thanksgiving meal

[Guest guest]

Wizop Marilyn L. Alm M_Alm@...>

Heyla, Folks..... People are starting to talk about " Oh, woe is me! I can't

have a REAL holiday dinner because I'm on SCD! " That's a bunch of poppycock!

The following are the recipes I've used for our Holiday Dinners starting in

2002. In 2001, I was too sick following the gall bladder surgery to try to fix

a holiday dinner. But the Brie Sauce was my first recipe contribution to this

list. Oh, and I should tell you that I made Brie Spinach for Chinese New Year

at my tai chi class. I used SIX ten ounce packages of chopped spinach and came

home with a scraped-clean bowl. Come Memorial Day, and in preparation for the

school BBQ, I asked my teacher what I should bring, naming a couple of cold

dishes. He looked at me and said, " Brie Spinach? " So THIS time I used TEN

packages of spinach, trying to have some left for Harry and me for later in the

week. I arrived, my teacher came over, picked up a SOUP BOWL, ladled three huge

ladles into it, and started eating. Everyone

else pretty well followed suite, and once again, I came home with an EMPTY

bowl! I've also taken the Pumpkin / Cranberry casserole to class, and had it

vanish. This holiday is going to be tough. Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, I've

lost ALL of the foods I put up in the freezer, all my cranberries, blueberries,

strawberries, and cherries, all my tomato sauce, all my pumpkin, the cheeses I

shredded and froze, the prosciutto, etc. etc. etc. I am working full time,

trying to cover the expenses of being in exile for 6 weeks, leaving the house

at 8a and getting home at 7p. But you know what? We're going to have a LOT

to be Thankful for -- good friends, who chipped in and sent emergency supplies,

the fact that despite many of my friends losing their houses, we (our immediate

circle) haven't had to bury any one because of Katrina, nor are any of us

injured. Harry and I have our house and our library, my parents are alive, and

my furkids are doing well, if bored out of

their minds by the fact that their Missy Heartlessly and Heinously Abandons

The Dachshunds during the week. I'll admit that our meals are pretty dull

right now, because I don't have time to cook much, and in many cases I'm just

flat too exhausted to. One night, we ended up with legal peanut butter rolled

in legal provolone slices because that was all I had the energy for -- I was

too tired to even be hungry, but knew we had to eat. So we're doing a lot of

roasts, and eating that during the week with differing veggies. Or hamburgers.

Our Foreman grill is seeing a lot of use for pork chops and chicken breasts.

I got caught without legal food once in all this -- the first day I went back

to work. Our manager had said it would be a one-hour meeting, so I didn't take

my usual cold bag (MISTAKE!). We ended up working the rest of the day, and the

company ordered pizza. I tried nibbling some of the cheese from one pizza

because I was really, really hungry. I'd've done

better to stay hungry. It was a Domino's pizza which probably means a lot of

sugar in the tomato sauce, and the cheese was illegal mozzarella. I was REALLY

unwell that night, lots of gas, and diarrhea. BUT, I bounced back from it by

the next morning, and it did NOT throw me into a multi-week flare like it would

have even a year or so ago, so I know that I am continuing to heal, and that's

what SCD is all about: healing. I made a mistake. I paid for it, like many of

us have paid for mistakes. And, I've made it a point not to leave the house

without appropriate food in tow so I don't get caught out again. Key point

here: we all make mistakes. The trick is to LEARN from our mistakes. Being

in New Orleans at this time is a horror for anyone who has ever loved a city.

There are vast areas which still have no power, no water, no sewerage. Most

shops can only be open half the hours they would be because they lack the

manpower to stay open. The destroyed areas are silent,

motionless. No people, no children, no animals. No birdsong, no squirrel

chatter, not even cricket-song or the irritating humm of mosquitoes. And yet,

this city is making a beginning. We have so much to be thankful for. And yes

folks, except for the one mistake, I am still, as I have been throughout all

this, one hundred per cent SCD. So, if I can do it, so can you -- maybe not

perfectly, but always with the determination not to let the obstacles in your

way stop you from helping to heal yourself. All recipes below, with the

exception of the pumpkin pie recipe from BTVC, are from LOUISIANA SCA

LAGNIAPPE, the cook book that I'm still trying to get assembled. I don't mind

your sharing them with other SCDers. I *DO* mind if you do not give me

appropriate credit when sharing. -- Marilyn (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA)

