The Thanksgiving Mega Thread

I've seen frozen ones at the large Tescos, Sainsbury's, and Morrisons. They take up a lot of space, though, so smaller branches may not have them yet.

Could also potentially order one from a local butcher. 

I stopped by the local butcher yesterday, £11.50 / kg. A 4kg turkey =£46 = $72. 

Hmmmm. I keep seeing references to cornbread in this thread. Where can I find cornmeal? Pumkins? Pecans and corn syrup?

At the end of the day, if I'm going to spend more time finding shops that sell ingredients (that I can afford) for traditional Thanksgiving dishes than I would making them, maybe in the spirit of the original one, I can make do with using the new and different  food of this  foreign land.

I can be Thankful I have my immediate family with me to celebrate our continued good fortune with some of the local natives. Yeah, that works! So, how will yorkshire puddin go with.......

I stopped by the local butcher yesterday, £11.50 / kg. A 4kg turkey =£46 = $72. 

Yes, but that's probably a lovely free-range one. You can get a cheaper one in the supermarket.

Where can I find cornmeal?

Look for polenta. My local health food place does sell it labelled as "cornmeal," but it's always easy to pick up polenta in any supermarket.

Pumkins?

They were in all the supermarkets and farm shops leading up to Halloween, but I'm not sure if they're still there. You can find Libby's tinned pumpkin online through various food importing sites (give it a Google), but be prepared to pay.

Pecans

Any supermarket.

corn syrup?

Substitute golden syrup.

Substitute golden syrup.

Thanks for this. I'm put off from recipes that call for corn syrup, but I can find Lyle's Golden Syrup here, so I'll substitute it.

Looks like Thanksgiving is off at our house this year 

DS has agreed to help set up the new store at South Shore Plaza all this week and probably next. Means an hour's drive each way (at least) and he has to be there at 8:00 AM this Friday, Saturday and Sunday!!    So not only do I not have a vehicle for the dump run but Stop and Shop is a little too far to lug back potatoes, squash, a turkey (I had been thinking a breast for just the two of us) plus all the other stuff we'd need anyway.  Whole Foods is closer but don't want to pay big time for organic potatoes.

My cousin has always had her two sibling's families and my aunt for holiday meals and usually invites us too -- but she's not doing that this year.  The restaurant we went to for 2 years running has closed down since last year. I suppose we could do Chinese ... Oh well, at least I'll get a (free) pie from work so we can eat that 

They were in all the supermarkets and farm shops leading up to Halloween, but I'm not sure if they're still there. You can find Libby's tinned pumpkin online through various food importing sites (give it a Google), but be prepared to pay.

Waitrose, if theres one near by, carry it. £1.39 a can.
If theyre out of stock, to the importers you go.

I've never in my life cooked Thanksgiving dinner but, under duress (i.e., my husband's very greedy), I'm doing it this year. There will be 5 people, so not a huge thing. I'm doing the standard turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato, cornbread stuffing, GBC, cranberry, etc. I really want to make a corn casserole, but haven't ever done that so I don't know what's a good recipe. I did a quick Google and all the recipes I saw seemed to include Jiffy corn muffin mix as an ingredient. Um ... no thank you. I think I have something lighter and fluffier in mind. My stepmother made it once and it was nearly souffle-like, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, since I'm too lazy to go through 50+ pages of this thread, can someone help me out please!

My BFF makes a nice corn casserole, I have the recipe at home. It's a Southern style one with sugar and cinnamon in it, so not sure if it's what you are looking for, but it isn't souffle like or cornbread like.

My BFF makes a nice corn casserole, I have the recipe at home. It's a Southern style one with sugar and cinnamon in it, so not sure if it's what you are looking for, but it isn't souffle like or cornbread like.

Thanks, Jewlz, but I think I'd like something a bit more savory. Sorry!

I wonder if it would be acceptable to keep my daughter out of school for Thanksgiving Day?

I wonder if it would be acceptable to keep my daughter out of school for Thanksgiving Day?

I asked for it as a extra bank holiday and was told a resounding NO!

I wonder if it would be acceptable to keep my daughter out of school for Thanksgiving Day?

Couldn't she be "sick"?  When I was a kid one of the mothers sent a note in with her son saying he'd had a bad case of "circus-itis" 

I'd let her be sick, too. That is probably easier than being told 'no' over an American holiday, and then have the hassle and fuss when you keep her home anyway. 

I suppose one of the rare joys of not having a job is not having to explain why I want that day off or have to beg for it. I intend to spend the day putting the tree up, because we are going to a carvery in the evening. I'll make a big meal, as I think I remember mentioning up the thread somewhere, on a different day.

I wonder if it would be acceptable to keep my daughter out of school for Thanksgiving Day?

Mu husband would take the day off work! 

I'm going to be hosting a 'merican Thanksgiving -- on Saturday this year -- for seven of us. It's the first time I've done it, and am sad to see that I can't find Bell's poultry seasoning here. I found a copycat recipe (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/344624#3982028), but wondered if any of you have found an equivalent product here?

There's something about its 1800s-esque packaging that makes my Turkey Day!

And Ocado has all sorts of turkeys and 'merican foods! (It's where I got most of the 'treat' foods...like Libby's, Stove Top, French's fried onions...yum...)

I know there are about 20,000 threads on buttermilk biscuits so sorry for being a bit lazy on this. However, I've never made them and I want them for Thanksgiving, but I just have no idea where to start. Can someone either post a recipe or direct me to a thread/website that they have found useful?? The simpler the recipe, the better! Thanks! 

Was invited along to a friend's church's Thanksgiving meal.  One of the big guys in their church is an American dude and apparently he always has a Thanksgiving. They potluck it, etc.
Whilst I'm not into their church thing (mega-church, born again Christians, cool for them, just not for me!!!) - they are indeed lovely, nice people (having been to my friend's son's blessing I met several of them) and it's nice to be invited along to the most American of holidays!  

It's on Thanksgiving Day though and I am so busy this month -I'm busy working all day and then I have something, planned for a while, to do that evening, and I can't afford to even make a big sharing dish of something until payday (which is T-day itself). So I had to respectfully decline.  

Not even entirely sure if I will even make myself a T-day meal, I may wait until my Christmas night out to get my turkey and all the trimmings fix! Pumpkin, on the other hand, will find its way into my week, I'm sure. I've got a nice sugar one at home waiting for a roasting