Tips for taking Thanksgiving on the road
If you are traveling overseas during Thanksgiving, perhaps on business or to spend time with far-flung family, prepare yourself: You may end up trying to cobble together a feast from unfamiliar ingredients in a strange kitchen in a country where the fourth Thursday of November is just another day.
How to make it easier:
Location
Be realistic. A feast in a European chateau may seem glamorous, but most are in rural areas and often offer only antiquated or minimal kitchens. That means finding and preparing Thanksgiving staples will be even more of a challenge. Think metropolitan.
Then, let your borrowed kitchen determine how many dishes you can reasonably prepare and serve. Overseas kitchens are typically smaller than their American counterparts. And rentals are unlikely to have a full array of utensils and cookware.
• If you plan to prepare Thanksgiving at your rental or in a friend or relative's kitchen, ask plenty of questions before you travel about size and equipment.
• Find out the oven dimensions. The first year cookbook author Dorie Greenspan owned her Paris apartment, she went looking for a large American-style roasting pan for her 12-pound turkey.
After a futile search, she realized that French cooking equipment is scaled smaller to fit the average 24-inch oven. Her creative solution: a rectangular Pyrex brownie pan that she already owned.
• Bring conversion charts (plenty are available online) for Fahrenheit to Celsius and metric to U.S. units. And if you're going to Great Britain, note that they use Gas Marks (not degrees) on some of their ovens.
Greenspan suggests tucking measuring cups and spoons in your suitcase along with a meat thermometer to make things easier.
Ingredients
This may not be easy. While a plump roasted turkey takes pride of place at most American Thanksgiving feasts, in Europe whole turkeys often are not sold until the Christmas season, and they are pricey.
• If you do find a turkey, it might not resemble the typical big-breasted American bird. Greenspan found an organic bird in Paris, but it "didn't look like any bird who ever pecked in America," she says. "It was flat-chested and long-legged and looked like a runway model. The cooking time was far shorter than what I figured for an American turkey, but it tasted deliciously like a real bird."
• Many luxury department stores cater to an American clientele. Berlin's KaDeWe sells fresh turkeys, turkey legs and frozen turkeys in their famed food halls. They also carry U.S. brands of stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, canned pumpkin and marshmallows. Even if prices are higher, you avoid disappointment and save both time and money by not chasing all over town.
• Call the local consulate. The staff lives locally and may where to find holiday products.
• Bring hard-to-find ingredients with you. But rather than risk having them confiscated, check the regulations for your destination to be sure you are allowed to bring such items into the country.
Go local
You'll enjoy yourself more if you don't try to replicate everything. Be adventurous and experiment with local ingredients.
Historically, Thanksgiving is a celebration of the season. Take time to discover what's seasonal where you are. Part of the pleasure of travel is experiencing the sounds and smells of the open-air markets and food shops.
• Use creative substitutions. When Sally Schneider, author of "The Improvisational Cook," couldn't find cranberries in Paris, she peeled and thinly sliced pears and cooked them in a sweet white wine with a vanilla bean.
• Earthy root vegetables make perfect holiday side dishes, suggests Greenspan. "The French love to puree roots like celeriac. They also love chestnuts, which are far more available than in America."
Corn and Shrimp Chowder
3 cups defrosted frozen or fresh corn kernels, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups fish stock or bottled clam broth
1 cup light cream or half-and-half
2 teaspoons sugar
½ medium green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
½ medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
¾ pound fresh or frozen medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut crosswise into ¾-inch pieces
½ cup chopped cilantro leaves, plus extra to garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place 2 cups of corn in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Set aside.
In a medium heavy saucepan, heat the butter or oil over medium-high. Add the onion and saute until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the pureed corn, fish stock, cream and sugar. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the remaining corn, bell peppers, shrimp, ½ cup cilantro, and salt and pepper. Gently simmer until the shrimp are just cooked through. Ladle into warmed bowls, garnish with the remaining cilantro leaves and serve.
Serves four to six.
Joann Pruess for the Associated Press
Fresh Cranberry Salsa
12 ounces (3 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries, washed
4-5 medium scallions, roughly chopped
3 cups loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 cups loosely packed fresh mint leaves
2-3 tablespoons seeded and chopped jalapeno peppers
½ tablespoon grated orange zest
½ cup honey
¼ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
2-3 drops hot sauce, or to taste
Place the cranberries in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer the cranberries to a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the food processor, combine the scallions, cilantro, mint, jalapenos and orange zest and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to the bowl with the cranberries and toss to mix.
In a small bowl, mix together the honey, orange and lime juices and the hot sauce. Pour the mixture over the salsa, toss to combine, then chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Serves 12.
Joann Pruess