a 1 cup of the chicken broth with 1 cup of chardonnay.</p>
<p>Thumper – I’ve never flown into London, but flying into Germany, we don’t have any trouble with customs. We simply walk out the “Nothing to Declare” line. Nobody asks us anything. My Mom’s last trip over, she brought me bacon, a ham slice, cheddar cheese, and I can’t remember what else. Frozen and packed in a small cooler with ice packs. Still had ice crystals when she got here nearly 18 hours later. A friend’s mom brought her a beef roast! Another friend gets regular deliveries of Lebanon Bologna. </p>
<p>So you would probably get by with your turkey breast just fine. 
Wish somebody would bring me one. Or two.</p>
<p>(Completely different experience flying into the US, where they nearly do DNA testing on every arrival.)</p>
<p>We can get turkeys here (from Turkey!) I cooked one the first year we were here, and it turned out okay, but was smaller than what we get usually, and was a lot more work. Last year, someone got me a Butterball from the Army Post, and it was much easier. Looks like I’m looking at a Turkey turkey again this year. They stock them around Thanksgiving, for the Americans.</p>
<p>Mom also brought me a can of pumpkin, a can of sweet potatoes, and a can of cranberry sauce. I’ve learned that strudel pastry makes a pretty good pie crust. I’ll probably have a crowd of 20 or so - mostly curious Germans. I can serve whatever I want and pretend it’s classic Thanksgiving, because they don’t know any better. “It’s an American custom to have PB&J…” :)</p>
<p>I think this would be a good thread for Carolyn to repeat her story about the recycled peas for those who may have missed it…</p>
<p>Binx:</p>
<p>Driving from England to France, it’s actually faster to go through the “something to declare” line. My brother came from Paris to London to pick me up one year and stocked up on cans of baked beans and mint sauce for his daughter who was born in England and had developed a taste for these 'delicacies" as a child. That was before Marks & Spencer opened a store in Paris. So he drove into the “Something to declare” line which was totally empty and told the custom officers he wanted to declare his baked beans. They did not believe him until he opened the trunk, and, voila, cans upon cans of baked beans and jars of mint sauce (to put on lamb instead of mustard). We drove away laughing, way ahead of the folks in the “nothing to declare” line.</p>
<p>On a slightly different topic, an uncle of mine studied international law for a while before deciding on a totally different career. He told of a museum which had decided to import an Egyptian mummy. Swiss customs had no category for mummies; so after much discussion, it was decided to declare it under “sausages.”</p>
<p>Foodie, here! I mix it up every year with different menus. I usually procrastinate on choosing the menu, so thanks for getting me started:</p>
<p>Nibbles
Salmon & Cream Cheese Yule Log w/ Crackers (New Holiday Cookbook, 1980).<br>
Lighten it up with low-fat cream cheese. Roll logs in paprika or fresh, minced parsley for festive red/green colors.</p>
<p>Fresh Celery & Carrot Sticks
Mini Sweet/Dill Pickles
Fancy Olives (Stuffed Jalape</p>
<p>Yum yum. I love all this. Pumpkin soup-think husband will enjoy that.
I think of Carolyn’s pea story often. I am thankful my mom doesn’t recycle.
I do have a cookbook collecting habit. They overflow the island bookcase and are in just about every room. I suppose this is some sort of self therapy. I never knew how bad my mom’s cooking was. I just thought everyone else was lucky to eat such great food. I remember a college friend asking me “why does your mom always make a roast when I visit”? I couldn’t answer but it was because it was the only “guest food” she knew-a roast in foil w/a can of cream of mushroom soup. My sister at 40+ is just now learning cooking skills. My brother learned to cook and bake and is quite good.<br>
I will be thinking of you all as I sip my wine.</p>
<p>Why am I not surprised that slugg drinks a wine called Ladybug? :D</p>
<p>With Yule logs rolled in paprika/parsley, I think we are veering off into Xmas menus here, but I think we should wait a bit for that thread?</p>
<p>My memory of carolyn’s “peas” story is rather sketchy at the moment (as are too many of my memories these days, in fact). Can someone refresh?</p>
<p>Lolonis releases ladybugs every year to control pests in the vineyards. Sluggbuggs are grape-friendly and ladybug-friendly. If I’m not ready for Christmas, the Salmon Yule Log gets converted into Mom’s Thanksgiving-Salmon-Spread-in-A-Bowl with chili powder sprinkled on top. Chili powder brownish-red is a good Thanksgiving color, and everybody will gobble it up! :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I’m the host for sooo many years already. No grad school D this year (first time missing )so no vegetarian options needed …my other vegan nephew has reverted to meat eating.
