Heston

Main Course | Vegetables | Salads | Side Dishes | Dessert | Beverages | Prayer | Toast | Other Considerations | Time Table | Shopping List

MAIN COURSE

TURKEY
Cook according to instructions on the turkey wrapping. Be sure to buy a few days ahead of time in order to let it thaw. Use a roasting bag and foil pan. Cut open the roasting bag about an hour prior to serving.

GRAVY
Use the gravy packets from the store, not juice from the turkey.

STUFFING
Use oven top style stuffing; do not stuff the bird but cook on top of stove.

CRANBERRIES
Get 2 cans of whole berry cranberry sauce

VEGETABLES

MASHED POTATOES
First, bake the potatoes, then mash and mix with whipped cream (not yet whipped). Keep warm in the oven.

BROCCOLI / PEAS / OTHER
Steam using the microwave. Birds Eye Steamfresh brand works well.

SALADS

4 BEAN SALAD

• 1 can each of: garbanzo beans, kidney beans, green beans, yellow beans
• 1 medium onion
• 1 small shallot
• a small bunch of green onions
• 1-cup cider vinegar
• 1-cup honey

Drain and rinse all beans. Combine with diced onion and shallot. Cut up the white part of the green onions, and mix this in. Blend vinegar and honey thoroughly and pour over vegetables. Stir slowly to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight. Do not use a metal bowl.
 
AMBROSIA

• 4 oz. sour cream
• 1-1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1-1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1 can (12 oz) of pineapple chunks, drained
• 1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 medium sweet red apples, cored, cut in 1/2-inch dices
• 2 medium firm bananas cut in 1/3-inch slices

Wednesday Night: mix sour cream, coconut and marshmallows in bowl, stir well, cover and refrigerate. Put mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks in the refrigerator.

Thursday, Just Before Serving: drain mandarin oranges and pineapple chunks and add to sour cream mixture. Dice the apples and slice bananas and place in separate nonmetallic bowl. Cover the apples and bananas with lemon juice. Add the sour cream mixture. Sprinkle top with small amount of coconut. Serve immediately.

SIDE DISHES & MISCELLANEOUS

ROLLS
Follow instructions on the pre-made roll package.
 
RASPBERRY JAM
On Wednesday or earlier, add a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit and 1 packet of gelatin. Boil the fruit half an hour then refrigerate.
 
TANGERINES
 
SMART BALANCE MARGARINE, SALT, & PEPPER

DESSERT

PUMPKIN PIE

Mix together:

• One 30 oz can pumpkin pie mix
• Two cans (24 oz total) condensed milk
• Two eggs
• 1 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice ( = 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg)

Pour into two deep dish, unbaked pastry pie shells (precrusted aluminum pans work great. Then bake for 15 minutes at 425 F, then reduce to 350 F and continue baking for an additional 35 to 45 minutes (approximately), until knife inserted in center comes out clean.Use pre-made pie crusts with deep dish glass pans. Alternatively, get deep dish pre-crusted aluminum foil pans. Make at least 2 pies for 6 people (1/3rd of a pie per person).
 
WHIPPED CREAM
Buy canned pre-whipped cream; or you can buy the cartons: add 1-tbsp of sugar, 1/2-tsp of vanilla, and 2 tsp of cream of tartar to one carton of the whipped cream. Whip just before dinner. By the end of dinner it should be well chilled, but not frozen.
 
ROOT BEER FLOATS

BEVERAGES

SPARKLING JUICE
Get the non-alcoholic sparkling juice that is in the champagne bottle. To save money, make your own by mixing sparkling water with frozen juice concentrate.
 
MILK
For the kids to drink
 
SPARKLING WATER
Get a couple of liters of sparkling water
 
MONA VIE – health drink
 
WINE
Get Merlot & Chardonnay. Smoking Loon brand is good. Boxed wine OK if expecting large number of guests.
 
COFFEE
French roast is best.
 
BEER
Budweiser or similar light ale is always appropriate. Keg beer is best if possible.
 
ROOT BEER
Thomas Kemper, 1/6 keg, or bottled root beer

PRAYER

The traditional blessing for the meal is a prayer haiku.

TOAST

The traditional toast is one that recognizes that we show our gratitude through our actions.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

• MUSIC: Soft background music such as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart or something similar.
• TABLE SETTINGS: Centerpiece, Candles, Tablecloth, Cloth Napkins
• CAMERA
• GAMES: Have group family games on hand such as Mad Libs and playing cards.
• DISCUSSION TOPICS: Think about possible discussion topics of special interest to your guests. If at a loss for words, discussing college football is always appropriate–especially years when the Washington Huskies have won the Apple cup. If it is a year when the Huskies lost, then bring up the fantastic 2002 Apple Cup win over the Cougars at Martin Stadium, or the great 2003 Apple Cup win at Husky Stadium. Prepare a few jokes or humorous stories ahead of time.

