Thanksgiving.
I remember the first Thanksgiving 4 years ago when my family and I faced the daunting task of creating a Gluten Free Thanksgiving meal. Thinking about the pies, the stuffing, the gravy, the pasta dishes, and the breads was overwhelming!
Since I became Gluten intolerant I have had to explain what it means to someone almost every week. (OK, maybe every two weeks now). My family pretty much has a solid hold on what it means now, but I have faced my share of "A little bit wont kill you" and "Just don't eat the crust of the pie" or "I'm allergic and I cheat".
That 24 hour plus of gut-twisting misery is just not worth it.
This post is for everyone, but especially for those newly gluten-free or those who have a gluten-free person in their lives during the holiday season.
Did you know marinades, broth, soy sauce, and bouillon may all have wheat or barley in their flavors?
For Gravy- we like to make our own. Take the turkey juices and add a little rice flour or arrowroot starch, or even corn starch. Just be careful you don't add too much - You don't want to have to cut your gravy!
My first gluten free thanksgiving, I was so sad that I may miss out on my favorite part - the stuffing! We searched high and low for gluten free corn bread stuffing[I bet you didn't know that cornbread has more flour in it than cornmeal] and we ended up making gluten free cornbread from scratch to make gluten free cornbread croutons to make gluten free stuffing. phew! I know last year I saw gluten free cornbread croutons and stuffing mix in the store but if you want to make your own, I love this Gluten Free Pantry.
Once you have your cornbread, you can use almost any recipe you like!
Mac and Cheese. Or Macaroni Salad- I see these at a lot of parties and holiday events. Some gluten free pastas are more dry and brittle or just don't taste as great but most of them, when dressed properly, never give away their gluten free packaging. My favorites are
Schar is a European brand and almost everything they make is delicious- gluten free or not!
Now pies are tricky. One thing about gluten free "all purpose flour" is that no two brands are created equal. They all have different ratio's of flours and may come out different colors and bake at different rates
Some people like the classic "cookie crumb pie crust," all you have to do it substitute gluten free cookies in the recipe!
Here is a recipe from "The Joy of Cooking" that is simple, sweet, and crunchy and makes a nice 9 inch pie crust
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 Put graham crackers in bowl, reserving a tablespoon or two for topping if desired.
3 add and stir sugar,butter, and cinnamon until well blended.
4 Place crumb mixture in pie pan, distributing the crumbs evenly, then press another pie pan of the same diameter firmly on top. Trim access.
5 Bake crust for 20 minutes.
6 Let shell cool before filling
Here are some cookies you can try.
Since I have not cooked for the Holidays this year yet, I will add a couple pictures of the meals I have made in the past.
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| Christmas 2009 |
On the menu here was Turkey {of course}, Baked Sweet Potatoes and Apples, Cornbread Stuffing, Butternut Squash Casserole [ a favorite that I make every holiday season] , barbecue baked green beans [home made sauce] and blue cheese and balsamic mashed potatoes. All gluten free. See, it's not as hard as you thought!!
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| Christmas 2010 |
Again, very similar menu except this time I added a cheesy corn casserole, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and an oat/pecan/brown sugar topping [make sure if you top your casseroles you use rice flour if you have to use flour!]. sweet carrots, and homemade cranberry sauce!
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| Thanksgiving 2010 or 2011 |
I made a sweet potato casserole with caramelized bananas, cinnamon brown sugar carrots, mini quiches baked in prosciutto cups, green bean casserole with toasted onions [because we cant have those fried onions in a can], corn bread stuffing and turkey!
Keep tuned for more recipe posts as the Holidays approach. Don't let Gluten Free scare you and try and support those around you that are Gluten intolerant!
