Gluten Free Thanksgiving Dinner
Cooking Thanksgiving with friends is the best, but this year
I did it on my own and with the help of cds by Pink Martini I had a ball. Only
a very crazy person would make all of this (I speak from recent experience) but
I have just created and cooked all of the recipes and can vouch for them if you
are willing to take on any one.
We had:
Scottish Oat
Crackers, Mascarpone and Chutney
Trader Joe’s
Sparkling Apple Cider
Brined, Butterflied Roast
Turkey with a Cranberry Glaze.
Wild Rice and Cornbread
Dressing
Arugula Salad with Marinated
Root Vegetables
Mashed Potatoes with Garlic
Gravy with Potato Starch
Cranberry Sauce with
Pomegranate and Orange Juices
Green Beans with Bacon
and Balsamic
Pumpkin Pie with Cognac
Raspberry Pie with
Lime Curd and Mascarpone Cream
So here it goes:
1 box Nairn’s or other Scottish Oat Crackers
1 container of mascarpone
1 jar Mango Ginger Chutney (we used Trader Joe’s brand)
Each cracker, spread with mascarpone, add a small dollop of
chutney, plate.
THE TURKEY PROCESS
15 lb kosher turkey butterflied and brined. (see below) I
brined the turkey whole and butterflied it afterwards, before roasting. My one
mistake was to not rinse the brine off more thoroughly because leaving it on
made the bed of stuffing saltier than I would have liked but it was still very
good.
TURKEY BRINE MIXTURE
1 cup very coarse sea salt
¼ c sugar
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped dried apple
The peel of one orange, cubed
3 cloves of garlic, chopped coarsely
1 TBS dried thyme
1 TBS dried rosemary
1 TBS dried sage
1 TBS black peppercorns
Boil 1 qt of water, add the brining mixture and stir until
dissolved. Cool and add another qt of water and pour into a thick plastic bag
(I double bagged this to insure no leaks but I also left the bagged turkey
overnight in an ice chest). Add the turkey and another qt and a half (6 cups) of
ice cubes to the bag. I let the turkey brine for 24 hours, that is all the time
I had. 48 hours is recommended but I was totally satisfied with the moisture
content and tenderness of the turkey after 24 hours so I am not sure how much
better a result 48 hours of brining would have produced.
After 24 hours and just before roasting, rinse the turkey in
very cold water and pat dry with towels. I strained the contents of the brining
bag to save the chunky ingredients and of that, set aside about ½ cup to make
the glaze.
BUTTERFLYING THE TURKEY
To butterfly the turkey, simply get a pair of strong cooking
shears and cut along the backbone, on both sides. It is not nearly as hard as the YouTube videos make it and
you do not need a guy to help you ladies. You may need a large, strong knife to
hack through some of the bones stouter than the ribs but it is not a big deal
to take the backbone out of a 15lb bird. Larger than this you may need help but
butterflying is worth it. It took less time to cook and the drumsticks were not
dry at all (one of my biggest complaints about cooking turkey.
TURKEY BROTH
All the parts you have left from the turkey: neck, backbone,
etc.
Cover the turkey bits with cold water and bring to a boil
along with:
1 onion, very coarsely cut
2 stalks celery, very coarsely cut
1 carrot, very coarsely cut
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 tsp salt
Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover and
cook 1-2 hours until the meat is falling off the bones. Cool and strain in a
colander. Discard the bones after removing the meat and reserve the vegetables.
Place the meat and veggies in a bowl with enough of the saved liquid to cover
and blend with an immersion blender or place in a blender or food processor and
process until very smooth. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator.
THE CRANBERRY GLAZE
½ cup cranberry sauce
½ cup melted butter
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup brining spices
Combine in a bowl and either blend with an immersion blender
or in a processor until smooth. Put blended mixture through a strainer and set
aside to baste on turkey later.
CRANBERRY SAUCE WITH POMEGRANATE AND ORANGE JUICES
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup
pomegranate juice
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 TBS Grand Marnier liquor
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
Cook all the ingredients above except the pomegranate seeds in
a medium heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat until the mixture comes
to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about ten minutes until the
cranberries burst and the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool.
