Thanksgiving preparation in the UAE

Last year we hosted a very large group which was fun but tons of work.  This year I decided that we should keep it smaller so that I could think about feeling thankful and not just about entertaining.  We had a great time last year though so I'm sure there are pros and cons to doing it either way.

The preparation for Thanksgiving here in Abu Dhabi is definitely different than in the US and is quite an adventure.  We call it our Thanksgiving "harvest" as we track down all the illusive key ingredients.  Our first Thanksgiving here we didn't have anything with pumpkin because I wasn't "in" on the "where can you get xx" conversations.  Most items are easy to find (some, like sweet potatoes imported from the US, can be very expensive though).  The hardest to find items are cranberries, canned pumpkin and sometimes pecans.  Lots of school conversations like "Ok, Spinney's had cranberries at 10 a.m. yesterday morning!" and then, "But I was there at 1:00 p.m. and they were already out, but I swung by Abela's and they had them."  Of course, if you go by Abela's the next day, they are gone and you have to schlep to Carrefor to see if they have them.  I've learned that Lulu's *never* has cranberries but can be a good shot on the pumpkin front.  They are also a good place for small decorative pumpkins for table decorations if you are willing to shell out a pretty penny for them.

Another interesting attribute about Thanksgiving ingredient shopping is that if you attempt to minimize the travel distance of your food, your table ends up looking like the UN of food items.  This year I got corn on the cob (get this....) from.... the UAE!  The UAE grows lots of tomatoes and cucumbers and also has a few other vegetables (eggplant) and herbs but this is the first time I have seen corn grown here.  I'm interested to try it as it was most likely grown in a hydroponic farm with little to no soil - which definitely affects the flavor of the tomatoes so fingers crossed the corn isn't flavorless.

Here is where some of our other ingredients are from:  Potatoes (Cyprus), green beans - organic!! (Kenya), grapes for cheese platter appetizer (Iran), onion for stuffing (India), leeks (Holland), red onion for green bean recipe (Pakistan), celery (US), flour for pie crust (UK), beef for cranberry meatballs (Ireland), pecans for pie (US), turkey (US), cranberries (US), apples (France), orange (Brazil!!), butter (Saudi Arabia), cheese (France), crackers (UK), canned pumpkin (US), wine (South Africa and New Zealand).

It's the night before Thanksgiving and here is what is done: chocolate pecan pies, cornbread dressing with leeks and onions, cranberry relish and maple sweet potatoes.  Tomorrow is getting the house ready and making the green beans, the regular potatoes (trying a new recipe here!), getting fruit juices ready, warming up bakery bought rolls (sorry - couldn't pull off homemade this year!)  and the girls are making a pumpkin pound cake.  Guests are bringing a fall salad and Brussels Sprouts.  Yum - can't wait!