At least I think that it is Thanksgiving for you in the USA - forgive me if I am wrong.
Have a wonderful time with friends and family.

Thank you LizF - yes it is Thanksgiving, and I should be in the kitchen... but the "bird" can wait!

Thank you!

Thank you, Liz!

The ham, sweet potatoes, and cornbread/sausage/pecan dressing are baking, the Riesling is chilling, and most important, my family is happy and healthy.

There's so much to be thankful for!

Lee Ann

I second lizF's Thanksgiving wishes!

Even though most of us do not celebrate it in Oz, lots of relatives and friends in the US do!

It's a nice thought, to be thankful for all the wonderful experiences many of us have enjoyed!

All the best!

Elendilpickle had me salivating until she mentioned Reisling, which I don't care for. Now if that had been sparkling Red Burgandy or Shiraz I would have hopped a plane and arrived for dinner!
Have a great one!

Or Pinot Noir. I nearly posted and said "skip the riesling" but thought it may sound rude! Anyway, riesling is nice with turkey, but pinot noir or a nice fruity chardonnay is better, imho.

Aren't we the lucky ones, with our choice of wines, lizF? 'Appy days!

Sounds like I have some 'splaining to do...

Normally we have turkey for Thanksgiving. However, our church has its annual business meeting in November, and for some reason we have a turkey dinner before the meeting. Dh decided he was turkeyed out this year and asked for ham.

When I went online to figure out what wine would go well with ham, the site I visited recommended Riesling or Gewurtztraminer, so I picked Riesling.

If we'd done turkey, I think I would have tried a Pinot Noir, but the Riesling went great with everything I served, so I'm happy.

Lee Ann

I am not the person who should say anything about anyone's choice of wine seeing that all I ever drink has to be fizzy -be it white or red. Would not know one wine from another so as long as its cold & fizzy I am happy.

I'm not a wine snob, (YES I AM) however turkey & duck seem to taste fabulous with a glass of chilled pinot noir, especially on 40 degree C Christmas Days like we have here in the Hunter Valley. "Appy days!

Although it is two days later that I read this thread LizF, thank you so much for your lovely thought.

Thanksgiving is our time to give thanks for all our blessings and to enjoy family members (well sometimes they bicker with each other but that usually is ignored). But seriously, it is in a lot of Americans opinions the best holiday of all. No gifts, no religion conflicts, just our day to give thanks for all our blessings.

And on that note I wish to give a big thank you to you Australians who IMHO are a country of grand people.

Do y'all think Liz planned her trip time so she could have turkey left overs this week?

A/D

Hi All,

We spent Thanksgiving week in Florida with temperatures around 85F. Now back in cold Toronto with temps not much above freezing this morning, cold, windy, dark, damp and gloomy.

Friends who now live in Florida told us when they heard about turkeys(ies?) being cooked in deep fat they practically gagged. The proof was in the pudding because when they tasted it, it was pure heaven.

Anyone want to let me know how this is done? Is this just Flordia? Here in Canada we oven roast our birds.

Anyway, belated good wishes for a happy Thanksgiving passed, and hope you all avoided the shopping crush the day after.

Michi, apparently turkey frying is a Southern thing, but it's catching on around the country.

You need a turkey fryer - basically a free-standing burner thing with a really big pot. A bunch of peanut oil is heated in the pot, and then the turkey is carefully lowered into the pot. Apparently they don't take long to cook, and the result is a very moist, delicious bird.

I prefer to roast my turkey so I have those wonderful drippings to use for gravy and to squirt on the dressing.

A/D, you may have a point - at least Liz won't be sick of leftovers, like most of us get after Thanksgiving!

Michi, dh and I actually hit one of those 6:00 a.m. sales - the first time in 22 years of marriage! We got the cordless phone we wanted, and he got a raincheck for something for me. Then we went out for breakfast burritos and visited a coffeehouse to read the paper and relax before he had to go to work. It was actually pretty fun!

Lee Ann

Lee Ann

In these days of cholestrol consciousness I was interested you squirt the drippings on the dressing (stuffing) because I do that when no one is looking in case it worries some guests.

I think that puts the finishing touch to the dressing and gives it a wonderful flavour nothing else can match. And oh, the gravy!

It's about 33C (90F) in Canberra today ... not exactly turkey weather. Of course, that won't stop a lot of people roasting one on Christmas day.

Thanks Liz! We had a wonderful time. It was my very first Thanksgiving with my mother (long story) and we had a delightful time.

Michi - we had two turkeys - one done the "traditional" way in the oven and a smaller one that we deep fried. The deep fried one weighed about 12 lbs (5 1/2 kg.) We have a big pot that we put about 3 gallons (11 liters) of peanut oil in and heat it up to about 350 F (175 C.) You then slowly lower the turkey into the oil and cook for about 3 minutes per pound. The bird comes out golden brown on the outside and juicy on the inside! We injected the turkey with beer the night before to let it marinate from the inside out and that made it even more flavorful!

John in Miami

TG is my favorite holiday, too, though I"m a vegetarian. I LOVE all the side dishes and the generous feelings all around. Much better than Christmas for me.

The first white settlers in Australia were in no mood to thank God for their predicament, quite the opposite, so we have no equivalent to Thanksgiving.

John, it's good to see another health food enthusiast at work. But what do you do with all that oil after the turkey's been cooked? Buy another turkey?

JohninMiami

Our Christmas bird is usually around 23 lbs. Where do you get a pot big enough and on what do you cook it: the stove? the barbeque? or does it come with a cooking element?

Is it possible to stuff (dressing) the bird?
Do you cook it outside?
We live in a condo so I guess we'll have to buy a house!

Thanks. I'm interested and could cook it at my daughter's home where we will have Christmas dinner.

Yes, what do you do with all that peanut oil?