I wasn't sure whether to post this to the recipe forum or here, so I hope no
one will mind....

Over the holiday, I got a chance to watch my in-laws 46 inch TV, and found
the only thing interesting (besides a biography of Liz Taylor) to be the
cooking channel (54).  As I don't have TV  hooked up at home, this was a real
change of pace for me!!!

I had loads of fun watching the Iron Chef, which is like watching the '70's
come to Japan , complete with dueling chefs,  an MC with a taste for fashion
similar to Liberace, incredibley funny commentaries by judges who get to
sample tantalizing dishes, and lots of samurai style knife handling (one chef
even shaved his head as a  ritual before preparing red snapper 4 ways!).

But what really impressed me was one spin on the Thanksgiving menu which
appeared on a show called Ming's Quest.  The chef, a young Asian man, cooked
this entire meal outdoors (already appealing to my paleo tastebuds!) , plus
every dish could be eaten with fingers (this cavegirl was really hooked now!).

So, here's the menu, and what I can remember of the preparation.  I thought
this would be a fun meal to prepare if the members of this list ever did want
to share a Paleo Thanksgiving together at a camp out...



Deep Fried Turkey with Sweet Potato Fries and Cranberry Dipping Sauce

Dipping Sauce

Bunch of cranberries, some orange zest, juice of one orange, sugar (subsitute
paleo sweetner), whatever spices you like.  Cook until done and then puree.
Pour into deep bowl for dipping.

Deep Fried Turkey

Take one turkey and have your butcher cut it into lots of pieces.  Take a
large cooler (he used a soft sided beverage cooler), and put into it 2 quarts
water, 1 cup salt, 1 cup sugar (think of a paleo appropriate substitute),
handful of star anise, szechuan peppercorns, 1/2 cup soy sauce.

Marinate turkey pieces in brine for 24 hours.  Put plastic frozen ice packs
into brine to keep cold, and  do not dilute ratio of salt and sugar (ice
cubes would melt).

After 24 hours, remove brined turkey and discard brine.

Quickly blanch pieces in boiling water until they float.  Dry.

Fill a large wok with oil, and heat over medium high heat.  (I think coconut
oil would work perfectly, as would beef lard).

Meanwhile, take several sweet potatoes,  and cut lengthwise fry style wedges.

Throw turkey pieces into hot oil to cover, and let fry about 10 minutes.
Towards last few minutes, add sweet potato fries, and cook until tender and
crispy.

Remove turkey and "fries to a large platter.  Take loose fresh sage leaves,
and throw them into the hot oil and fry until they become crispy.  Scatter
them as garnish over the whole turkey.

Serve with hot cranberry dipping sauce, and make sure to dip the drumstick (
as did Ming!) into the sauce, shove it into your mouth so that all the juices
run down your chin and make you want to howl like a caveman (or woman)....

Cheers,

Judy Genova, cavegirl

_