All your options sound wonderful but if I vary my menu I get drawn and quartered.Cranberry sauce MUST come from the can and be sliced and placed on the same glass dish each year. Stuffing must have the same ingredients in it.The best is a red cabbage/apple recipe I first made about 20 years ago (was my sis in laws recipe originally…she was married to a guy of German descent).Practically no one eats it anymore but if its not on the table people want to know why not…so I still make it.
We did try travelling and going out for dinner one year in Orlando…met cousins for a stay at Disney.Everything was fun except the Thanksgiving dinner part…nobody was happy being in a restaurant.</p>
<p>I hope to host Thanksgiving this year. DH’s cousin is supposed to do it, but is trying to get out of it. I have offered and hope to have everyone here. There will be 20+ people, so we try to have a variety for all.</p>
<p>Turkey (deep fried) - if you’ve never tried it, you must … so moist and yummy!
Honeybaked Ham
Dressing
Dumplings
Sweet Potato Casserole
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Green Beans
Spiced Apple Rings
Cranberry Sauce
Funeral Salad - isn’t the name just awful? It’s what we call this fruit salad that our family is famous for taking to family events … apparently that included several gatherings after funerals.
Yeast Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Fudge Pie
Variety of fine spirits</p>
<p>I can’t wait. I just love Thanksgiving and getting together with family. We always have so much fun!</p>
<p>Jmmom,</p>
<p>Sorry, I don’t know how to do quotes on CC, but I found Carolyn’s post in the Sinner’s Alley thread – here’s the cut and paste from her original post –</p>
<p>"Mstee, an electric toothbrush to be shared long distance is exactly the type of gift my mother in law would dream up. But, as I said, she’d keep the coupon.</p>
<p>Oh, the stories I can tell about my mother in law. Since we’re talking Christmas, here’s another:</p>
<p>Every year for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner, my mother in law serves frozen peas. No one in the family likes them and there are always plenty left over. My mother in law always insists on clearing the leftovers from the table.</p>
<p>Finally, one year, my sister in law had Christmas dinner at her house. My mother in law brought peas. As usual, there were plenty of left over peas. My sister in law and I were cleaning up and she started to toss the leftover peas in the trash…At which point my mother in law jumped up from the dining room table and ran into the kitchen shouting “DON’T THROW OUT THE PEAS!!!” </p>
<p>Her deep dark secret then came out. Since she was a blushing bride 50 years aago she has been saving the leftover peas from Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners and freezing them to serve for the next year. If they don’t get eaten the next year, she freezes them again…and again…and again. I always wondered why the Christmas peas tasted kind of mushy and odd…now I know: there are peas on the table at Christmas that are older than my husband. Even though the secret is out, we still sit down to those d*mn peas every holiday season.</p>
<p>My mother in law is not a poor woman either, unless you’re talking about her mental state"</p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>Menu</p>
<p>Turkey - brined, organic guy…
Stuffing - Pepperidge Farm
Pan gravy (use worcestershire sauce… and chop the chicken livers and add them)</p>
<p>Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Meyer Lemons and Pancetta
Curried Squash Soup or Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pecans
Creamed Onions (Basic roux, pearl onions, bread crumbs browned on top)
Cranberry/Orange Relish
Salad (mandarin oranges, red onions, goat cheese, and red leaf lettuce)
Garlic mashed potatoes</p>
<p>Apple pie (make crust usually)
Pumpkin pie from can recipe (buy crust…)
Pumpkin cheesecake
Vanilla Ice Cream
Godiva or See’s Candies in case someone needs chocolate</p>
<p>Acme bread or Pepperidge Farm Biscuits</p>
<p>IMPORTANT: Very good wine</p>
<p>I suppose you could call it foodie meets family. Oh, and did I mention it’s a shared endeavour? A sister plus me plans and executes most of it except the pumpkin pie is done by S and uncle, the cheesecake by stepmother, and something at the last minute gets delegated to whoever else we can boss around.</p>
<p>And don’t forget the part where you realize that the garbage bag you’re using to brine the turkey is leaking and you have to rummage through the dusty garage for the old cooler and wind up covered in turkey contaminated saltwater!</p>
<p>Or the year I was pregnant with D and dealing with the turkey innards and got splattered…<em>gag</em></p>
<p>alumother, you just reminded me that we had to toss our big huge cooler this summer because of a leak. I guess I need to go find one to use for brining. btw, the same one we’d used (which was tossed) had a permanent garlic smell from numerous brinings. Maybe I should consider one of those styrofoam ones I can just throw out…there’s a thought. ;)</p>
<p>If you double-bag the turkey, as recommended in the SF Chronicle/Chez Panisse recipe, there’s much less chance of leaking brine and soiling coolers. So far we haven’t had any trouble… knock wood.</p>