One Juicy Turkey

Although my photography doesn't do justice, this turkey was so juicy and delicious! We brined it for 3 days before roasting. I need to work on my carving technique, but I think I have the recipe down.

 

Hope your Thanksgiving was filled with family, love, great food! I'm not sure what I love most-time with my family or all of the delightful dishes! I am lucky to have married into such a wonderful family who also are great cooks! Our get-togethers are always filled with yummy treats and lots of laughs. Now that Thanksgiving is over, we are enjoying such dishes as Turkey Green Chile, Turkey Enchiladas, and of course, Turkey Sandwiches. I will be sharing some of these dishes in the next week.

 
Honey-Brined Turkey

8 quarts water

1/2 cup salt (Real, Celtic Sea, or Kosher salt is preferred)

1/3 cup honey

1 large or 2 small onions, diced

2-3 ribs of celery (leaves included), sliced

2 carrots (10-12 baby carrots), sliced

6 bay leaves

several sprigs fresh rosemary

15-20 fresh sage leaves

a turkey (mine was about 14 pounds)

2 large oven bags

• Mix all ingredients in one of the large oven bags that has been placed in your largest pot, bowl or deepest roasting pan
• Be sure to mix until the salt and honey have dissolved into the water
• Place your bird into the bag of brine, close the bag tightly enough to squeeze out the air and completely cover the turkey with brine
• Marinate for 2-3 days
• Drain the turkey (I did not rinse) and place in a fresh oven bag in a roasting pan
• Bake at 350 degrees until a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the turkey reaches 180 degrees. Mine took 3 hours.

Macadamia and Coconut Crusted Sweet Potato Casserole

Only served at Thanksgiving in my childhood home, sweet potatoes were never a fave of mine-not even smothered with brown sugar and marshmallows. But since pumpkin is currently on my “can’t enjoy” list, I have a new-found delight in the beautifully orange tuber. I love them in pies, as French fries, in muffins, cheesecakes, and in this delicious casserole I made yesterday. This is a perfect pairing for Thanksgiving turkey, plump smoked ham baked with pineapple, or a juicy pork roast stuffed with cranberries and figs. Or you can eat it all by itself, as I did yesterday for lunch!

Filling: 
2 large, cooked sweet potatoes or yams (2 ½-3 cups roughly mashed-leave some nice chunks)
1 cup coconut milk (light or regular)
2 tbls date sugar (or 3-4 chopped fresh dates or brown sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried ginger or ½ tsp fresh grated ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

• I peeled and thickly sliced the potatoes into rounds, placed in a shallow baking dish and baked at 350 until fork tender
• Roughly mash potato slices, leaving chunks
• In a smaller bowl, mix coconut milk with remaining filling ingredients
• Stir into mashed potato mix
• Spread into the bottom of a smaller casserole dish (mine was an 11x7) 

Topping: 
1/3 cup raw Macadamia nuts, chopped somewhat finely (pecans would be tasty too)
1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup date sugar (or brown sugar)
1/4 cup coconut flour (or other flour tolerated)
3 tbls Spectrum Organic Shortening, melted (or butter)

• I find it easiest to process the hazelnuts in my mini food processor
• Add all the other ingredients in and pulse until blended
• Sprinkle the topping mix evenly on top of sweet potato mixture
• Bake uncovered until golden brown, about 15 minutes

These are the gound hazelnuts

Variation: Try replacing coconut milk with pineapple juice for a more tropical flavor, omit lemon juice