Shpafter or Hefpak?

So we have finally moved into our own apartment and it is starting to feel like home again!  Our lift arrived from the states and although I don't know what Christmas feels like, after unpacking I have a pretty good idea.  We are still missing some staples, like a fridge and a range, but all and all things are coming together.

The tempurpedic is here so we have been sleeping like champions.  The bed made the shipment worth every penny.  The cheese grater found its place on the wall and has been a major topic of conversation.  My best friends, the orchids, have doubled as I have been given 2 beautiful new ones as housewarming presents.  We have at least double the amount of space we did in San Francisco with a guest room and an office so let me know when you're coming to visit! 

We bought a beautiful cream colored couch and chaise lounge, but had some minor complications.  I have learned that it's important to stick up for yourself here in Israel or else you won't get what you want and what you deserve.  The couch was delivered with a few pen stains and then white out was applied to the cream colored couch to cover them up...genius.  I was floored when I saw it and argued with the delivery man while Tom's sister Naama phoned into the couch store to argue with the woman in charge.  She was very nice and apologetic (we did buy a floor model) and so we got a really great discount.  You'll see the beauty below.

Another thing I have learned since moving into our new home is that it is very easy to lock yourself out and be left with no choice but to pay a locksmith approximately $100 to stick a screwdriver under your door, leveraged by a hammer, and unlock it.  Fortunately we have now been locked out twice, so two for the price of one isn't so terrible, at least we're getting our moneys worth.

Everyone here has plaques on their door with their family name so the question is, do we get Shpafter or Hefpak? 

Restarting our wine and booze collection

Our amazing bed

Our mini fridge and camping stove...what more do we need

New TV, cheese grater (housing our magnets until we get a real frigde), Trombone Shorty & Abu Johnny

4 orchids & flowers from Tom...you can't see the whiteout from this angle

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my friends!

Thanksgiving Virgins

Before I begin to tell you about my first Thanksgiving in Israel, let me apologize for not blogging the past few weeks.  It's my own fault and I am sorry to keep you all in dark about what's going on with me here.  Yesterday I was reading a friends blog and she was reflecting on the past 6 months of blogging while writing her 50th post (congrats Shirmz) and she said "that when something happens that inspires me to write a post, I should do it as soon as possible."  Alas, here I am telling you about Thanksgiving 2 weeks late...

I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving, but my family was never one to host this holiday.  We went to various family friends each year and my mom would buy a ready made turkey dinner from Gelson's so we could enjoy the leftovers.  This year I felt a strong desire to host Thanksgiving dinner and was excited to share this delicious holiday with a bunch of Thanksgiving virgins.

About two weeks before Thanksgiving I told Tom I wanted to do this.  I sent a Hebrew text all by myself (mostly) to our friends inviting them.  We asked Tom's dad where we could find a turkey and he made some calls.  He was turned down by one butcher who claimed turkey was not in season, but found another who had a few birds reserved for the Americans.  With the help of my dear friend and recipe consultant Rachel, I found some simple but delicious recipes and began preparing for Thanksgiving 2011.

A few days before, Tom and I went to the market and I attempted to cross everything off my list.  It was impossible due to the lack of American ingredients, but I made some modifications that worked pretty well.  We picked up our 7.2 kilo (almost 16 pound) turkey on Wednesday evening and I stuffed her on Thursday afternoon.

                

There were 16 people around the table that night and none of them besides Tom had ever had a Thanksgiving dinner.  I made the mistake of mentioning turducken to everyone, and now they're all expecting one next year.

Here is the menu...feel free to ask me for any recipes.

- Turkey with a pomegranate molasses glaze
- Stuffing
- Butternut squash and chickpea salad
- Sautéed green beans
- Sage and butternut squash soup
- Cranberry pecan pie
- Mashed potatoes
- Cranberry sauce
- Gravy

Not to toot my own horn anything, but I had no help mostly because I insisted on doing everything by myself.  It was one of the least stressful cooking experiences I have ever had.  If someone hadn't like something, worst case I would have just said, well this is how it tastes in America...