So this year he decided to make some kind of epic Thanksgiving feast. It’s not an Australian holiday so I really only know what I see on the US tv shows here but I think he did a pretty good job!
He made slightly burnt crispy pumpkin, scones (which apparently are called biscuits in the US and are eaten with savory meals?!), roast chicken, chicken nuggets, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potato and baked asparagus.
I know you’re supposed to have turkey on Thanksgiving but it’s so expensive here (like $60 for a bird) so we opted for the much cheaper pre-prepared Woolworths chicken for $9. We did have turkey but more on that later!
Does anyone know why scones are called biscuits in the US? I have the feeling there would be some awesomely epic misunderstandings if I visited and asked for a biscuit and was presented with a scone instead of a cookie XD I’m confused just thinking about it. Also the idea of eating scones with savory food squicks me out, scones should be served only with jam, cream, butter and a good cup of tea :D
My delicious dinner:
Of course I couldn’t resist trying a nugget in a biscuit while dipping it all in mashed potato, I did skip the barbecue sauce though ;) A slice of dessert if you get the reference haha! It really tasted horrible XD
I stuck mostly to the mashed potatoes and asparagus, so yummy!
Now dessert which is all I really care about hahaha! James making his dessert:
And its…………………. TURKEY BALLS!
Basically they are chocolate truffle balls with tails and a chocolate peanut for a head! Zomg so delicious!
We also had James’ version of my apple pie! Now that it’s coming into Summer I want to marathon Pushing Daisies again and bake a lot of pies… this can only end well right?
So yay for Thanksgiving! If you live in the US what do you guys do for it? Any special American foods I should try next year? We had pumpkin pie last year and it was so very not for me but I loved trying it anyway! If you celebrated I hope you had an awesome time!! |
happy thanks giving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes, Violet!
James has made a pretty good Thanksgiving meal, in my opinion!
I forget that turkey is mainly found here in the U.S. I can see why you went with chicken instead.
The scone issue: Here they are biscuits, yes. Or cornbread. Biscuits are usually made out of flour, baking powder, salt, butter, egg and milk. Something like that. Scones are similar but are usually a lot more dense, and maybe made with cream, so they are a lot richer. Definitely good with jam. A very British thing, in my opinion, great with tea accordingly.
Biscuits are usually light and fluffy, and people eat them a lot for breakfast, maybe with sausage. Oh, and cornbread is basically made with cornmeal or ground up corn.
For our Thanksgiving, we bought the whole meal from a restaurant. (It cost us around $75.) We had a smoked turkey, herbed corn (corn off the cob with way too much butter and some sort of savory herb), stuffing (which I’ll get to in a moment), black beans and white rice with salsa, and pumpkin pie. I am allergic to gluten, so I brought a gluten-free apple pie with me. Oh, and cranberry sauce. My family doesn’t usually have beans and rice for thanksgiving, but this was a nice change of pace.
When my Dad cooks, he usually also makes squash, green beans, mashed potatoes, and some sort of salad to start.
Often, this is similar to what we have for Christmas, too.
Do you have stuffing? Here, it’s basically bread cubes (or corn bread can be used, too), lots of herbs, onion, celery, and garlic mixed together and then baked. Some people bake it stuffed into the turkey.
Different parts of the States have different specialties, too, so it can vary.
I’ve been a lurker here for a while, and was surprised to learn James had lived here in the U.S. I couldn’t resist jumping in with a comment about Thanksgiving food. :)
Wow thanks for such an awesome comment Cori! James made cornbread last year it’s one of his favorites too :D I think scones in the US are different to Aus/British scones too ebcause here they aren’t made with cream and are very light like your biscuits XD Very confusing haha! Wow I wish we could have bought ours from a store too, that sounds like so much less stress! Yep the roast chicken we buy comes with stuffing too but not very much because chickens are pretty small. I kind of want to tour around the US and try all of the different states speciality :D Thanks so much for reading and leaving a comment!
Chicken nuggets? I understand the chicken. I had Thanksgiving with my brother and we did a chicken, too. It was still yummy, especially since he made it. The other things we have frequently are green bean casserole http://www.frenchs.com/recipe/frenchs-green-bean-casserole-RE1511 and sweet potato casserole (I can’t find my recipe online, but I will email it to you if you like.)
Biscuits became popular in the US during the expansion west in the 1800′s. Pioneers didn’t have time to make yeast rolls while on the trail so they made biscuits, which rely on baking powder for leavening and cook much quicker. After they settled down it was much easier to cook up biscuits than wait on yeast rolls because they were so busy. You see, America’s addiction to fast food started early.
I’ve never heard of green bean casserole I’ve only ever had steamed/buttered green beans, that recipe sounds so yummy though so I’m going to try it thank you! Haha historical fast food=win!
