Summer Gluten-Free Appetizers

Celiac.com 12/02/2021 - Summer is the perfect time of year for having guests over because, with the warmer weather, it expands your living space to the outdoors and everything is generally more casual.  If you don’t entertain much, the thought of creating gluten-free appetizers that your guests will genuinely enjoy may seem intimidating

As guests gather casually on your patio, deck or lawn, they will like to ‘nibble’.  Prepare gluten-free ‘nibbles’ that you, too, can enjoy.  There is no sense in putting forth the added energy and expense of making ‘their’ foods and ‘your’ foods when the gluten-free versions can be so delicious.  

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Summer appetizers should be big on flavor, loaded with color, use seasonal ingredients, and be simple to prepare.  The buzzword for summer entertaining is ‘casual’.  

Be creative in your food choices.  Balance hot and cold dishes, rich and mild foods, and try to include at least one vegetarian offering.  The assortment is the key.  Pick foods that are ‘party-friendly’—guests will likely be walking around so you don’t want to serve too many foods that are sticky, messy or greasy.  The best choices are items that are easily picked up and can be eaten with two fingers.

Avoid dishes that require painstaking serving techniques or last-minute preparation.  Many party foods may be made in advance, frozen, and then heated up as the guests arrive.  As you plan, you need to weigh practical matters such as how much refrigerator or freezer space is available and how many appetizers you can heat at one time.  Prepare one or two hot appetizers ahead of time and simply heat them up at the last minute.  For the rest of your menu, choose foods you can prepare ahead and serve without last-minute attention.  You can also serve foods that require the participation of your guests (like assembling mini tacos on gluten-free corn tortillas or in corn taco shells) and let them add their own toppings, fillings, or condiments.

Presentation still counts—even with casual entertaining.  Serve your foods on a picnic table that is decorated with several pots of fresh flowers, or set the appetizers on small tables throughout the yard to encourage people to move around and mingle.  

Almost any appetizer can be successfully converted to a gluten-free version.  Cold dips are always a favorite, but try new concoctions like artichoke hummus or asparagus guacamole.  Other viable cold foods may include antipasto kabobs (with cubes of gluten-free salami, ham and cheeses), or a bowl of tuna salad made with lots of green peppers and green onions—served with gluten-free crackers.  Cold foods that may be made ahead include pickled shrimp, deviled eggs, sushi, and homemade cheese balls.  A simple appetizer is to spread cream cheese on a platter, top it with shredded crabmeat (not gluten-containing imitation crabmeat), then top with a layer of gluten-free cocktail sauce and a sprinkling of chopped parsley—a garnish of sliced lemon wedges around the edge of the dish completes the creation.  Serve with gluten-free crackers.  There are gluten-free crackers on the market today that are every bit as good as their wheat counterparts—or even better!

Rice papers (soaked for a few minutes first to make them pliable) are so versatile.  Fill them, roll them, then cover and refrigerate until serving time.  Make mini Reuben wraps with pastrami, Swiss cheese, Cole slaw and a dab of gluten-free brown mustard.  Or spread the papers with cream cheese then top with chunky salsa, shredded lettuce, crisp-cooked bacon and guacamole.  

To keep the hot appetizers hot, be sure to heat just one round of appetizers at a time.  This way, another batch of hot appetizers will be coming from the oven as the last batch is eaten.  An electric skillet, hot tray, griddle, fondue pot, chafing dish, or crockery cooker is handy for keeping appetizers hot.  If foods cool as they sit out on the table, pop them into the microwave for a quick reheating.  Baked appetizers may include pizza (made on gluten-free pizza crusts) and topped with fresh-grilled veggies, hot crab dip, cheese and bacon potato skins, and/or teriyaki chicken drumettes.  An electric skillet is convenient for frying spring rolls (rolled in gluten-free rice papers).  Perfect crock-pot appetizers are taco bean dip or mini meatballs in a sweet and sour glaze.

Don’t forget to make use of your microwave.  This oven is perfect for melting the cheese on homemade Nachos Grande.  A great assemble-ahead appetizer is Eggplant Pizza.  Brown slices of eggplant in your broiler, top with a small amount of gluten-free spaghetti sauce, sprinkle with Italian seasoning, then top off with a slice of provolone cheese or shredded Romano cheese before heating in the microwave to melt the cheese.

Nothing says ‘summer’ more than grilling outdoors.  The grill doubles both as a cooking unit and a social hub.  Foods conducive to grilling include BBQ shrimp, mini marinated chicken or beef kabobs, and grilled Quesadillas.  Also try wrapping mushrooms in bacon, then brushing them with gluten-free BBQ sauce and cooking them on the grill.  You can also stuff Poblano chili peppers with cheese and one tablespoon of gluten-free salsa, then grill them.

While you enjoy your friends and have fun entertaining, you also deserve to enjoy the food.  Stop making “their appetizers” and “your appetizers”—ALL of the appetizers can be deliciously gluten-free!

Salmon Cheesecake

From her “Wheat-free Gluten-free Recipes for Special Diets” Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry gluten-free bread crumbs
• ½ teaspoon dill
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 24 ounces gluten-free cream cheese, softened
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup Swiss cheese, shredded
• ½ cup green onions, minced
• ½ teaspoon dill
• ½ pound smoked salmon, chopped fine

Directions:
In a bowl, mix together first 4 ingredients.  With a fork, blend in butter till crumbs are evenly moistened.  Spread mixture onto bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.  Whip cream cheese, lemon juice and eggs in a large bowl till well blended.  Stir in remaining ingredients; pour over crust.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour until center is almost set.  Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen cake; cool completely before removing sides.  When cool, cover and refrigerate several hours.  Let cheesecake stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.  Serve with gluten-free crackers.  Makes 14 (1 inch) wedges.

Calories: 286; Total fat: 24g; Saturated fat: 12g; Cholesterol: 130mg; Sodium: 392mg; Carbohydrates: 7.5g; Fiber: 0.2g; Sugar: 0g; Protein: 10.4g