It’s over, and it was a success. The kitchen is a complete disaster, but all the leftovers have been put away. And, about three hours after eating, my blood sugar is still within the normal range. This is one of the things that just blows my mind. I’m so used to eating and seeing my numbers go up into the teens or twenties, and I considered a number in the high teens to be pretty decent for me.
Before I get to the recipes, I’ve got a small observation. On Saturday I spent a few hours with a couple of friends. I had a taco salad, one small mixed drink, … And a very tiny piece of the world’s best cake. The cake, of course, wasn’t keto. Lisa has said that we can do this from time to time, and I felt like it was something I wanted to try. I had a brief spike in my sugar level, (around thirteen), in the evening, but by the time I went to bed it was almost back in the normal range. Yesterday it jumped around a fair bit, but now today I’m back in the normal range 100 percent of the time. So, this shows me a lot. I also felt absolutely lousy Saturday night because of the high sugar level. I’ve obviously adapted quickly to the lower levels, so the high really hit me hard. But, it was a learning experience for me. I’m learning what I can and can’t do, and the longer I do this, the better I’ll become at determining when to make concessions and when not to. So, this was a good experience for me.
And now, it’s recipe time! I said the other day that I’d post what I made after it was over because, although I had lots of plans, I honestly didn’t expect to get everything done. And, a year ago, I don’t think I would have. It took me two days this year, but I did it. And, not only did I get everything done I wanted to do, this was the first holiday meal I’ve ever done where nothing came out of a box. Bruce said that I opened a can of pumpkin puree, but I said it didn’t count. But, let’s take a look at our meal. I’ve even got some pictures if I can get them to post.
The typical Thanksgiving dinner, at least when I grew up, revolved around the turkey. This was only the second time I’ve ever done a full turkey, and last year doesn’t really count because it was a pre-stuffed turkey that didn’t require any defrosting or anything. So, this was the first time I did all the prep work. I set my alarm to wake me up at 2 AM this morning so I could brine the turkey. The recipe said to use a water brine, but I discovered too late that I didn’t have a big enough container that would fit the turkey and the water, so I did a dry brine with salt, and put it in the roasting pan covered in foil. After putting the rub under the skin and on the skin, I was dirty up to my elbows, and ended up taking a shower. But, the end result was so worth it! This turkey meat was moist and flavorful, and so tender. Whether you’re keto or not, you can’t go wrong with this recipe, and the guide for defrosting, preparing, and cooking is extremely comprehensive and made all the difference for me. 
Another essential component of the dinner is the mashed potatoes. Of course, we had mashed cauliflower, which I’ve posted before, but posting again for completeness. This time came out even better than the first time because I processed the cauliflower longer, so it truly did have the consistency of mashed potatoes. No picture of this though because by the time I reheated them we were ready to eat and I didn’t stop to get the photo taken.
A problem I had was coming up with a way to make stuffing. There was a cauliflower stuffing recipe I could have done, but I was already having cauliflower in the potato, so didn’t want to do too much with it. So, I found this Southern Cornbread Dressing recipe. Okay, so it was gluten-free, and called for a box of gluten-free stuffing mix. I looked for that, but the ones I found had super high carb counts and I didn’t want to use up all our limited carbs on stuffing. So, after a bit more research, I found this keto cornbread recipe. So, I made that, and used it in place of the gluten-free boxed mix. Other than the turkey, Bruce said that this was his second-favorite part of the meal. The only thing I couldn’t find for the recipe was the sweet corn extract, but I used enough other seasonings in the stuffing itself that it didn’t matter. The cornbread texture was there, and it was moist and flavorful, so yet another winner.
What brings turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing together? It’s the gravy, of course. This was the only thing that I really was kind of disappointed in. The consolation I have though is that I could never make gravy before keto either, so at least I’m consistent.
Are you getting full yet? We were, but I’m still not quite done. No meal is complete without rolls. What can I say? These may look flat, but they are fabulous. And, believe it or not, they were even better cold. The yeast really made all the difference, and they tasted and felt just like real bread. 
And finally, growing up in my house, a Thanksgiving dinner wasn’t complete without dessert. I’m one of those people who loves this time of year because, hello, pumpkin spice! Pumpkin anything, it’s all good, and I want it ALL! So, I was thrilled when I found this pumpkin pie. I got to have my favorite thing! I chose to make this crust instead of the one that’s linked to from the pie page. Again, it’s variety. I had almond flower in the rolls, so I went for the coconut flower crust. I also thought it would be sweeter, which is good for a pumpkin pie. I made the crust yesterday, and had it all mixed up and ready to go, and that’s when I realized I had no idea where my pie plate is. I know where I thought it was, but it wasn’t there. So I ended up using one of those disposable square cake pans. The crust fit, baked up nicely, and the filling fit. So maybe you could call it a pie cake? A cakey pie? Either way, the end result was great with a squirt of whipped cream on top. (Okay, so that was out of a can, I didn’t make that. I hereby claim that this doesn’t count either.
So that was our meal. Bruce had some baby carrots. I chose not to because of the sugar content, and I figured I was getting my vegetable from the cauliflower. But now, I’m exhausted, and ready to go to bed, so I’ll stop here. Hope the pictures upload with this post, and if not, I’ll go in and add them tomorrow.