Cajun Style Turkey

Use a fresh or frozen Shady Brook Farms® turkey. Add Cajun flair with this rub recipe or add your favorite blackening or Cajun seasoning to the butter or oil that is used to brush the turkey before going into the oven. Prepare the turkey according to package instructions.

CAJUN RUB

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients*
3 tablespoons smoked paprika
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 ½ tablespoons garlic powder
1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano leaves
1 ½ tablespoons dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

*For a bone-in turkey breast, divide recipe in half.
*Do not touch eyes or face when preparing or applying rub as cayenne pepper may burn!

Instructions
To make Cajun Rub, mix together paprika, salt, garlic powder, oregano, thyme and cayenne pepper, breaking up any lumps. (Yield: about 1/2 cup)

Brush turkey with oil; rub Cajun Rub over turkey as evenly as possible, working it under the skin when possible. (Turkey may be coated with Cajun rub and refrigerated for up to 2 hours.)

Note:
— For lemony Cajun rub, add 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel.
— For spicier Cajun rub, increase cayenne pepper to 2 teaspoons or to taste.

Shrimp and Corn Maque Choux

Servings: 4-6

Estimated Times
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
¾ cup green peppers, small dice
¾ cup red peppers, small dice
1 ½ cups onion, small dice
10 ears fresh corn on the cob
1 lb. raw shrimp, any size, peeled, deveined and cut into ½ inch pieces
2 cups heavy cream
3 large plum tomatoes, seeded and small diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Heat a pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the peppers and onions to the pan and cook until tender (do not brown). While the peppers and onions are cooking, using a knife, cut the corn kernels from the cob. Add the kernels to the pan. Then using the back of the knife, scrape any remaining parts of the kernel and the liquid (milk) from the cob and add to the pan. Add the shrimp to the pan. Let the corn and shrimp cook for a few minutes then add the cream and cook until the cream thickens slightly. Add the tomatoes and season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Spicy Bacon Green Beans

Servings: 4-6

Estimated Times
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

IngredientsSpice mix
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons salt

½ lb. bacon, diced
2 ½ lbs. green beans, ends snipped off

Instructions
Mix all of the spices together to make the spice mix. Bring one gallon of water to a boil and add salt. Over medium heat cook the diced bacon until it is almost to the crunchy stage. Add the green beans to the pot of boiling water and cook for approximately 5 minutes. You want the green beans to be just undercooked.

Remove the beans from the water and add them to the bacon and sauté for one minute. Season to taste using the spice mix and serve. (If you don’t use all of the spice mix, you can seal it in an airtight container and store for a few months.)

Apple Cranberry Chutney

Servings: 4-6

Estimated Times
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: Simmer for approximately 40 minutes

Ingredients
1 small onion, small diced
2 tablespoons oil, canola
1 ½ cups dried cranberries, finely chopped
3 cups apple, peeled, cored and diced, use a firm apple like Granny Smith
½ tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon grain mustard
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups cider vinegar
1 ¼ lbs. light brown sugar

Instructions
In a pot, cook the onions in the oil over medium heat until translucent. Then add the rest of the ingredients into a pot and simmer until it has thickened. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sweet Potato Pecan Bread Pudding with Mint
and Bourbon Crème
Anglaise

Servings: 4-6

Estimated Times
Preparation time: 20 minutes the night before and 40 minutes the day it’s made
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients
10 slices white bread cut into 2-inch pieces and left out to dry overnight
2 sweet potatoes
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
6 eggs
6 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 ½ cups pecan halves

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Cut the white bread (crust on) and let it sit out and dry overnight. Peel and cut sweet potatoes and place in pot and cover with water. Simmer the sweet potatoes on the stove until they are tender, then drain and lay them out in a pan and put them in the refrigerator to cool. Once the potatoes are cool, put them in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. You may need to add some water to help puree. Mix together the cream, milk, eggs, both sugars (except for 2 tablespoons of brown sugar), salt, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk together until the sugars dissolve. Add the sweet potato puree to the cream mixture. Lightly grease a 10-cup ovenproof casserole dish. Fold the bread and the pecans into the cream mixture. Then pour everything into the casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar on the top and bake in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serve with the mint sauce.

Mint and Bourbon Crème Anglaise

6 egg yolks
5 oz. sugar
2 cups half and half
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 oz. crème de menthe
1 oz. bourbon

Instructions
Combine egg yolks and sugar; whip until light and fluffy. In a saucepan, bring the half and half to the scalding point with the vanilla, crème de menthe and bourbon. Once the half and half is hot, add some of it to the whipped yolk and sugar mixture, making sure that you stir constantly. Then add that mixture to the rest of the half and half and cook (stirring constantly) until it coats the back of a spoon. Do not cook hotter than 190 degrees, or it will curdle. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl then place the bowl into an ice bath immediately to cool down. Serve with the bread pudding.