My Not too Expensive (I hope) Thanksgiving Shabbat Menu

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It's November,the rains have begun (but it's not yet cold in the house), and the leaves are even changing color on a few of the trees around here, so we're fondly thinking of autumn in America...

Even in Israel, lots of Americans like to celebrate Thanksgiving, but, since we don't have a day off, most of us do "Thanksgiving Dinner" for Shabbat. 

(This also makes a lot of sense for budget conscious people - who needs a big celebratory dinner on Thursday right before Shabbat, anyhow?)

So, that's what we're doing - Thanksgiving themed Shabbat. I opted not to make a whole turkey this year, as we're not hosting a very big crowd. If you are roasting a whole turkey, I hope you found a roasting pan! If you don't have one, consider buying this one for next time you need to roast a turkey! It should fit in a standard Israeli oven, but it's a great size for a turkey!

Here's my menu plan:

Spelt Challah

Orange Vegetable Soup

Turkey Wings and Turkey Breast 

Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce (I bought some, as it was easier for me this year than it normally is. Though I considered buying this product when I wasn't sure what to do... another time!)

Potato Kugel for all my die-hard potato kugel fans

Roasted Yellow Zucchini (I couldn't resist when I saw them!)

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

That should be enough, and we probably won't need dessert, but I have fruit for dessert if anyone insists on it!

Shabbat lunch will be whatever is leftover - there are sure to be plenty of leftovers!

If you love Thanksgiving, too, please share your Israeli-American Thanksgiving menu in the comments! I'd love to hear what you're doing!

Thanksgiving-Shabbat Menu

Once again, we'll be commemorating Thanksgiving this year. This is a holiday steeped in family traditions, and part of me wishes we could be with family this year (as always), but our families all just live too far away...

Since we can't be with family, and Thursday is not a vacation day in Israel, we'll celebrate on Shabbat with some friends, and we are looking forward to it!

Here's our work-in-progress Thanksgiving Shabbat menu:

Challah with Oat Bran and Flax Seeds (using Spelt flour instead of Whole Wheat flour)

Pumpkin Soup

Turkey - I'm making some parts and a friend is bringing some parts too

Cornbread Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce (we have 2 cans ofWhole Foods cranberry sauce with NO high fructose corn syrup! YAY!)

Garlic Roast Potatoes

Apple Kugel or Apple Crisp

Random Side dishes being brought by a friend

Salads

Dessert: brownies (wheat-free) and chocolate chip squares

I'm still putting up a Black Bean Cholent for lunch, to eat with the leftovers. We plan to have plenty of leftovers, but I am also making a pan of chicken and rice, because my family doesn't want turkey for both Shabbat meals. 

I guess you could call this a Thanksgiving-Shabbat Fusion sort of thing!

Do you "do" Thanksgiving? I'd love to hear about it!

My Thanksgiving Menu

I'm really serving my Thanksgiving menu on Friday night, instead of Thursday. Pretty standard practice here among the ex-pats, I think!

Here's what I think I'm making:

Vegetable soup (heavy on the carrots, since they are 2 NIS/kg at mega!)

Roasted Turkey Legs

Pomegranate Chicken

Grilled fennel (in my stove top grill pan) (2 NIS/kg at mega!)

Roasted potatoes (2 NIS/kg at mega!)

Stuffed peppers (green peppers are on sale for 2 NIS/kg at mega!) - stuffed with rice and vegetable pilaf

Breaded Eggplant with tomato sauce (eggplant is on sale for 2 NIS/kg at mega!)

Avocado - my kids like them plain, and all the ones that were left from that sale a couple of weeks ago are suddenly ripe!

So - in short, our Thanksgiving dinner is a celebration of all the local in season produce I can find!