How to Guarantee a Knockout Thanksgiving Dinner In Lebanon

If you’ve ever lived in the US or even visited during the month of November, you understand the enormity of Thanksgiving. It would not be brash to compare it to the ranks of Christmas, as virtually everyone in the country drops everything and heads home for an extended four-day weekend.

Thanksgiving’s origins are rooted in the first harvest reaped by the pilgrims after their arrival to the New World in 1621. Today, nearly 400 years later, the holiday continues to be about the two words forming its name: giving thanks for one’s blessings; focusing on the haves, not the have-nots; and spreading generosity to those less fortunate.

It is perhaps those altruistic, heartwarming aspects of Thanksgiving that make it so treasurable in the hearts of all Americans, regardless of religion, race, creed, or age. Trust me when I say, American expats enjoy a magnified fondness of the holiday in their adopted communities around the world, to the extent that Thanksgiving is celebrated anywhere you could bump into an American.

Heck, even when I lived in Paris, my company cafeteria offered a special Thanksgiving lunch of glazed ham, string beans, and sweet potato in observance of the day. And that’s in spite of Parisian’s deep contempt for loud Americans!

Here in Lebanon, the American expat community is considerable, and no doubt next Thursday will bear witness to many a Thanksgiving gathering. If you’re lucky enough to be hosting a dinner, or if you’re even luckier to snatch up an invitation to one, you’re going to need the holiday essentials, because no way am I letting you settle for some tacky, pseudo-Thanksgiving feast gone wrong with local knock-off substitutes.

Pumpkins are the icon of autumn and Thanksgiving



So listen up, and listen well.

There’s only one store I’m signing off on as your one-stop shop, and you’ve probably already guessed it. Indeed, Wesley’s Wholesale has just received a container full of all the holiday must-haves to make your dinner party a raving success.

First up, condiments for the turkey. Cranberry sauce is the traditional topper, and I promise you won’t find anything fancier, tastier, or healthier than Colonial Cranberry Sauce’s 3-ingredient wonder. Not even jam is this clean. With nothing but real cranberries, sugar, and water in this mash-up, your turkey will be howling with delight at how much tanginess this dressing imparts to its characteristically dry flesh. Plus, this product hails from New England, where the pilgrims originally settled. So you can kind of intuit a mystical transcendence there. 

Colonial Cranberry Sauce

Nutrition facts: three little ingredients


On any other day, French fries would be acceptable. On Thanksgiving, mashed potatoes take center stage, but don't leave them bare and bland. Might I recommend Heinz HomeStyle Gravy for Roasted Turkey? Literally, all you have to do is heat this blend, derived from real turkey stock and light spices, and serve as a topping alongside the mashed potatoes: they’ll instantly transform into a luxurious treat.

Heinz HomeStyle Gravy, Roasted Turkey flavor



If you were thinking of proffering pita (or worse, “khebbez franjeh”), get out of my house, er, blog! I will not have it. I don’t care how pressed you are for time, you can always snag a box of Krusteaz Honey Cornbread & Muffin Mix, which is easier to whip up and bake than cake in a mug. Plus, it’s devilishly good, moist with hints of buttermilk and honey. Wesley's also carries the mix in gluten-free form. So no excuses.

Krusteaz Honey Cornbread



We all know that pumpkin pie is to Thanksgiving what marron glacé is to Noel: indispensable. Thanksgiving dinner doesn’t stand a chance without the promise of the custard-like spiced pie to end the binge fest. If you’ve never baked it before, it really only requires a few key products to assemble. For a no-frills graham cracker crust, try Honey Maid’s, which comes in an oven-safe aluminum mold.



Honey Maid Graham Cracker Pie Crust



You can readily buy organic pumpkin purée by Pacific Foods, but if you’re wondering what will give it that cinnamon-ginger-nutmeg-brown sugar lift to awesome pie status, it’s all in a little canister called McCormick’s Pumpkin Pie Spice. Any simpler and we’ll start having flashbacks from 7th grade Home Ec.



McCormick's Pumpkin Pie Spice


 That should have you squared away. Now if you’ll please let me get back to my kitchen duties, I have a turkey to baste. What, you didn’t possibly think I’d get it right from the first shot, did you? Gobble, gobble! 



Wesley's Wholesale
Hazmieh
Blvd. Camille Chamoun
Antoine Gharios Center

For other branches, see here.

~~~~~

Beirutista has joined forces with Wesley’s Wholesale as Brand Ambassador. What exactly does that mean? Well, if you liked this post, you can look forward to similar ones every month or so. I’ll also be blogging about a variety of exciting new projects Wesley’s has underway, in addition to sneak peeks and product leaks! Expect cool new product giveaways from time to time, and if you’re a real Wesley’s obsessive like I am, I’ll gladly hook you up with 10% off your next visit. Just shoot me a message at any of my contact coordinates listed here. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6 Types of Patrons You’ll Encounter at a Coffee Shop in Lebanon

Image
You haven’t really adult-ed if you haven’t flocked to a coffee shop at least once in the past week, am I right? Admittedly, I was a little late to the game. I started sipping on caffeinated brew when my eldest was born, about six years ago. I’d place him in his stroller and lap around the mall for an hour or two, and when he drifted off to sleep, I’d slide into an armchair at Dunkin’ and order a donut, croissant-wich and coffee combo (yep, that was the ultimate trifecta.).  Fresh-brewed dark roast coffee, served piping hot with the steam blanketing my visage to deliver facial-like effects. Those few moments of uninterrupted peace formed my golden hour. I’d sit back, sip on my cup of joe, and quietly take in the scenes surrounding me. To this day, I love hanging out aimlessly at a coffee shop, merely to study the behavior of other patrons and try to deduce their craft. Here are the most common profiles I’ve encountered. My favorite indulgence at a coffee shop: donut and a cup of ...
Read more

A Crowning Iftar Experience at the Crowne Plaza Beirut

Image
It had been decidedly too long since my first visit to the Crowne Plaza Beirut, tucked in the heart of Hamra along the main drag. Standing tall – a formidable 21 floors to be exact – with sweeping panoramic views of the Lebanese capital city, the Crowne Plaza, an IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group) property, has so much going for it. To begin, the underground self-parking facility cannot be overlooked, as parking is typically nightmare-inducing elsewhere in Beirut. At just 200,000 LBP (USD 2.20) for up to four hours, this is a bargain. Alight the elevator at the ground floor, where a few steps westward will land you at the threshold of the Crowne Plaza. The hotel boasts 190 rooms, and I’m told that you can nab a room with complimentary breakfast buffet including VAT for about $100. You really can’t beat that in or outside of the city! Last Friday, we forayed into Hamra with the aim of trying the Iftar, a traditional Ramadan feast enjoyed at sunset, at Crowne Plaza’s Vivaldi restaurant...
Read more

7 Types of Lebanese Parents You’ll Encounter at School Pickup

Image
For the past three years, I’ve been shuttling my kids to and from school. It’s always a treat to greet them as their scholastic day draws to a close and they melt into your arms, eager to head home.  Right up there after that gratifying reunion is the entertainment value you derive from your encounters with other parents milling around the school building threshold in the minutes leading up to end of day. So amusing is the range of characters you’ll meet – whether they be grandparents filling in for parents tied up at work, or parents able to carve out time to pluck up their offspring – that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to blog about it. Here they are in no specific order. Can you relate?   1. The Haughty Mama : her favorite hand accessory is her smartphone, which she’s either holding to her lips transmitting nonstop nonsense voice notes, or scrolling furiously through her Instagram feed. Her hair is perfectly coiffed, with the essential extensions. She’s got those...
Read more