Recipes from *Louisiana SCD Lagniappe* (forthcoming) Holiday Turkey I

usually do a twenty pound bird, so you may wish to scale ingredients

accordingly. 1 turkey, aka the Bird 3 large bunches of celery 4-5 yellow

onions 1 cup legal POULTRY SEASONING 2 sticks melted butter, cooled enough it

won't sear your hand First scrub out your sink really well. Wash celery

stalks. Remove coarse white part at the foot of each stalk, along with leaves

and set aside near sink. Small stems at top, and tender center stems can be

reserved for a nibbling veggie tray. De-string celery if necessary. Set aside.

Peel onions, remove tops and roots, set aside with celery feet. Quarter one or

two onions. Place a " grabbing bowl " of poultry seasoning by the sink.

Place Bird in sink and remove wrappings. Check for pin feathers, remove giblets

from cavity, trim any excess fat if you wish. Pour half the butter into the

cavity, reach in, slosh it around. Now grab a handful of seasoning and rub the

cavity. Grab another handful. Be generous. Grab some onion and put it in. Grab

some celery feet and put them in. Keep going

until cavity is mostly full. Pin it closed - a sanitized kilt pin holds the

flap of skin over the opening quite nicely. Turn the bird over and pour about

half the remaining butter into the other cavity. Repeat as for main cavity.

Take 3-4 yards of cooking string and tie a loop at the middle. Make a double

loop of both strands through that first loop and hook it over the end of one of

the drumsticks. Pull snug. Now loop both cords over the over drumstick and tie

it to the first one. Separate cords and start wrapping them around the bird,

crossing back and forth and ultimately tying the wings close to the body. Tie

off with a knot. You can also use metal pins to pin things together, but they

always came loose for me, and I had this half cooked bird flopping obscenely

around the roasting pan. Anyway, however you truss up your bird, get it into

the roasting pan, breast down, and put the remaining butter all over, along

with a generous rub of poultry seasoning.

Bake bird in oven at 325 F for about half the cooking time. Pull it out, flip

it over with a pair of oven mitts reserved for this purpose which will be going

in the washer after you're done. Return bird to oven. Finish cooking. See a

cookbook for how long to cook. Remove Bird to carving board with a lip. Pour

drippings into a pan to make gravy, or make your gravy right there in the

roasting pan. ____________________________________ Poultry Dressing 4

cups coarsely chopped peeled yellow onion 4 cups de-strung, coarse chopped

celery 2 cups almond flour 2 jumbo eggs 4-6 tablespoons POULTRY SEASONING 2

teaspoons baking soda See directions for preparing the Holiday Turkey. Once

you have wrestled the Bird into the oven, return to that celery and onion you

left by the sink. Chunk celery and onion in half-inch pieces. If veggie chunks

are a problem, chop them finely. Butter and parchment a couple of loaf pans,

or, if you want to be decorative, butter a Bundt

pan. Place 4 cups chunked celery and four cups chunked onion in a very large

bowl. In another bowl, mix 2 teaspoons baking soda with 2 cups almond flour,

and a generous 4-5 tablespoons of poultry seasoning. Toss almond flour mix

with vegetables. Crack in two eggs and mix by hand. If you try to mix this with

a blender, stick mixer, or in a food processor, you will get a nice vegetable

flavored bread, but it will not have the chunky texture of real dressing.

Turn mixture into two loaf pans or Bundt pan. Bake in oven the last hour the

bird is roasting. Turn out and slice for serving. If you need your veggies

finely chopped, do so, and blend the mixture with an extra egg and the dough

hooks on your blender. This will bake up more like a bread than a crumbly

stuffing, but it's quite tasty and works well. Since I don't have a problem

with veggie chunks, Harry and I like the chunk stuffing better.