WILD RICE AND CORNBREAD DRESSING
The day (or early morning) before:
1 qt chicken broth
1 cup raw wild rice
1 tsp salt
Bring the broth and salt to a boil, add the wild rice,
return to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes or until
the rice is done but still a bit toothy (or not falling apart tender.) Set
aside for assembly.
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix
I followed the directions on the package, except that I used
buttermilk instead of plain milk. I baked the mix in a buttered Pyrex baking
pan and when it was cooled I cut the entire pan into three large strips,
removed them from the pan and carefully, with a serrated bread knife, cut each
slice horizontally in three slices and then cubed each slice so that I had left
only cubes about ¾ inch square. I then toasted these on cookie sheets in a 350
degree oven until they were crispy, turning the cubes several times to release
the moisture. I cooled these and put them in a plastic bag until I was ready to
assemble the dressing.
The day you roast the
turkey:
WILD RICE AND CORNBREAD DRESSING (CONT'D)
2 large onions, diced
½ bunch of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ lb mushrooms, diced
1 apple, diced
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS butter
1 TBS dried sage
1 TBS thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter and olive together in a very large frying
pan. Add the onions, celery, carrots, apples and mushrooms and sauté until just
barley done. Add the herbs and set aside.
1 pound bulk turkey or pork sausage (gently pre-fried in olive oil in
walnut size chunks until just barely done)
1 cup coarsely chopped baked chestnuts (from the shell is
best, purchased already processed are good but they do tend to get lost once
cooked, fresh chestnuts will retain their integrity better when cooked under
the bird)
To a large bowl add the wild rice, cornbread cubes, fried
vegetables and herbs, cooked sausage, and chestnuts. Add just enough of the
prepared turkey broth to barley moisten.
To a large, buttered, at least 12x15 inch, heavy roasting
pan add the Dressing Mixture in a layer on the bottom. Place the butterflied
rinsed and dried turkey on top. Brush with olive oil. Preheat oven to 425. Cook
the bird for 30 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325 and cook for
another 1-2 hours or until the internal temperature is 170 degrees. Remove from
oven and let the bird rest on the dressing for 45 minutes until removing and
carving.
MASHED POTATOES WITH GARLIC
1 ½ lbs medium red potatoes, unpeeled, cubed
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tsp salt
2 TBS butter
¼ cup warmed milk
salt and pepper to taste
Boil about 2 qts of water in a medium saucepan and add the
potatoes and salt, return to a boil, add the garlic and then reduce to a simmer
and cook for about 10 minutes or until the potato cubes are tender. Drain the
cooked potatoes in a sieve. Return the potatoes to the warm pan, add 2 TBS
butter and enough of the ¼ cup warm milk to make the mashed potatoes the
texture you want. Blend with an immersion blender or hand potato masher. Add
salt and pepper.
GREEN BEANS WITH BACON AND BALSAMIC
1 pound of small green beans or haricot verde
5 strips of fried or oven roasted bacon cut into small
strips
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
½ TBS good balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
Steam the beans until just done. In a bowl toss the beans
with the bacon and oil and vinegar. Adjust to taste (may need to add more
vinegar.) Add salt and pepper if needed.
TURKEY GRAVY
3 cups turkey broth from above
1 Tbs melted butter
1 TBS olive oil
2-3 TBS potato flour
salt and pepper to taste
Bring the turkey broth to a boil, reduce to simmer. Remove ½ cup to allow to cool. To the
melted butter in a small bowl add the olive oil. Gradually stir in the potato
starch. As the mixture thickens add some of the cooling broth. Stir in the lump
less potato starch mix to the simmering broth with a whisk and whisk until
smooth.
