Thanksgiving in Qatar


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Middle East » Qatar » Doha
November 29th 2013
Published: November 29th 2013
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Thanksgiving dinnerThanksgiving dinnerThanksgiving dinner

Forgot to take my apron off!
Well, I successfully made my first full Thanksgiving dinner all on my own and it went pretty well. And it was here in Qatar! I invited some coworkers to share my most favorite holiday with me - I wish I could have invited more, but I have a small apartment.

I'd been shopping for the past two weeks in preparation, including a table that would work for the dinner. I wound up finding one at IKEA that was perfect - a long table with two leaves. It said it sat eight, but we wound up seating 13 pretty comfortably... It only took me two and a half hours to put together and I was so proud of myself! Until I realized that I didn't know how to flip it. It weighed over a hundred pounds and I was very worried I would snap the two legs I had just connected. I waited a couple of days until finally one night I decided to move the ends as if I was adding leaves - and yes, I was finally able to get the leverage needed to flip the table to standing position. Go engineers!

I also bought and put up
Christmas TreeChristmas TreeChristmas Tree

Note "Christmas Vacation" in the background - Tgiving Spencer tradition
my christmas tree - I didn't have one last year and i missed it.

Getting the ingredients and tools needed was difficult. I found only one gravy boat in all of my store visits and I hated it. I had purchased sour cream two weeks ago, but when I went back to the only store that sold it, it was nowhere to be seen. No stovetop stuffing. No gravy. Sweet potatoes, squash, red potatoes, etc - all were super expensive.

I put on Planes, Trains and Automobiles to get me into the spirit and cooked all day long, starting at 8am sharp. The turkey was a little different than what I was used to, so I was getting frustrated trying to clean it. But I persevered and it came out great! I also made sweet potato casserole (delicious), green bean casserole (good), garlic mashed potatoes (delicious), roasted veggies (great), and stuffing (meh - no Stovetop here and no time for homemade). I also made a very basic gravy, which was only very ok, and a homemade apple pie, which was surprisingly an ordeal since I've made it before and i'm not sure what went wrong, but even though it didn't look as great, it still tasted great!

So, overall, a very successful day.


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29th November 2013

Well done!!!
My son, who is studying law in Wales, asked his mom earlier this week for her Thanksgiving recipes...not even sure they sell turkeys in Wales He was going to prepare the dinner for the seven others in his dorm suite. He hasn't let us know how it turned out yet. No matter as this was a great opportunity to share a fond American tradition with classmates, and in your case colleagues.
30th November 2013

Dinner
Oh, I hope he did make it. Let me know how it worked for him as well. Everyone here seemed to enjoy the traditional food and atmosphere - it is second nature to us, but while they've heard about it, they know little about the background and traditions.
30th November 2013

awe...
I miss Thanksgiving with you. I had a good day solo...since I don't think it's appropriate to make others cook vegan just for me...but would have loved to share it with you! Miss you!!
30th November 2013

Miss you too!
Sorry your Tgiving was solo... But i'm sure it was a nice day off!
6th December 2013

That food looks tasty!
Hey Buttercup I am very impressed with your awesome cooking skills, and it looks like everyone enjoyed themselves. It was really fun playing poker with you a couple of weeks ago. I hope this finds you safe, healthy and happy, Pookie. Your Ventucky friends miss you! Cheers, Romsa

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