American Thanksgiving dinner 2006

I'm not american, but thanksgivings day is always a good excuse to cook a delicious turkey and enjoy a wonderful pecan pie and sweet potatoes.

So any ideas for getting together and cooking, or better for cooking and getting together for eating?
Share your thoughts and let's see if it's possible to put something together.

Spent last Tday at the Arc and man that Aussie can cook a turkey plus Cowboys were on the tele so the place was packed.

Haven't decided whether to do this again or not.

Oh yeah that was fun also at Eurovols house. Nice family nice house. Almost missed my train.

How about a Roaming Dinner or whatever they're called? A different course in each house. I can accommodate about 12 - 15 people in a pinch, standing room only.

I keep trying to think of a way to have a Thanksgiving Day experience this year; since moving to Germany every year I have cooked dinner on the Saturday after, unless we were in this US -- but I am due to give birth on turkey day so i should probably just let it go...nonetheless it will be very sad not to cook a turkey this year, especially since my dad brought me Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix when he visited in August...

Is it illegal to bring a frozen turkey back from the US? Can you bring it through customs? Just curious.

Don't see any Butterballs over here...

I'm gonna go with NO on that one. While you may not be able to get Butterball, I'm told you can get turkeys here.

Höhenrainer at Viktualienmarkt (amongst others) will sell you a pre-stuffed turkey but they ain't cheap. Various stuffings including cornmeal, they are a turkey specialist outlet and are taking orders now.

There is a stand at the back of the Viktualienmarkt that has all puten. I'm told if you speak to the butcher a week before hand, you can order a turkey or any size you'd like, even 20 pounds!

Given it is illegal to transport produce, I would imagine poultry is banned also

I think you cou be referring to:

Bayerisches Wild & Geflügel
Viktualienmarkt Laden 8
80331 München
089 3564 5252

We got ours there for Canadian Thanksgiving and I can vouch for the quality but as stated before, it can get very pricey. I think we paid €43,00 for a 5 Kilo turkey.

Just saw Katrina's post- we were writing at the same time!

I don't know about the legalities concerning bringing a frozen bird from the US. But as it has been pointed out by a few already there are several places in which you can get turkey, either fresh or frozen. Frozen you can get in Walmart, Real and Metro although as far as I remember only up to about 16 pounds, maybe 18. And if you don't want them frozen you can go to Viktualenmarkt and order a fresh one there, although those are a bit pricy.
At the end of the story most of the richness in flavour comes from how you prepare your bird. Make sure to inject as much liquid as possible, marinate for several hours, inject more liquid (I use a mixture of wine with several spices), wrap in bacon (don_riina's suggestion, and it works out wonders!!) and also wrap in aluminum foil for most of the baking time. Only uncover when it's already done for giving it that nice golden look.
Good luck with your turkey cooking.

So anyone actually hosting a turkey day dinner?

@eurovol - could you be bribed into it? I'm definitely interested and will be out on maternity leave this year so able to help out with cooking if need be. Let me know and mr. ajohnson and I will make the trip down from Nüernberg for turkey day festivities...

It was fun last year at Eurovols house. C'mon you ol' grump. Well lets ask the wife since she is the better half of those two.

regarding having dinner, unfortunately I can't host it myself since I live in a WG at the moment and space is not something that comes in lots here. However I would be more than happy to contribute with cooking and other supplies in case that any of the two ideas that have been proposed in the thread come to place. One is gathering together at someone's place and have dinner there, the other one is making a sort of thanksgiving crawl and eat a different dish at different places. Personally I would like more the first idea. But I cannot suggest much because I'm in no position to host a dinner. I would be very glad to contribute as much as I can though.

I am very much looking for some where to enjoy it also. I can help with the cooking, preparations, drinking, eating and pretty much anything else. On a side note, if we can't find someones house, maybe we can rent a room somewhere or something.

I can vouch for the quality of that bird...but ouch at that price. I should have brought more wine over then.

