Canadian Thanks Giving in Australia

September 27, 2009 4:12 PM

I'm in Australia. I have two friends from Canada with whom I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving. What special treats can I get them? One is from Vancouver and the other Quebec.
posted by dantodd to food & drink (15 comments total)

Tim-Tams
posted by netbros at 4:19 PM on September 27

Cranberry sauce
posted by bluefrog at 4:21 PM on September 27

Poutine; you might be able to get the cheese curds, but the chicken gravy mix might have to be approximated.
posted by scruss at 4:25 PM on September 27 [1 favorite]

Coming from Canada, they've probably already eaten a lot of Canadian food. Being in Australia, they might enjoy eating some Australian food. Instead of turkey with sweet potatoes, I would just make an enormous pie floater.
posted by turgid dahlia at 4:41 PM on September 27

2nding Tim-Tams!
posted by choochoo at 4:48 PM on September 27

I agree with Turgid Dahlia, serving them local dishes is a good idea. Beer is also a good idea, we canucks like beer. BTW<>Canadian Thanksgiving and not the American one, correct?
posted by Vindaloo at 4:51 PM on September 27

Pumpkin pie. Every Thanksgiving dinner must conclude with a nice slice of pumpkin pie. ;)
posted by Kippersoft at 5:23 PM on September 27 [3 favorites]

Canadians don't make as much of a fuss about Thanksgiving as Americans do. It's just a Monday off. Some people might have a slightly more ornate family dinner than usual but you don't often hear about Canadians flying cross-country for the occasion. So if your Canadian friends seem more blasé than you expect, don't take it personally, and don't overexert yourself.
posted by zadcat at 5:42 PM on September 27

Canadians enjoy Thanksgiving as much as any other holiday.
When I lived in Scotland we found lingonberry sauce (from Scandinavia) was a good substitute when cranberry sauce wasn't available. And Butter tarts always make Canadians feel at home.
posted by ofelia at 9:09 PM on September 27 [1 favorite]

I disagree with zadcat - I drive 12+ hours to have Thanksgiving with my grandparents. It is a Big Deal for some of us. As to what would make them feel at home? Pumpkin pie - absolutely (if they are fans, some people just can't stand it). Otherwise, roast poultry of some variety, gravy, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes are the basics. In-season produce rounds things off. You don't have to make a big deal out of it, though, a simple roast chicken is close enough.
posted by arcticwoman at 9:11 PM on September 27

As a Canadian who simply LOVES Thanksgiving dinners, I wholeheartedly disagree with zadcat. Some of us just have to have our Thanksgiving dinner, wherever we are.

Turkey or Ostrich perhaps??????
Pumpkin pie ( don't forget the whipped cream)
Stuffing
A nice steamed vegetable ( carrots and/or peas)
Cranberry sauce
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Pepper
Giblets ( do Ostriches have giblets???)
Gherkins and cheese wedges
Fresh baked bread and/or rolls with butter
Maple syrup ( with pancakes, waffles, etc.)
posted by Taurid at 10:13 PM on September 27

As a native of Vancouver and a fond visitor of Montreal, if you can find some passable fatty Montreal Smoked Meat (although it's not traditional Thanksgiving), that's be a fantastic surprise.

For Vancouverites, Thanksgiving may not be a really huge deal (depending on how close they were with their family, or if they grew up in a more rural region and then moved to Vancouver) but for Quebecers, it really depends on where they grew up.

But yeah, roast turkey, gravy & cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Brown sugar/molasses baked yams (possibly with back bacon), perhaps. I know some people who are really nostalgic about brussel sprouts (Thanksgiving was the only time they had to eat it). Baked cauliflower in cheese sauce.

I have a couple of coworkers who complain about in-law's dry turkey *every* bloody post-Thanksgiving that I suspect that if the turkey was done well, that they'd complain about that since it wasn't traditional.

Canada is so heterogeneous, Thanksgiving dinners can be really really disparate. It might just be best to ask your friends to recommend one (or two) specific things that they miss about Thanksgiving - and it may be something completely non-traditional.
posted by porpoise at 10:20 PM on September 27

for the quebecois: tortiere. my grama wouldn't make it until christmas, usuallly, but occasionally we'd have it for thanksgiving for a special treat.
posted by bellbellbell at 8:51 AM on September 28

Thanks for all the excellent answers. The people in question excited about a Canadian Thanksgiving as they have been away from home for a year or two.

I think I'll try to get some pumpkin pie and perhaps tortiere. I'll keep looking for pea ham (is that what its called?) for myself because I loved it when in Toronto.

Please keep the suggestions coming...

Thanks again,

Dan
posted by dantodd at 3:58 PM on September 28

i thought of something else! my auntie used to make what we called "creme a sucre" which is actually sucre a la creme, apparently...
posted by bellbellbell at 12:04 AM on September 30