Gobble, gobble, gobble,
so loudly at the table!
Many thanks for the turkey,
and also for the tea!
Categories
Tag: Thanksgiving
I ate my turkey at Subway. Sad, huh?
Anyway, for fun reading:
At my friend’s house, a mansion with an army of Iraqi cooks, gardeners and security guards, the Iraqi staff gathered in the kitchen to watch the ajanib cook Ali Sheesh. All men, they lounged against the counter, chain-smoking.
”You will never cook Ali Sheesh in time,” said the tallest, with amused condescension. ”You must cut him up. Otherwise he will not cook before midnight!”
His friends nodded, laughing. They offered other instructions: We should sauté Ali Sheesh first; we should season him with sabaa baharat, seven spices, and layer him in a large pan; we should boil him and add rice. We had no idea what we were doing: we would poison the guests!
Finally my friend had had enough of their mockery. ”How do you know how to cook a turkey?” she demanded.
The ringleader drew himself up, looking down at us, offended. ”I have seen it,” he said, with finality, ”on ”˜Mr. Bean’!” [Baghdad Thanksgiving, 2003. NYT. November 22 2007]
Ali Sheesh is turkey, in Iraqi Arabic.