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This is what I cooked on Thanksgiving.
Appetizer: seared foie gras over roasted root vegetables in black truffle brandy butter. The root vegetables were parsnip, rutabaga, fennel and a small amount of sweet potato. I wanted to use celeriac but there was none to be had, and celeriac is a bit higher in carbs anyhow. This dish can be made just fine minus the sweet potato if you are on Induction or a lower rung of OWL. Basically the root vegetables are cubed, tossed in flavored butter or oil, drizzled with flavored brandy and slow roasted at 350.
Main dish: Young tender turkey stuffed with fennel, black truffle peelings, black truffle brandy and chestnuts. I had only a tiny corner of one chestnut; they were for the other people enjoying the meal. In retrospect I should have tossed some cubed rutabaga in to soak up the black truffle juices so that I could enjoy this part of the meal too. Roasted rutabaga is a very decent chestnut substitute.
Splenda cranberry sauce. The first bag of cranberries was simmered in a light Splenda syrup until it fell apart and gelled, then put through a strainer to remove the skins. Then the second bag went in, and the result was cooked just long enough to make all these berries pop and absorb the syrup.
Cauliflower fauxtatoes. I modified this recipe to be low fat as well as low carb for myself and the other health conscious people at table, and it tasted just fine.
Steamed green beans drizzled with Yuzu (Japanese citrus) juice.
Stuffing made with cubes of low carb bread, chopped celery, fresh parsley, assorted herbs, and moistened with turkey giblet broth and Egg Beaters. I was going to add some homemade wild boar sausage to the stuffing but I discovered it had all been eaten and I can't stomach the store bought stuff. Stuffing tasted fine anyways.
Low carb cornbread. The recipe that actually works is in Low Carb Cooking Lessons. The tweak I performed on this recipe to make it both low fat and low carb failed dismally. Don't try it.
I was going to cook a dish with spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil and then baked to a creamy tenderness, but ran out of time.
Dessert: Pumpkin bran oatcakes layered with pumpkin custard and low carb cheesecake filling. This low carb/reasonably low fat recipe worked fantastically well. The custard was straightforward and involved pumpkin, nonfat cream cheese, eggs and egg substitute. Same deal on the cheesecake made with nonfat cream cheese, egg substitute and Splenda. The pumpkin bran oatcakes involved: 1 cup oat bran, 1/2 cup whey protein isolate, 1/2 cup raw old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup wheat protein isolate, 1/4 cup oat flour, a teaspoon each of cinnamon, ground cloves, ginger and nutmeg, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 cup Splenda. Wet ingredients were a can of pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup egg whites, 2 tbsp fresh pressed ginger, 1/2 cup Splenda, 8 oz nonfat cream cheese. They turned out delicious and everybody could eat them.
I do not recommend low fat and low carb cooking on Atkins as a general rule as it tends to be either higher in carbs or absolutely disgusting. I was cooking for other health conscious people and wanted to make sure everyone could share in the meal.
Appetizer: seared foie gras over roasted root vegetables in black truffle brandy butter. The root vegetables were parsnip, rutabaga, fennel and a small amount of sweet potato. I wanted to use celeriac but there was none to be had, and celeriac is a bit higher in carbs anyhow. This dish can be made just fine minus the sweet potato if you are on Induction or a lower rung of OWL. Basically the root vegetables are cubed, tossed in flavored butter or oil, drizzled with flavored brandy and slow roasted at 350.
Main dish: Young tender turkey stuffed with fennel, black truffle peelings, black truffle brandy and chestnuts. I had only a tiny corner of one chestnut; they were for the other people enjoying the meal. In retrospect I should have tossed some cubed rutabaga in to soak up the black truffle juices so that I could enjoy this part of the meal too. Roasted rutabaga is a very decent chestnut substitute.
Splenda cranberry sauce. The first bag of cranberries was simmered in a light Splenda syrup until it fell apart and gelled, then put through a strainer to remove the skins. Then the second bag went in, and the result was cooked just long enough to make all these berries pop and absorb the syrup.
Cauliflower fauxtatoes. I modified this recipe to be low fat as well as low carb for myself and the other health conscious people at table, and it tasted just fine.
Steamed green beans drizzled with Yuzu (Japanese citrus) juice.
Stuffing made with cubes of low carb bread, chopped celery, fresh parsley, assorted herbs, and moistened with turkey giblet broth and Egg Beaters. I was going to add some homemade wild boar sausage to the stuffing but I discovered it had all been eaten and I can't stomach the store bought stuff. Stuffing tasted fine anyways.
Low carb cornbread. The recipe that actually works is in Low Carb Cooking Lessons. The tweak I performed on this recipe to make it both low fat and low carb failed dismally. Don't try it.
I was going to cook a dish with spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil and then baked to a creamy tenderness, but ran out of time.
Dessert: Pumpkin bran oatcakes layered with pumpkin custard and low carb cheesecake filling. This low carb/reasonably low fat recipe worked fantastically well. The custard was straightforward and involved pumpkin, nonfat cream cheese, eggs and egg substitute. Same deal on the cheesecake made with nonfat cream cheese, egg substitute and Splenda. The pumpkin bran oatcakes involved: 1 cup oat bran, 1/2 cup whey protein isolate, 1/2 cup raw old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup wheat protein isolate, 1/4 cup oat flour, a teaspoon each of cinnamon, ground cloves, ginger and nutmeg, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 cup Splenda. Wet ingredients were a can of pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup egg whites, 2 tbsp fresh pressed ginger, 1/2 cup Splenda, 8 oz nonfat cream cheese. They turned out delicious and everybody could eat them.
I do not recommend low fat and low carb cooking on Atkins as a general rule as it tends to be either higher in carbs or absolutely disgusting. I was cooking for other health conscious people and wanted to make sure everyone could share in the meal.
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