I note one big difference - the American menus seem not to feature gravy. Its a must here!
Thanksgiving Meal 2020
- Thread starter TastyReuben
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I note one big difference - the American menus seem not to feature gravy. Its a must here!
Gravy made from the turkey drippings is pretty much a given. We may not mention it in a cooking forum post, but it will pretty much always be on the table.
CD
I would say, similar in scope, yes, meaning it's a "big meal with family round the table," but different in that it isn't the same meal. Turkey is very traditional for Thanksgiving, and Christmas will usually feature a different meat. I always make a standing rib roast at Christmas, for example.
What caseydog said. There will be gravy. I didn't mention it in the same way that I didn't mention the butter that'll be out.
Burt Blank
Legendary Member
I would say, similar in scope, yes, meaning it's a "big meal with family round the table," but different in that it isn't the same meal. Turkey is very traditional for Thanksgiving, and Christmas will usually feature a different meat. I always make a standing rib roast at Christmas, for example.
What caseydog said. There will be gravy. I didn't mention it in the same way that I didn't mention the butter that'll be out.
I can attest to that. In fact it was the first place I ever saw a person use their spoon to create a well in the mash and fill it with gravy.
When we were kids having lunch in the school cafeteria, it was always staffed by big hairy moley women, with old-fashioned names like Madge and Doris.
Madge would serve up mashed potatoes with a big ice cream scoop, and then slide the tray down to Doris, who'd fill a ladle with creamed turkey, or chopped roast beef in gravy, then press the bottom of the full ladle into the scoop of mash, creating a large well, finally tipping the ladle on the way up and out of the potatoes, resulting in a lovely pool of gravy and meat inside a bowl of mash.
That kind of dish, you have to have mashed potatoes that have been made with very little milk/cream, because they have to stand up to the gravy. Those extra-creamy French-style mashed potatoes disintegrate almost immediately in that situation.
OT (an intermediate comment, sorry). We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here but we have a pretty similar reindeer dish ("poronkäristys" = sautéd reindeer) in terms of potato mash:
Photo source
Photo source
Burt Blank
Legendary Member
Bloody luxury, we had small bald women with goiters,who stood around a cauldron of gruel . Every third child would be struck with their ladles, then up ended and dunked in the pot to add body to the broth.
Had no effect on me, I turned out all right.
My blessing to you.
The Archbishop of Canterbury.
Burt Blank
Legendary Member
I bet Rudolph give your chimney a wide birth on Christmas night. Mummy what are we putting next to the fireplace for Santa? Poronkäristys darling and I've rigged a claymore mine up on the roof so we don't run out of meat.
mjd
Veteran
Can you make your cornbread stuffing and smuggle it in? ;-0
mjd
Veteran
Do you have a photo of everything? I LOL'd the other day when you responded to the thread about utensils because you had some food in chopsticks with your laptop open (I could see my response on the screen). I hope you don't take offense to the question. I find it amazing that you have so many photos and know where to grab them for your posts. ;-0
P.S. Food looks delicious!
epicuric
Legendary Member
I have just remembered that I bought this tool a few years ago, specifically to inject butter into the Christmas turkey:
My dad used to use one of those when curing hams.
mjd
Veteran
That's interesting. Are those dill pickles? I've never seen pickles served with meat and potatoes except as an ingredient (for example, as in potato salad alongside BBQ). It looks delicious (I am going to gain a million pounds hanging out here ;-).
Rouladen, thin rolled-up pieces of beef, is frequently stuffed with a pickle mixture. It's fantastic.
mjd
Veteran
You just contributed to my "learn something new every day" personal quest. Thanks!