My Dream Thanksgiving Feast

Unfortunately, I will not be cooking this year for Thanksgiving 

but if I were here would be my recipe choices:

The Perfect Turkey

Mashed Potato Casserole with Collards and Kale
Dr. Weil's Umami Sauce (My equivalent to gravy)
Lacto-Fermented Cranberry Relish
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole (Grain Free, Paleo, Primal)
Coconut Pumpkin Pie, Grain Free


The Perfect Turkey

Ingredients

• 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped ginger
• 1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Avocado oil, Refined

Directions

Click here to see how it's done.

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with avocado oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Very Slighty Altered Alton Brown Recipe

Mashed Potato Casserole with Collards and Kale

About 3 cups chopped collard greens, not tightly packed
1 cup chopped kale
2 and a half pounds or so of potatoes, peeled or not
1/2 cup or a bit more plain yogurt (or sour cream)
2-3 TBSP sunflower oil
1/4 cup or more hot water as needed for mashed texture
3 medium to large onions, sliced thin
2 TBSP olive oil2 cups grated cheddar or other type of cheese

1.  Chop up the potatoes and set to boil until soft.
2. Slice onions and saute in sunflower oil until caramelized.
3. While potatoes and onions cook, chop collard greens, kale and cheese.
4. Mash potatoes with yogurt, olive oil, and hot water as needed.
5. Fold onions into mashed potatoes.
6. Mix in with collards and kale (and/or any other veggie) and top with 1/2 the grated cheese.
7. Lightly grease a shallow baking dish and spread with the potatoes.
8. Top with the rest of the grated cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees in a pre-heated oven.

Modified Recipe & Blog

Dr. Weil's Umami Sauce (My equivalent to gravy)

Ingredients

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 3 tablespoons tamari 1 cup nutritional yeast flakes 8 garlic cloves, mashed 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil Salt (optional)

Instructions

Put the vinegar, tamari, yeast flakes, and garlic in a blender or food processor and blend until well combined. Remove the feed tube and, with the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Blend well until the mixture becomes thickand emulsified, like mayonnaise. Adjust the seasoning with salt as needed. Pour the mixture into a lidded jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Bring the sauce to room temperature and shake well before using. More information on Dr.Weil's Umami Sauce Recipe Lacto-Fermented Cranberry Relish adapted from Oceans of Joy 1/2 cup raw cranberries 1 small organic orange, roughly chopped 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or seed or nut of choice) 1/4 cup white sugar, brown sugar or sweetener of choice (not honey, as honey is anti-microbial) 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup dried diced fruit (optional–but dates or raisins are delicious!) 1 teaspoon sea salt or 1 tablespoon whey (recipe is dairy-free without the use of whey. Whey promotes good bacteria during the fermentation process) 1 additional teaspoon sea salt In a food processor, combine all ingredients except additional teaspoon of sea salt. Process until a rough consistency is acquired. Put mixture into clean and sterilized quart-sized mason jar. Sprinkle additional teaspoon of sea salt onto top of ferment. Cover with lid and allow to ferment for two days in a dark cupboard. Transfer to refrigerator. Before serving, remove the top layer of salt. Enjoy and let the eating begin! Essential Omnivore Blog Green Bean Casserole Adapted from Cooks Illustrated Serves 8-10 For the Onions: 1 red onion, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons coconut oil Celtic sea salt and freshly cracked pepper For the Beans: 2 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved For the Soup: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 pound button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour (substitute with 2 tablespoons arrowroot for a grain free/gluten free option) 1 1/2 cups chicken stock 1 1/2 cups heavy cream Instructions: Preheat oven to 425°F and adjust rack to middle position. In a large bowl, toss together red onion and coconut oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread onions out on a large baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Stir onions and put back in oven for another 15 minutes or until onions loose most of their moisture and begin to brown. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce heat in oven to 375°F. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the green beans to the water and boil for 6 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. When foaming subsides add the mushrooms and season generously with salt and pepper. Saute until mushrooms have released their moisture and the edges begin to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and stir constantly until incorporated, about 1 minute.  Gradually add the chicken stock and then the cream, whisking constantly to avoid lumping. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, 5-6 minutes. Toss together mushroom mixture and green beans and then pour into a 13×9 baking dish. Top with red onions and bake until bubbling, about 20-25 minutes. Deliciously Organic Blog Sweet Potato Casserole (Grain Free, Paleo, Primal) Bake the sweet potatoes at 400ºF for 45 minutes, until soft. Then remove the skins before using in this recipe. Serves 8 For the Potatoes 3 cups baked sweet potatoes (about 5 large potatoes) 1/4 cup honey 2 large eggs, beaten 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup coconut milk (or heavy cream) 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt For the Topping: 1 cup almond flour 2 tablespoons coconut flour 2 tablespoons honey 1/8 teaspoon Celtic sea salt 4 tablespoons butter, melted 1 cup chopped pecans Directions: Preheat oven to 350ºF and adjust rack to middle position. Place sweet potatoes, honey, eggs, butter, coconut milk, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl. Mash potatoes and stir until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Pour into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Place almond flour, coconut flour, honey, salt and butter in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until combined. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle pecan mixture in an even layer over the sweet potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Deliciously Organic Blog Coconut Pumpkin Pie, Grain Free Ingredients for Pie Crust: 12 dates, halved or quartered 1 cup crispy almonds 1 1/2 cup coconut flakes, fine 2 T coconut butter pinch of salt Ingredients for Filling: 2 cups pumpkin puree, I made my own from scratch but canned should work too. 3/4 cup honey or maple syrup 3/4 cup coconut cream, refrigerate coconut milk overnight and use the cream that rises to the top 2 large eggs 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp ginger 1/4 tsp salt pinch ground cloves, really just a pinch as this is strong stuff Procedure: 1)  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. 2)  In a food processor chop the dates, almonds, coconut flakes, and coconut butter together until ground fine.  Press the mixture into a glass or ceramic pie dish.  (You may have a little leftover.  I did.) 3)  In a separate mixing bowl, add all the filling ingredients and blend together using the whisking attachment of your blender.  (Or you can whisk by hand).  4)  Pour the pumpkin filling into the pie pan with the crust. 5)  Bake for 35-50 minutes.  If you have a convection oven it takes much less time.  Just keep watching it towards the end so the crust doesn’t burn.  It’s done when the middle of the pie is set up and firm.  6)  Cool and top with whipped coconut cream.  Yum! Real Food Freaks Blog