ARUGULA SALAD WITH MARINATED ROOT VEGETABLES
3 cups of arugula
1 cup of spinach
3 scallions, sliced
½ cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced
1 golden beet, sliced
1 red beet, sliced
½ cup tiny carrots, sliced as thick as the beets but on the
diagonal
Dressing:
6 TBS olive oil
3 TBS balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp oregano
1 clove garlic minced or pressed
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Dijon type mustard
Steam the beets and carrots until just tender. While still
warm marinate for several hours in the dressing ingredients. Drain. Assemble
the salad with the arugula and spinach, tomatoes, scallions, the drained root
vegetables and then add enough of the remaining dressing/marinade to lightly
cover.
PUMPKIN PIE WITH COGNAC
One premade 9 inch frozen gluten free single piecrust
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp fresh grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup white sugar
½ cup plus 2 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS molasses
2 TBS cognac
2 eggs plus 4 eggs yolks, lightly beaten together
1 tsp vanilla
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a
whisk or an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into the raw piecrust. Bake at
425 for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 and cook for another 35- 45 minutes
or until the pumpkin custard is set. Cool and serve with slightly sweetened
whip cream.
RASPBERRY PIE WITH LIME CURD AND MASCARPONE CREAM
Ingredients:
Raspberry layer:
20 oz frozen raspberries
12 oz (2 cartons) fresh raspberries
1 cup juice (may need water to make full cup)
3 1/2 TBS corn starch
1/3 cup sugar + 2 TBS
½ tsp salt
1 tsp lime or lemon juice
4 egg yolks
2 drops almond extract
1 TBS butter
Defrost the frozen raspberries and place in a large sieve
over a bowl to drain and save juice. When thoroughly thawed crush the berries
with the back of a spoon to the sieve and collect more juice. Carefully wash
and rain the fresh raspberries keeping them in tact. If you do not have 1 cup of juice add water to make the amount.
To a medium heavy bottomed saucepan add the cornstarch and sugar and salt.
Gradually add the raspberry juice and stir to eliminate lumps. Add the saved
raspberry pulp and seeds and lemon/lime juice and cook over medium high heat
stirring constantly while the mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add a few TBS
of mixture to the beaten egg yolks in a separate bowl, stir well and then add
tempered mix to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat for two minutes. Remove
from heat and add the almond extract and butter. Chill.
Mascarpone Cream
Layer:
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla. In a
separate bowl whip the mascarpone. Fold the two creams together and chill.
Lime Curd Layer:
2 cups lime curd (jarred or if you want to make it recipe
follows)
Homemade Line Curd
Makes about 4 cups
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups lime juice
6 tablespoons butter, divided in half
3 cups sugar, divided
6 extra-large eggs
4 extra-large egg yolks
In a large, non-reactive saucepan over medium-high heat,
combine water, limejuice, half the butter and half the sugar. Bring to a boil
and let simmer until sugar completely dissolves. In a large bowl, combine eggs,
yolks and remaining sugar. Whisk to combine. Temper the egg mixture by adding a
small amount of the warm mix and combine the two mixtures in pot. Over medium
heat, stir constantly until thickened to curd consistency, scraping the bottom
and sides of pot so eggs do not overcook. Have a mesh strainer set up over a
bowl within a bowl ice bath and force curd through strainer into bowl. Add
remaining butter to curd, whisking until butter is fully incorporated. Store
the Lime Curd in the refrigerator with vented plastic film touching the curd so
a skin does not form and chill well.
Pie Crust
One 9 inch prebaked, cooled gluten free pie crust
Raspberry Jam Glaze
1 cup of raspberry jam
1-2 TBS Karo syrup
Heat the raspberry jam in a small saucepan. Pour the warm,
melted liquid jam through a small mesh sieve to remove all the seeds. Add 1-2
TBS syrup to mixture. Cool.
Assembly:
To the cooled piecrust add the 2 cups lime curd to the
bottom layer, smooth. Gently pour the mascarpone cream to the second layer and
smooth. Gently add the raspberry custard to the third layer. Place the clean,
dry fresh raspberries on the third layer in concentric circles to fill the top.
To gild the lily. When you have the pie assembled and the
fresh raspberries in place spoon the raspberry glaze over each raspberry to
coat. Chill. It is stunning!