Yey for Giving Thanks! I made mashed potatoes, dressing (which is stuffing without having been stuffed in a tukey), green bean cassarole, fresh yeast rolls and we had a pre-cooked turkey breast since it’s just the two of us. Next year you guys should try the green bean cassarole!
Biscuits are savory and shouldn’t be sweet, they are flaky and light. Scones are dense and slightly sweet for piling on fresh cream. Adding that to my list of recipes to send to you guys!
Actually when my sister was little she had to have her tonsils out while my family was in Germany. She had to stay in a British hospital and she got really really sad because she didn’t know any of the slang. She didn’t understand that cookies were bisquits and squash was soda so she would turn them down and then all the other kids would get cool stuff that she really wanted. Eventually they had to explain to the staff that she was an AMERICAN and eventually my dad made it all right by bringing a big case of soda and cookies for all the kids to share.
Stuffing without being stuffed? Does it still taste ok? I always thought stuffing got half it’s flavour from being in the bird XD Clearly I’m not a cook! I think even US scones are different to ours, ours are definitely not heavy at all, they’re supposed to be light and fluffy. Omg your poor sister, that sounds hilariously terrible!
OMG!! $60 for a turkey!! I would have went after the chicken too! I don’t know why biscuits are called scones…maybe American’s are weird? LOL!
XD Cross cultural confusion!
My family is greek so we don’t skimp on the food…
and we celebrate Thankgiving about mid- October ( so does the rest of Canada)
Our main course is usually either a turkey (which in Canada we can feed 6 people for a $20 turkey!!!) or chicken (about $5). Last year we had roast beef (?), I’m actually not sure why…
We have green beans with olive oil and other secret spices ^__^
And of course cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, domades (rice in spinach-like rolls, k, it looks gross but it tastes good!) and for dessert we also have pumpkin pie <3 hmmmmm…gravy!
In Canada we call biscuits, biscuits and scones, scones. If I want a cookie, I ask for a biscuit/cookie and I get a cookie!
P.s. I would only eat scones with spread or tea too! :)
That sounds delicious! I can’t believe how cheap food is over there *_* My Dad’s side has greek roots too but I’ve still never tried domades because they look so gross XD
Hmmmmm, now I’m hungry :P. Good call! I asked my dad after you posted and apparently Melbourne is like the second biggest Greek place in the world!?! *_* I was shocked :D
Oh really? I know there’s a decent Greek population here but I didn’t think it was bigger than anywhere else in Aus XD
I am American and my husband made Thanksgiving dinner this year, while I sewed all day. I have a client whom I’m making Christmas outfits for her grandchildren.
We had a small turkey, stuffing made with gluten-free bread (because two of our family of four are gluten-intolerant), gravy made with rice flour, cranberry sauce, green beans, a salad, and sweet potato pudding. The sweet potato pudding has been a big hit at family gatherings, so I thought maybe you, Violet, would like to try it, as well as your readers. (Note: In America, a pudding is usually a thickened liquid dessert, like the consistency of lemon curd, not bread-like as in British puddings). We eat this as a side dish, not as a dessert. We had pumpkin pie as dessert.
SWEET POTATO PUDDING
3 Pounds sweet potatoes
1/4 Pound butter (1/2 cup)
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon orange juice
grated peel of 1/2 lemon (or lemon zest)
Boil sweet potatoes in water in a covered pot for 35 minutes or more – check the center of each one to make sure they are thoroughly cooked. Peel skins when they are cool enough to handle.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit (177 degrees Celcius). Cut peeled sweet potatoes roughly into slices and put into bowl of mixer. Whip at low speed, gradually increasing to high speed until very smooth. Mix in butter, eggs, and then all other ingredients until mixture is fluffy. Pour into a 9×13 inch baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.
That sounds like a lovely day! I’ve never heard of sweet potato pudding, it sounds really interesting! Here pudding is like the English cake style but I think your pudding is like those snakpack thingies. I’m going to pass the recipe to James and see if he’ll make it :D Thanks for the recipe Mary!
We had turkey,green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes,cranberry jelly, crescent rolls, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie. It was super super yummy because of the apples and onions in the giblet gravy stock. <3
On my facebook page I have last year's thanksgiving photos. This year was mostly the same kind of food, but I didn't make as much variety.
I’m going to go have a look at your photos! We didn’t do as much this year either, I think it’s been a really long year so everyone just wants to relax with no fuss!
Happy Thanksgiving, Violet!
I’m American, and this year we had turkey (I’m vegetarian so I had two of the Quorn “Naked chicken cutlets”), mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing (also called dressing although I have never called it that), green been casserole, mashed sweet potato and marshmallow casserole, deviled eggs, and rolls; for dessert we had pumpkin pie and a pumpkin cake that we found a recipe for–it was delicious!
