Santa Monica Civic Auditorium 1855 Main St., Santa Monica

November 22, 2007 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Sign up to volunteer on the HOTLINE 310-394-3153!

Calling all Turkeys!

What would a Thanksgiving meal be without TURKEY?

The Celebration relies entirely on donations from the local community. On Thanksgiving morning, volunteer chefs line up outside the Santa Monica Civic Center to deliver up to 300 piping hot roasted turkeys between 8am and 10am
You can help by:

  • Donating an uncooked turkey for someone else to cook or...
  • Volunteering your oven (and yourself) to roast a turkey on Wednesday night or...
  • Doing both!

If you're not doing both (purchasing & cooking), turkey drop-off (already defrosted, please!) and pick-up will be at the Civic Center on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Sign up to cook one today!

Thank you for your help by putting food on someone elses plate.

Thanks once again for your participation!

Overview

Here's an overview of how you can help us with donating food. Choose how you can participate, then call the HOTLINE 310-394-3153, and give us your information!

Participate by... Important Dates Notes
Buying and cooking a turkey Buy it & thaw it Sunday November 18th, Cook it Wednesday November 21st Following the instructions below, you purchase a frozen turkey, begin defrosting it on Sunday, 11/18, and then roast it Wednesday night, delivering it to the Santa Monica Civic Building Thursday morning 8am-10am, making sure it is HOT HOT, STEAMING HOT!
 
Buying a turkey Buy it & thaw it Sat 11/17 You purchase a 16-20 lb. turkey and make it available to be given to a "cooker"
Cook a turkey Wednesday November 21st You will have received a turkey donated by another volunteer. You will defrost the turkey following the instructions below and deliver it to the Santa Monica Civic bldg. Thursday morning.
 
Donate a Pumpkin Pie Wednesday November 21st You make or purchase a pumpkin pie and deliver it to the Santa Monica Civic bldg. Thursday morning between 8am and 10am.

Cooking Instructions

Turkey and Pie Cooks

First of all, God Bless you for cooking a turkey and/or pie for those who otherwise would have none!

To Cook Your Turkey:

  1. Buy a 16 to 20 pound turkey. Be sure to get one that will fit into your oven. If you don't have a roasting pan, you can buy a disposable foil roasting pan in most stores. If you buy a frozen turkey, be sure to defrost it before Wednesday night! The best way to do this is to buy it on Monday and put it in your refrigerator until Wednesday (in the original wrapping).
  2. On Wednesday night, prepare your turkey by removing the neck and giblets, which are wrapped inside the cavity, and wash it inside and out with water. Let it drain for a moment and then salt and pepper the inside cavity. Finally put the turkey into the roasting pan. Do not cover.
  3. DO NOT STUFF YOUR TURKEY! Turkeys that are stuffed may go bad by the time they are served.
  4. Since we need the turkeys at lunch time, we suggest that you cook them all night as follows: Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. Put your turkey in at 10:00 pm. Go to bed. Check your turkey when you get up at about 8:00 am. If you are using a meat thermometer, it should read between 190 and 195 degrees F. If you do not have a thermometer, you can tilt the pan a little and check to see if the juices run clearly out of the turkey (no red juices). If the juices are clear and the turkey is nice and brown on the outside, it is probably done. If it is not done, turn up the temperature to 350 degrees F and cook until it is done.
  5. Once it is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool about 15 minutes. To keep it warm, wrap it in foil, then, if it will fit, place it in a double paper bag. Finally, you can put the whole thing into a plastic garbage sack to keep the juices from running all over your car. We will be carving the turkeys at the Civic.
  6. To rewarm after refrigeration: If you have cooked your turkey ahead of time and refrigerated it, please rewarm it before bringing it, as we do not have any way to reheat it. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place a damp towel over the bird and reheat for 30 minutes. There is no need to let it cool. Follow directions in step number 5.

To Cook A Pie:

  • Simply bake or purchase a pumpkin pie the day before. If cooking, it can be homemade or a pre-made frozen type. IF YOU BUY A FROZEN PIE, MAKE SURE YOU BAKE IT, we do not have enough space to cook them.

To Deliver:

  • Please deliver the turkey and/or pie(s) to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (at Main Street and Pico) between 8:00 am and 10:00 am on THANKSGIVING MORNING.
  • Someone will meet you at the Main Street entrance to pick up the turkey and/or pie(s) from your car.

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