661476 Thu Oct 22 10:33:00 -0700 2009 22 49 France 0 5122771 My wife and I will be in Paris with our 8 and 11 yr old sons. Would like to have a special Thanksgiving meal. The boys are (somewhat) used to being dragged through grand meals (or left in the hotel room) but this is a different thing -- we want a family event. Doesn't have to be traditional American Thanksgiving food (at all) but should be a memorable family meal. Any thoughts? Thu Oct 22 10:33:00 -0700 2009 1118311 darwined 1 5122829 Since Thanksgiving is not at all a French holiday, I doubt you will find anything resembling a traditional American turkey dinner in Paris. The French dinde is quite a different bird, even if you wanted to cook your own holiday meal. I have friends who rented an apartment in Paris over Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, thinking they would cook "American in Paris," but ended up instead opting for rack of lamb over turkey! Thu Oct 22 10:50:44 -0700 2009 5122771 52499 ChefJune 2 5137974 Chef June and others: I am interested in ChefJune's comment " The French dinde is quite a different bird, even if you wanted to cook your own holiday meal." I plan to cook a dinde this Thanksgiving in Provence. Any tips? Merci Wed Oct 28 12:44:23 -0700 2009 5122829 240633 sderham 3 5138015 "Chef June and others: I am interested in ChefJune's comment " The French dinde is quite a different bird, even if you wanted to cook your own holiday meal." I plan to cook a dinde this Thanksgiving in Provence. Any tips?" I have no idea; for years I've either had my rotisserie guy do one (he does 30+ a T-giving so somebody in the deepest 18th celebrates) or last year a bunch of us did it ourselves - Felice made sweet potatoes, Ptipois the veggies and Soup carved; doing an excellent job I must say. Turkey=turkey. It is what it is, company outweighs the bird. Wed Oct 28 12:59:10 -0700 2009 5137974 1088206 John Talbott 3 5138112 The French version of turkey is a very lean bird, not at all the plump bird most Americans are accustomed to. This means it needs to be barded or otherwise fortified with fat in order not to turn out very dry by the time it is cooked through. Wed Oct 28 13:23:38 -0700 2009 5137974 52499 ChefJune 4 5157623 If you can get ahold of a turkey bag (have someone mail it to you from the States). It makes the turkey nice and tender without having to fortify it with fat (only butter it). You can get a 10kilo turkey if you have a good butcher and order in advance. :) If your butcher can't do it go to the butcher 79 r Seine 75006 PARIS 01 55 42 65 65. Thu Nov 05 06:27:17 -0800 2009 5138112 1121920 plastersofparis 3 5138181 I'm not familiar with the French bird, but I find brining turkey is a great way to keep the meat moist and not dried out. It was very trendy a few years ago but it really makes a huge difference. Wed Oct 28 13:40:58 -0700 2009 5137974 239755 kfoster21 4 5139509 French turkey are smaller and tastier than their American counterparts (just like chicks...). It means that it is important to cook them well, and essentially on its legs rather than on its back. I'm preparing a blog post on that complicated matter, stay tuned. It's also important to order your bird from your butcher in advance. They're not frozen in here and they're not traditional. Thu Oct 29 01:57:12 -0700 2009 5138181 96547 souphie 5 5139526 souphie, I'm really looking forward to your post. I don't want to dissappoint my French friends for their first Thanksgiving dinner : - ) Thu Oct 29 02:41:04 -0700 2009 5139509 240633 sderham 6 5140635 Well, here's the French in case that works for you : http://www.julotlespinceaux.com/2009/05/pour-en-finir-avec-le-poulet-roti-et.html I'll have the French translation the week before Thanksgiving. Thu Oct 29 11:20:04 -0700 2009 5139526 96547 souphie 7 5157719 My French friends have always liked our thanxgiving turkey, esp the stuffing, esp the mashed celery root with massive butter. But they think cranberry sauce is too much of a perversion to handle. Thu Nov 05 06:56:25 -0800 2009 5140635 1106797 Parigi 8 5158303 To say the least. Thu Nov 05 10:14:46 -0800 2009 5157719 96547 souphie 8 5159038 Mine of maghrébine or alsacienne origin tend to like cranberry sauce, as do the germanophiles. Thu Nov 05 13:49:41 -0800 2009 5157719 177724 tmso 9 5159118 Hmm, was just considering replacing the cranberry sauce with confits d'oignons. Or am I just compounding the perversion? Thu Nov 05 14:21:44 -0800 2009 5159038 1106797 Parigi 9 5161084 Yeah -- you won't get me all tolerant and understanding and cultural diversity about that. It's just bad -- a bad habit. Confit d'oignons, on the other hand... Fri Nov 06 09:55:59 -0800 2009 5159038 96547 souphie 10 5164629 Nah, I wasn't trying to get anyone feeling all multiculti and tolerant. I was trying to allude to the fact that when done well, cranberry sauce closely resembles the different berry sauces that are often served with game in germanic countries. If one likes those, one would probably like the type of cranberry sauce that I think of as good. If it's from a can, it's crap. Confit d'oignons sounds like a great compromise, though. Sun Nov 08 04:25:32 -0800 2009 5161084 177724 tmso 11 5164651 You're probably right -- I don't think I ever had non crap cranberry sauce, and when I had them, it was only good because the turkey was so bad and dry. Sun Nov 08 04:53:24 -0800 2009 5164629 96547 souphie 3 5150541 The French often serve Dinde, or Turkey for Christmas. It can be quite good, but beware! The stuffing, or farce, is quite vile.. very hard, gamey, pork liver, not the delicious bread stuffing we love. Mon Nov 02 16:37:16 -0800 2009 5137974 10838 Fleur 4 5157659 You can buy Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix at Thanksgiving, a little shop around the corner from me on the rue St. Paul in the Marais (4ème). Thu Nov 05 06:40:00 -0800 2009 5150541 110779 RandyB 1 5122831 Having recently hosted our 2 10-yo's, I think the hit was Le Soufflee but if you need a bird or two how about Au Petit Marguery? Both would be memorable but not "grand." If you want "grand" then the places in the Bois de Boulogne would do. John Talbott http://johntalbottsparis.typepad.com/john_talbotts_paris/ Thu Oct 22 10:50:59 -0700 2009 5122771 1088206 John Talbott 2 5122977 Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely did not mean to suggest American Thanksgiving food was desirable or even poultry per se. Thinking more of best possible food in an environment less formal (and drawn out, time-wise) than the usual suspects with some "specialness" maybe to the ambience or location. Le Souffle sounds fun. Other thoughts welcome! Thu Oct 22 11:35:15 -0700 2009 5122831 1118311 darwined 1 5137342 Hello, You can find a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner in Paris. Check out www.bistrotsaint-martin.com. It is located near Canal St-Martin so nice for a walk after that large dinner. Wed Oct 28 09:41:05 -0700 2009 5122771 1119854 medonlan 1 5160717 If you actually want real thanksgiving food you can go to the Real McCoy in Paris and do any of the following: -eat at the cafe- I am pretty sure that they make a thanksgiving meal (very casual) not a "nice meal out" by any means, but it gets the job done -go to the real mccoy grocery store and make your own. It is expensive, but they carry all of the american brands and necessities for thanksgiving -I am pretty sure that you can have them cater a thanksgiving dinner. I am almost positive that they make turkeys and sides for pick up on thanksgiving. I would call and inquire. http://www.angloinfo.com/showcase/realmccoy/default.asp Fri Nov 06 07:56:27 -0800 2009 5122771 1122215 cgraham