Gluten-Free Skillet Cornbread And Cornbread Dressing

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I have been eating Paleo for many months now and that means I do not eat grains. Having been recently diagnosed with celiac disease it has become clear the removal of gluten from my diet has been instrumental in the general improvement in my health. I strongly believe the benefits of Paleo go way beyond the inherently gluten-free nature of this way of eating. Having said that, I will admit a willingness to indulge in eating other gluten-free grains on rare occasion.

Thanksgiving is one of those times.

Now, this does not mean I am willing to throw Paleo eating out the window even if only for the Thanksgiving meal. So we will keep everything totally Paleo but for one thing – cornbread dressing. I NEED to eat cornbread dressing at Thanksgiving. It is in my genes. It just is. So I searched far and wide for a good cornbread recipe. I found one at a blog called The Art of Gluten Free Baking. The recipe ingredients and directions have been altered a bit with the specification of coconut crystals in place of sugar, Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream and more milk to thin the batter because of the extra thick nature of the Greek yogurt. The easy recipe results in a gluten free cornbread that is very moist and tender. I like the fact it uses masa flour because it was just about the only non-Paleo food I did not throw away. It is a very fine flour similar to regular wheat flour and is used in its place in this gluten-free cornbread recipe.

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Holiday Turkey Brine: Part 3 – Roasting the Turkey

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Over the last several days, in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday, I have done a trial run of brining and roasting a turkey.  In the first post, Holiday Turkey Brine, I provided a recipe for a brine that makes enough for a twenty pound turkey.  The second installment was Holiday Turkey Brine: Part Two – Brining the Turkey. Today I want to show exactly how I prepared and roasted this brined turkey.

My bird was on the smaller side – a mere 13-14 pounds. Here’s a general guide for how much you will need:

12-15 lb turkey for 10-12 people
15-18 lb turkey for 14-16 people
18-22 lb turkey for 20-22 people

In a perfect world we would all have an organic heritage turkey that we hand fed and raised in our backyards and slaughtered ourselves. Just joking there. But seriously, it is nice to have a fresh turkey that has not been injected with lots of antibiotics and gluten-containing saline solutions. When I purchased what I thought was a “fresh” turkey I did not understand the meaning of “Kosher”. Turns out it means, among other things, the poultry has been soaked in unsalted water for half an hour and then packed in salt for about an hour. This means it has been partially brined. I ended up letting this kosher bird brine for about 18 hours but it probably could have gone for less time and been fine. That’s one of the nice things about brining, it is not an exact science.

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Holiday Turkey Brine

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turkey brine

turkey brineRecently, my boys and I took a trip to Williams-Sonoma to purchase a pan for the Paleo Pecan Pie Tart.  While perusing the store, trying not to buy more than was absolutely necessary – a difficult task, I might add- I happened upon a large jar of Turkey Brine. Just last Fall I purchased a honey-brined turkey breast from a local grocery store and was surprised at the difference the process made in the taste.  So when I saw the Williams-Sonoma turkey brine I was all set to buy it, until…..I looked at the price.  It was $18 for what is mostly sea salt!

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Paleo Pecan Pie / Tart

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paleo pecan pie tart

paleo pecan pie tartTexas has a robust pecan industry and, not surprisingly, pecan pie is very popular there. Not far from my hometown is the famous Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas. They have been using Texas pecans since 1896 in their fruitcakes, pecan cakes and pecan pies that ship all over the world. When I was growing up there, pecan trees, which are native to Texas, were in my front yard. I still remember the little old man coming over and using a “pecan picker upper” to harvest some from under our trees.  A few days later he would show up at our doorstep with a homemade pecan pie just for us!  It was his way of saying thanks and the gesture was much appreciated.

Unfortunately, celiac disease or gluten intolerance means having to avoid gluten in a pecan pie even if it comes from a famous bakery, a nice neighbor or a well-meaning host at a party. If you want a standard pecan pie there are about a zillion recipes in cookbooks and online. But almost every one of them will have a wheat flour crust or, minimally, will be chock full of sugar, sugar and more sugar.  “Low carb” recipes often have tons of artificial ingredients that make me think “why bother?”  This recipe is different.  It is not only gluten-free but also takes into account my desire to stay as close to paleo as possible. So gone is the corn syrup, brown sugar and processed white sugar. The filling is sweetened only by dates, applesauce, pure maple syrup and a little molasses. Oh and there’s a bit of rum too. But that’s optional. Sort of.

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Dose of Beauty: November 10, 2011

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cows in autumn

Autumn By HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW Thou comest, Autumn, heralded by the rain, With banners, by great gales incessant fanned, Brighter than brightest silks of Samarcand, And stately oxen harnessed to thy wain! Thou standest, like imperial Charlemagne, Upon thy bridge of gold; thy royal hand Outstretched with benedictions o’er the land, Blessing the farms through … Read more

Paleo and the City: Momofuku’s Má Pêche

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NYC skyline at night
NYC skyline at night
NYC skyline at night - Instagram

Paleo dining in New York City is possible. Some of the restaurants that make paleo eating easier are ones that focus on using the whole animal and local ingredients. David Chang’s Momofuku (lucky peach) restaurants are among them. I first heard of Momofuku (comprised of Noodle Bar, Ssäm Bar, Ko and Má Pêche) through a Google search on “paleo” and “New York City restaurants” that led me to Melissa McEwen’s blog “Hunt Gather Love“. One of her posts extoled the virtues of this proudly vegetarian-unfriendly group of restaurants. In fact, a notice at Ssäm Bar announces, much to the consternation of the ubiquitous vegetarians in the City,

“We do not serve vegetarian-friendly items.”

*snort*

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How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock in Five Minutes

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Homemade Chicken Stock

Homemade Chicken StockIna Garten‘s “Barefoot Contessa” is one of my favorite cooking shows. She often references using homemade chicken stock in her recipes.  And even though Ina qualifies it by saying you can substitute store-bought stock or broth, the mere mention of homemade chicken stock only served to make me feel inadequate. At least it did until very recently when I finally figured out if you have five minutes, a few key ingredients and a crock pot you can make homemade chicken stock.*

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