As for biscuits, I usually think of them as being a bit fluffier and less sweet than scones, and they almost never have any sort of fruit or anything in them. I also think of biscuits as more of a breakfast food with butter and jam and tea or coffee, but they’re good with (white) gravy, and usually with sausage, too. I know the McDonalds around here have a lot of sandwich-like biscuits at breakfast with things like sausage, egg, and cheese in the middle. I guess they don’t in other places like the UK and Australia then? I’d never really thought about it…anyways, they can be eaten with stereotypical “southern” food too (like chicken with biscuits and gravy), but I usually don’t.
Mmmmm, yay for Thanksgiving! :D
Happy Thanksgiving! That all sounds delicious, what is marshmallow casserole?? I’ve had marshmallows on sweet potatoes but it still weirds me out that people eat it on savory food XD There are biscuit sandwiches at McDonalds? We have English muffin style sandwiches for breakfast here at McDonalds. So weird that there are different things depending on country!
Oh sorry, I meant mashed sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on it, like this http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-casserole-ii-2/, but with not nearly as many marshmallows. =P It’s sweet, but still relatively healthy. I bet it would be especially good and healthy for regular meals if you used less/no marshmallows and Splenda/other sugar substitute for brown sugar instead of real sugar (if you’re trying to watch your sugar and whatnot! ^_^)
Yeah, at the McDonalds around here, they have sandwiches on biscuits and english muffins. And bagels! It’s so weird that they have such different things in other, relatively similar, countries (compared to an Asian or very European country where it would be less surprising) …I’ve never really thought about it too much until now. :3
Oh yes! We have had that sweet potato casserole thingy, well James’ Mum makes it :D I really like it!
Green bean casserole is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t know how easy to find the ingredients are in Australia, but here is the recipe http://www.campbellkitchen.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeId=24099
Scones aren’t very common in the U.S. but they exist and are not the same thing as biscuits, like other people said. Thanksgiving food is the best :D
I’ve never tried green bean casserole, thanks for the recipe!
I shall claim my slice of dessert for getting the nugget-in-a-biscuit reference, and I *don’t* thank you for getting the song stuck in my head XD Thanksgiving dinner looks yummy! Living here in NZ, I had never celebrated it until last year when I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner at my friend’s place (she’s from Texas). It was a fantastic spread!
Mwahahaha!! I’ve had Safety Torch stuck in my head all week XD I’m completely the same, I never even thought about Thanksgiving until James!
I didn’t even realise it was Thanksgiving! Someone told me the next day and I was like “OH, so THAT’S why my dad bought turkey yesturday!”
Hahaha I wouldn’t have known without James either XD
Haha…well biscuits and scones aren’t EXACTLY the same (at least not around here). They have scones that you can buy at starbucks and they are a lot different than normal biscuits. Biscuits are more salty and the scones you get at starbucks…well, they’re kinda dry and sweeter and need something added to them because of their dryness. Maybe they don’t make them right tho. lol
I guess my suggestion for next year would be stuffing! It’s not my favorite, but it’s pretty good, and most people love it. I’m just a weirdo. When you tried the pumpkin pie did you put some whipped cream on it? Cuz I don’t like it as much plain as I do with whipped cream. ^-^ And leftover turkey dipped in Miracle Whip (not mayo) is really awesome…oh, and there’s a green bean casserole kinda thingy you could try too…mmm…so much yummy food….haha
From the recipes I’ve looked at I think American scones are different to Aus/British scones too? So confusing XD I want to make you all Aus scones to try haha! Omg yes we had whipped cream on the pumpkin pie too and that was the only thing that made it edible XD I think I just hate it haha! Miracle Whip sounds interesting, is it like whipped cream? I’m going to go look it up!
Miracle Whip is kinda like mayo…but it’s tangier (I think that’s the right word for it lol) and healthier. I think it tastes TONS better than mayo. It also will last a lot longer and it doesn’t need to be refrigerated until it’s open. ^-^ But it’s yummy…haha I’m weird…
Aaah I see! I’ve been googling around and I totally need to see if the USA shop here carries it with your glowing review haha :D
Lol, not quite sure how James makes biscuits but as an Aussie living in the US I quite like them! I was a little confused at first and associated them with scones, but they really do have a different taste and texture. I love biscuits and gravy :) and sausage and egg on a biscuit for breakfast! We had a very traditional Thanksgiving meal, turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potato, green beans, cranberry sauce, biscuits -the whole works. I love it!
He used an American family recipe I think XD The were saltier than Aus scones and a bit more crumbly but I still wouldn’t eat them again haha! I love cranberry sauce too!