A Movable Thanksgiving Feast for Food ‘n Flix

Sometimes in the rush, hubbub, a craziness that is the holiday season, we all need to remember to give thanks.  Yes, I am fully aware that sometimes grace is hard to find in certain family situations.   Holiday stress can just compound the issues.

We must all try.

That is what I was doing…trying…as I was making my “Meals-on-Wheels” Thanksgiving feast to transport to my dad’s for an early Thanksgiving dinner.

Leave it to an 80s comedy to reinforce and remind me to make the most of our family time this season.  Planes, Trains and Automobiles is up for the Thanksgiving round for Food ‘n Flix.  Thanks to Amy’s Cooking Adventures for hosting.
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I’m a John Hughes fan but if I had seen this film, I had forgotten.  (1987 was a long time ago, ya’ know?  I kept thinking I had seen it and swear I remember Candy riding with a polka band….Nope….Wrong film.)

As I was waiting for the turkey to thaw out, I realized I was almost out of time for this Food ‘n Flix round.  I started streaming this comedy immediately.  Ironically (or not), Candy and Martin put me in the holiday spirit.  There’s not a lot of food per se in the film.  There’s diner and road food. And, there are wistful images of holiday meals.

In honor of this film and the season of sharing, here is our early Thanksgiving celebration:

Garlic Confit Rubbed Roasted Turkey Breast

Cranberry-Apple Relish with Honey

Cheddar and Pepper Muffins

Rosemary Sweet Potatoes with Crispy Shallots

Ginger Green Beans

Massaged Kale Salad with Pomegranate

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Bars

For this special dinner for my dad, I pulled all these recipes from a “diabetic holiday recipe” search and I tweaked most just a bit.  Everything but the turkey, that is…that one’s totally mine!  Since each dish was prepared the day before, I plated the recipes separately as they were done before I packaged them up for travel. This was truly a movable feast.

 

I’ve included the direct links to the recipes above but I did tweak them just a bit so am putting the recipes (or just notes) with the photos here.

I’ll start with my original recipe.   You will need a jar of garlic confit.  The recipe can be found here.

garlic confit

Garlic Confit Roasted Turkey Breast

Debra

I made this recipe four or five years ago and got the ultimate compliment from my mom: “This is the best turkey I’ve eaten in a while.” Writing the recipe down this time!

Ingredients

  • 1 (7-8 lb.) whole turkey breast (bone in)
  • 1 (1/2 pint) jar garlic confit
  • sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Place defrosted turkey breast (breast side up) in a roasting pan.
  2. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  3. Carefully separate the skin and rub the confit underneath.  Make sure you use up a lot of the seasoned olive oil from the confit.  (You may also use fresh sage leaves at this time, too.)  Sprinkle the breast all over with salt and pepper.
  4. Place the turkey in the oven and lower the temperature to 350°F.
  5. Roast for 1 hour, then begin checking the temperature.  (The turkey is done when it reaches 165°F in the thickest part of the breast meat. Start checking after 1 hour of roasting and continue checking every 10 to 15 minutes until internal temperature is reached.)  If the turkey is starting to get too brown, cover with aluminum foil.
  6. When turkey is done, remove from oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
  7. Carve and serve and enjoy!

Truth be told, I actually cooked this turkey too long.  And, yes, I am blaming this oversight on my film watching.  Luckily, the turkey was still moist and delicious with a mighty tasty and crunchy skin.

Garlic Confit Roasted Turkey

 

I really like a tart relish, but this next recipe can be adapted to your family’s tastes.  The original recipe called for sugar.  I used honey and a tangerine.

Cranberry-Apple Relish with Honey

These simple ingredients made the best relish ever.  Truly.  As I was testing for tartness, I found myself eating it out of the food processor by the spoonful.

Cranberry-Apple Relish with Honey

It’s easy to make this relish tarter or sweeter—just adjust the honey.

Ingredients

  • 1 (12 oz) pkg. fresh cranberries
  • 1 granny smith apple, cored but not peeled
  • 1 tangerine, unpeeled and chopped
  • 1/4 to 1/2 c. honey (to taste)
  • dash of Himalayan sea salt
  1. Combine the cranberries, apples, oranges, honey and salt in a food processor.  Process until desired consistency is achieved.
  2. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.
  3. Transfer to a sealable bowl.  Refrigerate overnight (or at least two hours) before serving.

Optional:  Garnish with mint.

Cheddar Pepper Muffins

I did not change anything on the Cheddar Pepper Muffins except I added a bit more hot sauce and topped half of the muffins with a pickled jalapeno slice.  I also couldn’t find fat-free cheese so I used a reduced-fat cheddar.  This recipe utilizes liquid egg substitute but I am going to make these again and use real eggs.  These muffins are that good.  They would be great along side a bowl of chili.

Rosemary Sweet Potatoes with Crispy Shallots

For the Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Shallots, I believe I used a bit more sweet potatoes.  I did feel the urge to add 2 tablespoons of butter, too.  🙂

Ginger Green Beans

The Ginger Green Beans were so good and I’m glad I used 2 (10 oz.) bags of Baby French Beans.   The combined flavor of the candied ginger, shallots and lemon rind is amazing.

Massaged Kale Salad with Pomegranate

At the last minute, I decided we needed some more greens so I made a version of my massaged kale salad.  For some color, I threw some pomegranate seeds on top.

I guess I am just posting this picture to prove I made them. Sorry. These did not get nicely plated before the trip.

Last but not least are the Pumpkin Pie Bars.  I roasted our Halloween decorations to make these (instead of using canned pumpkin).

Leftovers from our doorstep.

 

Sometimes family finds us, even in the form of a huggable lug like Del Griffith (John Candy in his quintessential type-cast role).   Sometimes we try to resist the urge to comply and forgive and compromise and love like the non-tolerant curmudgeon Neal Page (Steve Martin).  Sometimes we just have to let the spirit befall us and embrace graceful situations, no matter how ludicrous.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We packed up this  meal, made the trip, re-heated, feasted and enjoyed our time!   I hope you enjoy and cherish your time with your biological family (or the family that finds you along the journey).

For more diabetic friendly recipes, click here.

Thanks for hosting this round, Amy.   Join Food ‘n Flix next month as we screen Clueless  (hosted by the FnF founder, Heather at  All Roads Lead to the Kitchen).

I am linking up with Deb’s Souper Sunday (at Kahakai Kitchen) with my kale salad and cranberry relish.

 

 

 

 

 

For all my Food ‘n Flix posts, click here.

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