05 December, 2010

A KIWI THANKSGIVING

As you may know, Thanksgiving is not a holiday that is celebrated in here in New Zealand, so this year I decided to host my very first Thanksgiving Dinner at our little home. Little did I know that this was something that I should have started planning much earlier than the day before!

My Thanksgiving Menu:
Entree:
Dinner Rolls
Roasted Pear Salad with Toasted Goat Cheese

Main:
Baked Whole Salmon
Butterflied Turkey with Apple-Cranberry Glaze
Country-Style Turkey Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Holiday Spiced Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

Sides:
Roasted Baby Carrots
Spicy Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir

Desserts:
Pumpkin Pie Chantilly
Pecan Pie
Nutty Chocolate Fudge



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Something to be thankful for? Libby's canned pumpkin...making pumpkin pie from fresh whole pumpkins is not an easy task!

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It was no question the biggest task I've ever taken on in my little kitchen, and I had quite a fun time figuring out what I needed to prepare first, considering I had planned to make the entire Thanksgiving menu, and with only one small oven I had to be precise with my baking times to be sure everything was done in time! Not to mention this was my first time ever making a turkey (For a vegetarian, I'm sure you could imagine it was not an easy task!) I spent the whole day prior, as well as the night (sleeping was not an option!) and the following day cooking non-stop... We had an incredible group of friends join us, all of whom had never experienced Thanksgiving before! It was an amazing night, of fun, friends, lots of food, wine, and of course - Thanksgiving!

I'm determined to introduce Thanksgiving to all of New Zealand, and hope that every Kiwi will be able to experience one of my very favorite of holidays! Thank you to our lovely friends, who made our kiwi Thanksgiving extra special ♥

2 comments:

Rusted Wings said...

what an amazing feast you made for all those people!! what a special gift and example of Thanksgiving you shared with so many Shariyah...i'm so proud of you. You have such a giving heart<3
love you! mama

Louise said...

This is so lovely Shariyah! You have done yourself proud. ;D I am in awe of all these creations, and hands down to you for making the Turkey being a vegetarian. I am going to have my first 95% raw vegan Christmas this year... and planning some interesting dishes to bring! :D

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