Well, I could write all about how not to start or finish a week, but who wants to hear about meetings and decisions about feline euthanasia....
Instead, I'll discuss turkey butchering.
Thanksgiving just isn't turkey season in France. It comes one month too early for the Christmas turkeys and probably at least 10 pounds too little. The first Thanksgiving dinner I ever made was with a capon since turkeys just weren't available. My second, I used turkey breast. Then 3 years ago, I bit the bullet and called local farms. We ended up buying a premature Christmas turkey - poor thing never got to spend his last month eating milk - but it was the best turkey we've ever had, or so says my mother. I hasten to say that the turkey you get with your Shoprite points isn't exactly free-range or grain and milk fed.
So last week, when I finally set a date for Thanksgiving dinner, I started calling around for turkeys. Since my chicken butcher is no longer (and he couldn't get me turkey anyway!), I called the farm again. I also asked our local butcher if they could get one. I had a preference for the first option, since our local butcher also happens to be extremely expensive and no matter how important it is to have turkey at Thanksgiving, I refuse to use my US shopping money on such a fugly bird.
After a lot of persistence and a sob story about needing to celebrate with my daughter, we are driving to the farm on Friday to see how ugly turkeys are and why they deserve to be slaughtered. They will be special slaughtering Tom and Tom 2 - yes, I need two 4-kilo birds since French turkeys are not bred to be top heavy or obese like their American cousins - since their regularly scheduled slaughter is after Thanksgiving. Such carnage for my Thanksgiving day meal makes me wonder if I should become a vegetarian again or maybe buy my turkeys in Belgium next year where they are readily available.
Good thing I have corn bread mix, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, and a couple cans of Libby's pumpkin so no more blood will be shed. Next on the list : fresh cranberries which were easily available a couple years ago but seem to have disapeared from the French market this year...And I thought the election of Obama would make Americanization cool...
Monday, 17 November 2008
How Thanksgiving turkey comes to France
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5 comments:
Some friends and I are also trying to plan T-giving and we're wondering if we're just going to forego the turkey and get a chicken like we have for the past two years. I'm just glad to not be hosting for once, the preparation and clean-up are not the funnest! I wanted to ask where you've looked for the cranberries? Oh nevermind, I just looked and you said fresh not frozen! The market would have been my best guess, maybe try some grandes surfaces as well just to be sure, I do remember hearing a tale of a Thanksgiving miracle in the form of fresh cranberries at a Carrefour if I do remember it correctly...Bon courage for the turkey, cranberries and hosting!!
There will be turkey at the American do in Marq-en-Barouel the 30th. Do you have the details?
We just do gigot d'agneau on thanksgiving - we did that in the states, too, by the way. American turkeys are not very good (imho) and it saves a lot of trouble when in France. It's been our tradition for more than 20 years now.
I now associate T-day with Lamb.
French turkeys, as you hinted, can be very good, but are only available (fresh) close to Noël. So, we eat seasonally!
I agree that fresh cranberries are a great treat when you can find them. They seem to be more available in Normandy, Paris, and the north where you are than anywhere else in France. I wonder why that is?
OH, OH, OH, I vote roast a goose. Trop Bon. And it will leave you enough goose fat to fry up lots of stuff all next year. Ok, so it takes a week to clean the oven afterwards, but it is worth it. Trust me. I'm very trustworthy. Really I am. Honestly. I mean it.
Bon Courage Leon. Bon Courage à Tous.
Leah,I did find cranberries for 3€ for about a pint at the expensive green grocer. But I can splurge once a year. Suzanne was a little surprised by how acidic/amonia-tasting they were. I think she's too used to craisins.
Anonymous, I went to the American club T-day bash a couple years ago, but it didn't do it for me...call me a control freak, but I like doing it my way.
Lamb or goose, those are good options for another year. I wouldn't know the first thing to do with goose fat though!
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