Thanksgiving Dinner for Eight

Granddaughter Emma's Thanksgiving dinner plate.

It\s Canadian Thanksgiving dinner! You have to have turkey (I think it's a law), cranberry sauce, stuffing (or dressing), Brussels sprouts (my law), mashed potatoes cauliflower and gravy, so I have been scouring my many Paleo cookbooks for ideas. I found many delicious recipes and with some of our traditional Thanksgiving favourites already being Paleo (turkey!), not a lot is different from the Thanksgiving dinners we all grew up with.  Unfortunately, I was so busy cooking and serving, I didn't get the pictures I needed for the blog - sigh - but the food was good.  Two days of cooking. half an hour of eating and another forty-five minutes to clean up.  A lot of work but worth it to have the family together.


Turkey - one of the things I didn't get a picture of but trust me, it was a thing of beauty - crispy skin and fall off the bone meat.  I used Paleo Comfort Food's recipe for dry brining and roasting and it turned out just like the picture in the cookbook.  One of my pet peeves (and it happens often) is when you cook a recipe from a cookbook and follow the directions exactly and it looks nothing like the picture.  If you don't have Paleo Comfort Food, it is well worth buying for it's simple tasty recipes.

Cranberry Sauce - I also used the cranberry sauce recipe from the same cookbook - it's slightly tart, but you could add more honey if you want a sweeter sauce.











Cauli-Celery Root Mash - a simple recipe to substitute for mashed white potatoes.  I had Paleo eaters and non-Paleo eaters for Thanksgiving dinner and, while Oldest Son missed the standard white potatoes, he didn't mind the substitution.

Cauli-Celery Root Mash
Serves 8

1 large or 2 small heads of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 large celery root, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups of chicken broth
1/3 cup ghee (or butter if you tolerate dairy)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the cauliflower and celery root in the chicken broth until for tender, about 20 minutes - don't overcook and don't drain.
2. Add the ghee or butter and salt and pepper.
3. Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture until smooth, or leave it a little chunky if that's the way you prefer it.
4. Serve with turkey gravy.
   

Gravy - because the Paleo Comfort Food's recipe for turkey uses 1/2 cup of butter, one cup of water and 1 cup of white wine (along with apples, onions and herbs), there is lots of flavorful liquid in the roasting pan for gravy.  I used a fat separator to get the juices and just a little fat, and thickened it with some arrowroot and chicken broth and it tasted great over the cauli-celery root mash.

Green Beans with Almonds - a simple dish for those who think they don't like my Fall Fusion Bake - you grandchildren know who you are!

Fall Harvest Fusion - I pinned this recipe (developed by Paleology 101 on Pinterest and Beautiful Granddaughter #1 said it tasted like Fall.  Sweet potato, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, dried cranberries and pecans - yum.

Sweet Potato Cloverleaf Buns -  I used my Grain-free Sweet Potato Bun recipe.  All but Beautiful Granddaughter #4 liked these.

Mini Pumpkin Tarts - Even though everyone was stuffed from dinner, we were all in agreement that we had a different stomach for dessert (oh, if that were true).  Another recipe that turned out exactly like the picture on Our Paleo Life blog.  I would definitely make these again.

A delicious finish to a great Thanksgiving dinner!