Gluten-free chestnut stuffing & cranberry pear sauce
Today was a perfect day to golf. 80 degrees, sunny, with a mild breeze. When we got back I put together some lettuce wraps using the meat from the turkey wings I used to make the Paleo Thanksgiving gravy. I sauteed the meat together with some onions, shiitakes, and cabbage. Here's lunch:
For Thanksgiving prep I made the stuffing and the cranberry sauce. I decided on making a gluten-free stuffing rather than a full on paleo-friendly stuffing because I couldn't find a recipe that I was totally psyched about. The majority of the stuffings out there were basically sausage, fruit, and nuts. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I felt it would just be way too meaty for an already rich meal. Plus I'm cooking for my parents who are still trying to wrap their minds around the way that I eat. They have had it drilled in to their heads for as long as I've been alive that fat and cholesterol are bad, and low-fat, high carbohydrate diets are good. When I yelled suggested that they should be using healthy fats for cooking such as coconut oil and butter and to toss the canola oil they were shocked. So in an effort to not completely freak anyone out I thought a gluten-free stuffing would be a decent compromise. Plus in my opinion, as long as you don't have an allergy or other severe health issue, then veering off the Paleo track for special occasions is totally fine. Thanksgiving counts as a special occasion.
GLUTEN-FREE CHESTNUT STUFFING
I used a loaf of Udi's gluten-free white bread. Gluten-free items have come a long way. This was actually pretty tasty bread.
I adapted this recipe from the Epicurious.com website and just subbed the bread with gluten-free bread. Josh did all the prep work for the stuffing. First he sliced the bread in to cubes and laid them evenly on a baking sheet. I baked them in the oven at 325 for about 15 minutes, tossing every so often, until the bread was golden brown.
While that was in the oven he chopped a red onion and two stalks of celery, and minced up some fresh thyme, sage, rosemary, and oregano.
I sauteed the vegetables and herbs in pasture butter (I like Kerrygold) over moderately low heat until the vegetables were soft. Then I added some chopped chestnuts and cooked for another few minutes. I just use jarred chestnuts to save time. If you want to roast and peel your own chestnuts go for it, but you'll be wishing you used the jarred kind when the first couple of chestnuts explode in your oven.
I mixed the toasted bread pieces with the vegetables. It was looking a bit dry so I added some chicken stock until the bread pieces had soaked up a little moisture. Now all I have to do is bake it tomorrow.
CRANBERRY AND PEAR SAUCE:
This is kind of teetering on the Paleo fence. It's grain-free (duh), and I didn't use any processed sugars. Just juice and raw honey. It's certainly not something one should eat every day.
I just love the look of cranberries!
I boiled 1/4 cup of water with 1/4 orange juice together with a cinnamon stick and some orange zest. Once it was boiling I added about half a bag of cranberries (6 oz) and a peeled and diced pear.
I let that simmer together until all the berries collapsed and the pear was soft. I took it off the heat and added the honey until it was at the sweetness that I wanted (about a 1/4 cup). And that's it. Cranberry sauce is so easy. I really don't understand how people can eat that weird canned jelly stuff.
Be on the lookout for my Thanksgiving Day post! Unless I totally screw up the turkey. In which case you'll be seeing pics of my family and I at a Chinese restaurant.
Happy Thanksgiving!