The Thanksgiving Mega Thread

Not sure what kind of sausage meat you need, but I've done one of 2 things: some small independent butchers have sausage meat that isn't in links or whatever (it usually comes in a big tube-like shape) OR I just squeeze the sausage meat out of the links. I've done the first to make sausage and biscuits with gravy and the second for soups and such.

Yep, its simply called 'sausagemeat'. My MIL makes a little casserole dish of it at Xmas. Its not seen any other time in the year.

It is my understanding that you cant find all the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner in the UK is that right? I would like to make at least a small meal for me and my BF but did not think I could do it without hauling everything over. ( well maybe not the turkey!)

You can buy sausage meat in Iceland in the freezer section, they sell it all year round.

It is my understanding that you cant find all the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner in the UK is that right? I would like to make at least a small meal for me and my BF but did not think I could do it without hauling everything over. ( well maybe not the turkey!)

What are you looking for specifically?

Its not seen any other time in the year.

Well, the local butcher in our old village had it all the time!

It is my understanding that you cant find all the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner in the UK is that right? I would like to make at least a small meal for me and my BF but did not think I could do it without hauling everything over.

We have turkey, we have potatoes, we have just about any vegetable you want, we have cranberry sauce or cranberries if you want to make your own...  i cant imagine what your boyfriend is thinking.   

And you can get tinned pumpkin from Waitrose!

I forgot about the pumpkin, but you can buy pumpkins here too... as well as sometimes finding the tinned stuff.  I just ordered some tins of pumpkin from www.letseatdirect.com

I'm not much of a cook, and only started actually making dinners that weren't frozen meals in the last year since I've been married! I did make Thanksgiving dinner for my sweetie last year (it was the day he proposed!), but it was very basic. Which is fine by me.

I'd love to see more people list what they'll be making to give me ideas. I'm cooking this year, and told my husband he could invite a couple of friends (why did I do that? I can't cook!). Here is what I'm making, please share what you're having!

Turkey breast roast
Ham - (all I could find was ham in a tin -- is this what people would serve on Thanksgiving?)
cranberry sauce
stuffing
mashed potatoes
rolls (what are these called here? I couldn't find any at Tesco.com!)
salad
apple pie

Green beans might be better than salad, but I don't have any neat recipes for that. I could try a casserole, but where do you find those french fried onions?

but where do you find those french fried onions?

Near the salad dressing! 

Are the french fried onions called the same thing here? I don't often go into a grocery store to look near the salad dressing, and when I do it's a small, nearby store without loads of selection. We order online and thus need to know the local names of things we want  (we don't have a car and I've got knee problems that prevent me from going far enough to the big Tesco. I used my scooter once to get there, and it was a long path without a sidewalk part of the way, so I stick to online shopping!).

The largest brand is called Eazy Fried Onions or something like that.  Not all Tesco locations carry it, but I've found it fairly reliably at Sainsburys, I think.

The largest brand is called Eazy Fried Onions or something like that.  Not all Tesco locations carry it, but I've found it fairly reliably at Sainsburys, I think.

Thanks!

Ham - (all I could find was ham in a tin -- is this what people would serve on Thanksgiving?)

Dont serve tinned ham.. please!  It's slimy and watery and gross.  Look for gammon!

rolls (what are these called here? I couldn't find any at Tesco.com!)

 I suppose if you're looking at Tesco.com, you'd just go to the bakery section and search through the bread rolls until you find the type you're looking for.   

I think it's really good that you're moving away from frozen & ready meals, and taking some chances, learning to cook!  Well done!

Dont serve tinned ham.. please!  It's slimy and watery and gross.  Look for gammon!

Ah, that looks like what I need! I never heard of gammon before, and when I searched for ham all I got was the stuff in tins. Thanks!