TIME TABLE

A COUPLE OF WEEKS OR MORE BEFORE THANKSGIVING

• Arrange your work schedule to get time off to spend with your family.
• Invite guests to dinner. Last minute invitations are always okay as well.
• Get some Rotary (Idaho) potatoes.
• Order beer & root beer kegs.
• Get mail-order items.

MONDAY OF THANKSGIVING WEEK

• Double check your supplies to make sure you have everything. If not, go shopping.
• Take the turkey out of the freezer and put in the refrigerator. Allow about 24 hours of thawing time in the refrigerator per 5 lbs of turkey.

TUESDAY

As much as possible, finish up all of your work duties so you can have time at Thanksgiving to share with your family.
 
WEDNESDAY

• Prepare the 4 bean salad
• Make the raspberry jam
• Prepare the ambrosia salad: refrigerate the fruits (except the bananas) and the sour cream mix (1.5 cups coconut, 2 c mini marshmellows, 4 oz sour cream).
• Put white wine in the fridge if expecting guests
• Have a glass of wine or beer or whatever and play some family games.

THURSDAY

9:00

• cook the pumpkin pies

10:30

• Put the turkey in the oven in plenty of time to be ready by 3:30. A 20 lb turkey in a roasting bag takes about 3.5 to 4 hours, be sure to include 30 minutes for the turkey to “rest” before serving
• Put the potatoes in the oven.
• Set the table
• Memorize the toast & prayer.
• Relax and play some card games.

2:30

• take the potatoes out of the oven and mash them; put the mashed potatoes back into the oven in the covered serving dish.
• Open the turkey’s roasting bag for the last hour of cooking

3:00 – shortly before meal time, in order:

• put the cranberries in a dish on the table
• whip the cream and put in the refrigerator
• cook the stuffing
• cook the gravy
• bake the rolls
• steam the broccoli and heat peas
• finish making the ambrosia and put it on the table
• put the 4 bean salad on the table

3:30 – Dinnertime. Near end of the meal, make the coffee, then serve dessert

TIPS

• As much as possible, cleanup as you cook. As soon as you are done with a cooking utensil, put it directly into the dishwasher or sink.
• Get everyone involved with both the cooking and the cleanup afterwards. Many hands make light work!
• Make it a point to fill your home with music and laughter. Have some music ready to play, learn some good jokes ahead of time, and have some fun stories ready to tell.
• As much as possible, substitute Splenda or something similar for sugar

SHOPPING LIST

FRUITS & VEGETABLES

• 2 medium bananas
• 1 Lemon
• 2 medium red delicious apples
• At least a dozen potatoes (Idaho)
• Tangerines or oranges
• Fresh Broccoli
• 1 small shallot
• A small bunch of green onions (scallions)

TURKEY

• Frozen whole turkey (20+ lbs)
• Roasting bag
• Foil cooking pan
• Gravy: 2 or more packets (powdered; just add water)
• Stuffing: 2 or more boxes (Stove Top style)

CANNED GOODS

• 1 can of whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1 can of garbanzo beans
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can of green beans
• 1 can of yellow (wax) beans
• 1 can of pineapple chunks
• 1 can of mandarin oranges
• 1 jar of mayonnaise
• 1 jar of mustard
• 2 cans of sweet peas
• 3 cans of pumpkin pie mix
• 6 cans of evaporated milk

BAKING GOODS

• Cider vinegar
• Sweetened shredded coconut
• Splenda / Sugar
• Flour
• Smart Balance Margarine
• Miniature marshmallows
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Cream of Tartar

DAIRY

• Whipped cream (4 cartons minimum)
• Milk (at least 2 gallons)
• Two dozen eggs
• Vanilla ice cream
• Sour Cream
• Ready-to-bake grand dinner rolls: 3 or more packages (enough for 4 per person)
• Four pre-made pie crusts in a deep dish aluminum pie pan

FROZEN FOODS

• 2 lbs of frozen raspberries
• 2 cartons of vanilla ice cream
• Birds Eye Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables

BEVERAGES (in addition to milk)

• Sparkling juice
• Sparkling water
• French roast coffee
• Wine: 2+ bottles of Merlot (Smoking Loon is good) and if expecting guests, a box of chardonnay.
• Root beer – Thomas Kemper 1/6 barrel keg
• Beer – keg

MISCELLANEOUS

• 12 oz honey
• Camera
• Deck of cards
• Table settings: centerpiece, napkins, candles

MAIL-ORDER

• Mona Vie – a health drink from the Amazon
• Shaklee Basic-H – safe, nontoxic, all-around cleanser for cleanup
• Shaklee Basic-G – safe, nontoxic germicide for general household cleaning

---

The original Heston Family Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner list is located HERE.

printable list: turkeydinner