In 2001, we were also able to buy a fresh turkey at a butcher in Grunwald (for those of you on the south side) I guess we'll be doing that again.

I'd possibly be interested in hosting a few people at my house, but I better check with my husband first, and we can't do it on 11/23 because we are out of town. So we'd have to pick another day.

Ask her. If she says yes, then I might be convinced to do it.

Panama: are you trying to smuggle cheap prozzis from the US?

shhhh, don't tell anybody about my great new business idea.

This is when it helps to have military connections I will be having a nice, hormone riden butterball turkey...18 pounds for about 20 Euros.

I think Eurovol's better half is the one to talk to on that, Perdido...I can help beg if you're up to asking.

Otherwise, I have no idea...same with Christmas for me this year, really...but one thing at a time, lol

The weird thing is, back in the states Thanksgiving was my least favorite holiday...

I don't like that place on Viktualienmarkt that specialises in turkey. They always seem to cut the neck skin up to the breastbone, which makes it a pain in the bloody backside to cook. You cannot stuff the neck end, the 13 tonnes of butter that you stuff under the skin simply leaks out of course, and its just rubbish. We always order a xmas turkey from out butcher, and sadly, the neck skin is often cut away on that too. This year, I wanna get a turkey with the neck and head and feet all still intact. Much better IMO, and also givey you the chance to wear the turkey head on your finger like a puppet. Ace, ace, ace and ace. Everybody likes wearing poultry heads on their fingers, don't they.

On a more serious note, if anyone is cooking a turkey, and wants "live" assistance, PM me. There's always loads of info on how to cook a turkey, different stuffings, etc on the net, but if you are a bit apprehensive, or its your first time or whatever, PM me in advance telling my when you are planning to cook it, and I'll try and be online at that time, so you can PM me in realtime for any help.

I don't often wear a poultry head on my finger, but when peeling whole shrimp, I do like to put all their heads on my fingers and set up a little can-can row.

WHAT??? Its the best holiday ever, you gorge on food all day, drinks loads of booze and watch football for 7 straight hours. I wish Thanksgiving was every week.

F%%k it I am headed to the Arc on Tday. I tell ya folks Hazza is an american in disguise. He makes a mean turkey.

And now we know why.

Seen today...

Edeka (next to the Schwanthalerhohe Ubahn stop) frozen Turkeys, found by frozen geese. 3.8kg for 12 euros.

Kaufhof Altstadt - Food Markt - Items scattered in store...
Canned pumpkin - by Canadian food.
White marshmallows - by candy and German marshmallows. To top a sweet potato casserole butterfly them with kitchen scissors.
Cranberries - fresh, in the refrigerator section.
Crispy dried onions - by sugar, etc.

MAKING Brown Sugar. From Wikipedia...
Brown sugar can be made at home by mixing white granulated sugar with molasses, using one tablespoon of molasses for every cup of white sugar (one-sixteenth or 6.25% of the total volume). Thorough blending will yield dark brown sugar; for light brown sugar, between one and two teaspoons of molasses per cup should be used instead. Add them to recipes separately, or premix the brown sugar--you should probably do this to figure out what proportions you prefer. *ask for Molesse at a Reformhaus type store*

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're going to the sushi place on Heimeranplatz for turkey day...turkey, raw fish...same thing, right?

It's all you can eat, so we'll be stuffed...more beer.

Well, if you HATE american football with a passion...

...and are not too fond of Turkey either (let's face it, foul is rather foul)...

The booze part is good, though...

If your looking for Turkeys and Yams Tengelmann has them..
Or atleast the bigger ones do..

Is this turning into a political thread?

Twas The Night Of Thanksgiving

'Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't sleep.
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned - the dark meat and white,
But I fought the temptation with all of my might.

Tossing and turning with anticipation,
The thought of a snack became infatuation.
So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door
And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,
'Til all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky,
With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.
But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees...
Happy eating to all, pass the cranberries, please.

May your stuffing be tasty, your turkey be plump.
Your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious, your pies take the prize.
May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs.

nice one mere.