TurKey Day

So this is an exciting post for me because this was the first turkey day dinner that I have ever cooked for MaRu and I. And on top of that I did it PaLeo Style : ) I would say that it was a success, alot of work but totally worht it!


I adapted the recipes from Primal Palate through there blog and cookbook. I am in love with there cookbook it is so amazing! I would definitely recommend buying it.


Also sorry about the post being after Thanksgiving but it was a crazy week and just cooking the dinner was enough for me at the time. If you are having a late Thanksgiving over the weekend then you may get some use out of these recipe ideas.

MENU:

Roasted Rosemary Turkey

Pork Stuffing

Bacon Brussel Sprouts

Carrot Soufle

Cranberry Sauce

Pumpkin Pie with Almond Flour Crust

Roasted Rosemary Turkey
Ingredients:

• 6-7lb Turkey Breast
• Rosemary
• Olive Oil
• Kosher salt & Pepper

Process:
For the Turkey

1. If frozen, defrost turkey breast. Best done by placing in refrigerator at least 24 hours in advance.
2. Preheat oven to 325.
3. Drizzle olive oil over turkey breast, brush to coat.
4. Separate rosemary from stems, roughly chop and sprinkle liberally on turkey.
5. Add kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste.
6. Place turkey in shallow roasting pan.
7. Cook turkey approximately 2 - 2 3/4 hours (turkey is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the breast reads 170 degrees) Periodically baste turkey with juices in the pan, especially towards the end of the cooking.
8. Let rest for 10 minutes, carve, and serve!

I used a 5 lb Turkey Breast and cooked it for about 2 hours.


Pork Stuffing
Ingredients For Stuffing:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 packs of button mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons each, rosemary, thyme, and sage, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp each, fennel seeds, anise, and paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp coconut oil

**Note: Adjust stuffing measurements accordingly depending on amount of people being served. This stuffing filled a 16 lb turkey, as well as a 5 qt braising pan.

Process For Stuffing:

1. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
2. Place bell pepper, mushrooms, and celery into skillet and saute.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground pork, onion, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, fennel seeds, anise, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
4. Add ground pork mixture to skillet, and cook until pork is browned slightly.
5. Remove from heat, and discard any liquid in the pan.
6. Stuff turkey with pork stuffing.
7. Place any remaining stuffing into a baking dish, cover and place in the fridge.
8. Place outside stuffing in the oven, uncovered for the last 20-30 minutes of cooking, or until the stuffing is crispy on the tops, and the pork is cooked through.

For the stuffing I used less celery because I don't love it and I only had one pack of mushrooms so that is all I used. Everything else was the same. I did not stuff the turkey but next time I will because I felt that the stuffing was a little dry, very good just on the dry side. I think the moisture inside the turkey would have fixed that.


Bacon Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or bacon fat : )
• 3-4 cups brussel sprouts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Bacon (nitrate/nitrite free and make sure you read the ingredients.) I buy one that is sweetened with honey.

Process

1. Rinse brussel sprouts and cut off ends
2. Place in pyrex dish and cover with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
3. Toss brussel sprouts in olive oil and salt and pepper until evenly distributed
4. Place Bacon on a baking sheet and bake in oven at 350° for 10-15 minutes. You want it crispy not burnt (so keep a close eye on it)
5. Take bacon from oven when crispy and place on paper towel to soak up extra grease
6. Roast brussel sprouts at 400° for 30-40 minutes.
7. In the last 5 minutes of cooking crumble Bacon over brussel sprouts.

When I made the brussel sprouts I used a combo of olive oil and bacon fat. I cooked them at a lower temp because I only had one oven and I cooked them when I was cooking the turkey. After I took the turkey out I roasted them for about 10 minutes to get the crispiness.

Carrot Soufle
Ingredients:

• 2 pounds baby carrots
• 1 quart of Trader Joe's Free Range Chicken Broth, or Imagine Free Range Chicken Broth
• 3 omega 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoon minced onion
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Process:

1. Cook carrots until soft in free range chicken broth.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. In large bowl, combine pureed carrots, onion, lemon juice, melted coconut oil, coconut flour, salt, cinnamon, pure maple syrup, and eggs.
4. Beat all ingredients until smooth.
5. Pour into a 2 quart souffle dish, lightly greased with coconut oil.
6. Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes, center should be firm to the touch before eating.
7. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired, and serve.

*Carrots may be cooked and pureed hours ahead adding lemon juice and covering tightly until ready to mix other ingredients. You also may bake the souffle, freeze it, and reheat it for Thanksgiving

Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:

• 1 lb raw, fresh cranberries
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tsp stevia extract or 1 tbs pure maple syrup

(I only used 1/2lb of cranberries and also did 1/2 oj/1/2 water. Also I sweetened it with Maple Syrup.)

Process:

1. Begin by rinsing the cranberries off in a colander, and pull out any cranberries that have gone bad.
2. Place cranberries and orange juice in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, occasionally stirring.
3. After boiling a few minutes, cranberries will begin to pop open. Continue to stir.
4. Once they have popped, stir in the stevia or maple syrup and let cool.

Pumpkin Pie
Grain Free Pie Crust
Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (organic and unrefined)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract (Gluten Free brand)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine dry ingredients.
3. In a small bowl, combine wet ingredients (make sure to melt the coconut oil before mixing it into the batter)
4. Stir wet ingredients into dry.
5. Lightly grease pie dish with some coconut oil.
6. Pat the dough into a 9.5 inch glass pie dish (You want to create an even thin layer, the dough will rise a bit when you bake it.)
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.
8. Remove from oven to cool.

Filling
 Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unflavored Knox Gelatin
• 16 oz pure pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used Almond Breeze)
• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Process:

1. In a saucepan combine gelatin, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin, egg yolks, and almond milk. Mix thoroughly.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it boils.
3. Remove from heat, and chill until set (once the pan is cool enough, you will want to put the filling in the fridge to cool).
4. Beat egg whites until stiff.
5. Once pumpkin has cooled and set in the fridge, remove from fridge and fold pumpkin into the whipped egg whites. ("folding" is a stirring technique that adds air into the batter, check out this quick video)
6. Pour filling into pie crust.
7. Cover pie with saran wrap and cool in the fridge until set.
8. An optional topping is to whip heavy cream and sprinkle with cinnamon

Everything turned out amazing the pumpkin pie and carrot soufle were my absolute favorites!!!!

ENJOY : )