My road to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Cookbook

En Route; My Road to Thanksgiving is a journey to explore the many influences that we have in our lives. It is also a journey to discover how those influences including food cultures and rules of etiquette can impact recipes and tastes over miles and years.

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   Note: Those that pre-order, receive an extra chapter with recipes!

Explore the Thanksgiving tradition

Stories and anecdotes will draw you into the history and spirit of Thanksgiving as written through the eyes of the author and her experiences. The history of Thanksgiving is not as romantic as it seems, but in its purest form it is a day of connection and gratitude and service.

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With a twist of Denmark

Authentic Recipes

Miles and years have influenced the Thanksgiving shared in the book. Familiar dishes have been spiced with new traditions, adapted to changing taste buds, flavored with new ingredients when traditional ones could not be found, and infused with an abundance of inspiration from Elke’s culturally diverse life.

Thanksgiving is tradition, and being true to the recipes is a big part of that. The recipes in the book are therefore the same recipes that Elke used the first time she made Thanksgiving dinner in Denmark, with extra tidbits of information on how they have been changed or experimented with at different times.

You will also find original American and Danish recipes.

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“Traditions are the roots of our heritage and culture. They give us a fast foothold in the unknown, the changing and that which is different. They are a manifestation of who we are and where we come from, and we can take them with us wherever we venture in life. As we experience the world and meet new people, our traditions will be enriched with new experiences. They will change and we will grow, and from there our roots will also grow.”

Elke Marie Hou-Carleton
About

Elke Marie Hou-Carleton

Elke was born in Lander, Wyoming in the northwestern part of the United States. When she was just nineteen, she moved to Denmark, where she has lived since. 

Today she is an assistant professor at VIA University College where she teaches contract and building law. She is also a legal councilor for start-ups and small business through her own business, “Carleton.”

Since her early 20’s food has been a passion that she has lived out through catering, creating sugar cookie recipes and selling them at fairs and by just cooking “a whole lot,” throughout the years. 

Elke once delivered cookies to an event that the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark attended.

Storyline

  • 1976

Elke was born in Lander, Wyoming U.S.A. She grew up in safe and sheltered home with her parents and two sisters as well as her Great Grandparents and many great childhood friends. 

  • 1984

Elke and her two sisters were adopted by Guy, who officially became their dad on August 7th 1984. Elke was greatly inspired to travel and to try new kinds of food through the influence of this man she called dad from the moment she met him at just 4 years of age.

  • 1993

Elke spent a year in Sweden as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student. It was around many different dinner tables where conversations with others opened her eyes to the importance of language as a catalyst for understanding others and building relationships.

  • 1996

After meeting a Dane and following her awoken dream of working in international relations, Elke moved to Denmark to study law when she was just 19.

  • 1998

Elke was invited by an American friend to join her at the American Women’s Club of Aarhus Denmark’s Thanksgiving Dinner. It was an invitation that brought her straight back to her American roots which had been neglected for a time. 

  • 2003

Elke moved in with a friend that was a chef. It was a friend that inspired her and taught her about Danish culture through her cooking. It was at this time that Elke started her catering company Miss McCow and catered dinners and events until she completed university. 

  • 2004

Elke held her first Thanksgiving Dinner with her to-be-husband and his family at their tiny apartment in Horsens, Denmark – thus starting a now seventeen-year-old Danish family tradition. 

  • 2012

Elke started baking and selling homemade sugar cookies under the name by Elke at local fairs and for special occasions. At this time, she also held cookie baking workshops.

  • 2021

Elke continues to cook and share moments around the table with family and friends. Often times it’s around one filled with food that she has made together with friends. And sometimes she laughs, drinks and eats in the company of her husband and kids or friends on the many travels they take throughout Europe and the U.S. Each time taking a piece of the experience with her and using it in the foods and recipes she creates. 

  • Now
Don't miss out

Event

Come and taste some of the recipes from the book & get an autographed copy

At the book launch for En Route: My Road to Thanksgiving, Stories and Recipies from an American Abroad.

15 Oct

2021

Location

Fælledvej 17, 7600 Struer
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

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