____________________________________ Poultry Seasoning I

1/4 cup dry parsley 1/4 cup thyme 1/4 cup marjoram 1/4 cup rosemary 1/2

teaspoon fennel seed 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1 cup dry sage Place all

ingredients in blender or food processor and blend until well-powdered (the

fennel seeds take awhile). Store in a moisture proof container. Poultry

Seasoning II 1/4 cup dry sage 1/4 cup dry parsley 1/4 cup thyme 1/4 cup

marjoram 1/4 cup rosemary 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg For

those who don't care for as much sage: Place all ingredients in blender or food

processor and blend until well-powdered (the fennel seeds take awhile). Store

in a moisture proof container. ____________________________________

Turkey Gravy There's never enough gravy around our house, so I usually throw

a package of turkey necks in the crock pot the night before, along with about a

half gallon of water, a bunch of celery, some onion, and poultry seasoning.

When the necks are falling apart, I pour the mixture

through a colander, usually into the roasting pan. Scrape up all the little

browned bits and add them in. If you like, you can caramelize some onions and

add them, or you can roast some onions along with the Bird, purée them, and use

them to help thicken the gravy. I use one egg yolk for each cup gravy I make.

The broth should be just warm, so that you can beat some of it into the egg

yolks first, then add egg and yolk mixture back to the gravy, and heat gently,

stirring constantly, until thickened. Adjust seasoning if necessary. You'll

have to figure out how much salt to add, as I do mine salt-free because of my

mom. I have no idea how much salt to use in these recipes. How you coordinate

to get all this carved, blended, and on the table is your problem.

____________________________________ Cranberry Sauce 1 12 oz package

whole raw cranberries 1 envelope (1 tablespoon) plain, unflavored gelatin

honey to taste (1/2 - 3/4 cup) 1 cup orange juice

Cook berries with ½ cup orange juice in double boiler until soft and split.

Let cool slightly. Purée . Add honey to taste. Soften gelatin in

remaining orange juice, then add to hot cranberry puree and mix well. Pour into

mold, and chill, undisturbed, for twelve to twenty-four hours. To unmold,

turn cranberry sauce upside down, with a hand to catch it underneath. Dip under

running hot tap water to release the sauce, and remove quickly. Slide the sauce

onto serving plate and remove mold. Keep chilled until serving time.

Variation: substitute blueberries or other fruit. Legal white grape juice or

water may be substituted for orange juice if preferred. If fruit skins are

still a problem, i.e., you are still peeling all your other fruit, it may be

worthwhile to put the cranberries through a food mill or sieve, rather than

simply puréeing them. Likewise for any small seeded fruit, such as raspberries.

____________________________________ Cheesy

Mock Potatoes 2 cups WHITE BEAN PASTE 6 ounces freshly grated parmesan

cheese 2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated 2 tablespoons butter 2 cloves

garlic, pressed (optional) If using garlic, sauté in butter in medium sauce

pan until translucent, then add bean paste, and cheeses and stir together well.

If not using garlic, simply blend all ingredients in the sauce pan. Heat over

medium heat until cheeses are melted, bean paste is hot, and ingredients are

completely blended. Turn into serving dish, and serve with either additional

melted butter, or topped with meat gravy.

____________________________________ Bean Paste 2 (dry weight) pounds

white navy pea beans Sort beans to be sure there are no stones or other

undesirable items in them. Place in a large pot, and cover with water to a

depth of about 5 inches over the beans. Allow to soak overnight, or 8-10 hours,

whichever is longer. Drain and rinse the beans. Return to pot and fill with

water to

a depth of around four inches over the beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce

heat and simmer until the beans are completely tender, about two hours. Do not

salt the beans before or during cooking, as this will make them tough.

Drain, and rinse the beans. If vegetable skins are still a problem, use a food

mill to process the beans into paste and remove the bean skins. If vegetable

skins are not a problem, process the beans in a food processor, blender, or

through a meat grinder with a fine plate. (I use a Maverick electric grinder.)

The bean paste is now ready to use. For future use: Plop bean paste on a

cookie sheet in one-cup glops and freeze solid. Pry glops off the sheet and

store in a zip top bag in the freezer. Then when you need a cup of paste, you

can reach in, pull out a glop, and set it in a bowl to defrost, and it's

pre-measured. Using the " glop " method, you don't have to go through the hassles

of soaking, rinsing, cooking, and rinsing the beans every time.

