Tuesday, 6 December 2011

Gobble Gobble: Thanksgiving in the Middle East

From left to right: Classic stuffing, Mashed potatoes and gravy,
Green bean caserole, Roasted sweet potatoes, Turkey!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because of the food, obviously. I love keeping a classic menu since most of the items on the list are seasonal and I don't make except in turkey season! Recipes will come soon.

- Classic Roasted Turkey seasoned with Rosemary, Sage, Marjoram, and Thyme.

- Mashed Potatoes, for the recipe look here.

- Stuffing with mushrooms, celery and rosemary.

- Roasted sweet potatoes seasoned with minced garlic and paprika.

- Green bean casserole made with homemade cream of celery soup.

- Corn on the cob, as an appetizer.

- Pumpkin pie for dessert, the classic Libby's recipe, but with home made crust.

- Coconut Custard Pie, which was a first.

- Cranberry juice is essential for drinking!


Classic Pumpkin Pie, simply divine!
This Thanksgiving I flew out to the U.A.E. to meet with the rest of the family, and as expected, was in-charge of the dinner. I was surprised how hard it was to find some of the ingredients, like canned pumpkin. I had to use the canned pumpkin pie mix, which always is too sweet for my liking. I could've used small sweet pumpkins to make home made puree, which I had found, but too late. Also, I couldn't find the onions used for the green bean casserole (French's fried onions), but I randomly found a perfect substitute in Ikea. Rostad Lok, or roasted onions, replaced the French's onions perfectly. God bless the Swedes and their love of onions! I was also pleasantly surprised when I found 100% cranberry juice. Score!

As we say here in Egypt after every meal, Al Hamdulelah! Thank God.


What did you do for Thanksgiving? Do you prefer classic menus, or spicing it up with new fusion dishes?
Posted by Ameirah at 12:13
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3 comments:

  1. Heba @ midEATS7 December 2011 at 01:06

    Looks yummy! My aunt made the green bean casserole this year (with homemade cream of mushroom soup and crunchy fried onions, and it was delicious!) I tend to "Middle-Easternize" my Thanksgiving menu a bit: http://mideats.com/2011/11/giving-thanks-middle-eastern-style-a-traditional-thanksgiving-menu/ Though some of the traditional staples still make a showing on my table. Brenda's menu in Abu Dhabi also features some twists on the traditional meals: http://mideats.com/2011/11/a-very-abu-dhabi-thanksgiving/

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  2. Ameirah7 December 2011 at 08:30

    HI Heba, I saw your posts, but I didn't notice they were two different ones, not just a re-edit. I am very old fashioned when it comes to Thanksgiving, I keep the fusion for day-to-day! My mom made the green bean casserole with mushroom soup once, but I prefer the celery. It's a very distinct flavor.

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  3. Heba @ midEATS10 December 2011 at 07:55

    I'll have to try it with the celery, though I must admit I never acquired a taste for that particular vegetable - I don't know why! Btw finally posted the butternut squash hummus recipe: http://mideats.com/2011/12/butternut-squash-hummus-dip/ Let me know what you think if you ever try it!

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