Whole cooked beans can also be frozen in pre-measured amounts for other uses.

____________________________________ Ranch Style Green Beans This recipe

originated when my mother, newly on her salt-free diet, was to take a vegetable

dish to a salt-free potluck. She suddenly remembered her favorite green bean

casserole with condensed cream of mushroom soup was unsuitable for salt free. I

dashed into the kitchen and threw this together from ingredients I had in the

fridge and freezer. Scale amounts to your needs. 2 pounds frozen French cut

green beans 1 pound button or crimini mushrooms, sliced 4 tablespoons butter

1 cup RANCH DRESSING 3 egg yolks 1/3 cup almond flour Thinly sliced, blanched

almonds Steam green beans until not quite tender. While green beans are

steaming, melt butter in a sauce pan and sauté mushrooms. Beat ranch

dressing with 3 egg yolks. When the mushrooms are tender, cool quickly and then

add them and the butter to the yogurt,

along with the almond flour. Heat mixture gently until well-thickened.

When the green beans are cooked, turn out on a clean, folded tea towel to be

sure of no extra moisture. Return beans to a pan and then blend sauce and green

beans. Place in a covered casserole. Top with sliced almonds. To serve:

reheat in a 350 F oven until hot, and vegetables are completely tender.

____________________________________ Ranch Dressing 1 tablespoon dried

chives 1 teaspoon dried parsley 1 teaspoon powdered home-dried onion 1/2

teaspoon powdered home-dried garlic 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 1/4

teaspoon salt Blend spices into 1 cup yogurt cheese made with half and half

or full cream. Add 1-4 tablespoons of water to reach desired consistency. If

yogurt cheese is a little thin, reduce water. Cover and refrigerate at least an

hour, better over night if you can stand to wait. A good thick dipping ranch

cheese which goes great with vegetables and Sue's crackers.

Thin with water or homemade mayo for use on a salad. I make yogurt in half

gallon (two liter) batches, and then drip it. I split it into two 3 cup

containers, one for dessert things and one for ranch dressing mix. For the

mathematically challenged among us, per three cups of half & half yogurt

cheese: 3 tablespoons dried chives 1 tablespoon dried parsley 1 tablespoon

powdered onion (home-dried) 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered garlic 3/8 to 3/4

teaspoon white pepper 3/4 teaspoon salt

____________________________________ Brie Beans 1 pound French cut green

beans 4 ounces small white pearl onions 1 to 1½ cups BRIE CHEESE SAUCE

Remove " paper " from pearl onions, and trim tops and roots. Steam until tender.

Steam green beans until tender. Fold together green beans, onions, and brie

sauce. Turn into a baking dish and keep warm, stirring to remix sauce if

necessary, just before serving. Variations: Sauté 1/2 pound slices

mushrooms in a small amount of

butter, and fold into mixture. Substitute 2 ten ounce packages chopped

spinach for the green beans. ____________________________________ Brie

Cheese Sauce 8 ounces peeled weight brie cheese (12 ounces in the rind) 2

sticks (eight ounces) butter 1 cup half & half yogurt cheese Place peeled

brie in top of a double boiler. Place butter on top. Cover, and heat over

gently simmering water until brie is very soft and butter is completely melted.

Remove from heat. Whisk brie and butter together. Add yogurt cheese and whisk

until smooth. Heat gently until warm, whisking. This sauce can be made ahead,

but it does tend to separate when re-warmed, so be prepared to whisk it back

into shape. Mix with vegetables, or serve on top. Note: this was the very

first SCD recipe I posted to the Long Island List.

____________________________________ Bread: Lois Lang Bread from BTVC, made

into muffins for easy individual servings, like having biscuits or rolls

____________________________________ Dessert: Pumpkin Pie from BTVC

topped with Honey-Vanilla topping Honey-Vanilla Topping 3 cups half & half

or whole cream yogurt cheese 1/2 - 3/4 cup clear honey 2 teaspoons double

vanilla extract. Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Chill well. Serve

over pie.

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