gluten-free/cf Thanksgiving

[missy'smom]

I managed to have a successful 1st gluten-free Thanksgiving last year but am struggling with the thought of a gluten-free/CF Thanksgiving this year. I've been casien free two weeks. I usually cope very well but I just have no motivation to think about this one and the fact that I've been busier and overtired lately doesn't help. We eat alot of what I would make everyday and I've been making the same dishes for years gluten-free or not my Thanksgiving hasn't changed. I even posted a dairy free pumpkin pie recipie but I don't feel like eating pumpkin pie. On a daily basis I'm OK. I really like vegetables and grains but when I think about the holidays this year, I want cheese and bread and butter. Maybe if I could make just one special really yummy dish or dessert that would help. Any ideas or encouragement? Thanks for listening. Just typing this out makes me feel a little better.

[Green12]

It's a big adjustment to have a gluten-free Thanksgiving menu, once you get it down it becomes routine and no big deal, but adding in another thing to eliminate like casein makes it really challenging to modify all those traditional favorites....it can be done, I've done it for several years now and it's as yummy as ever, you don't have to miss out!

A lot of the foods used in a Thanksgiving menu are naturally cf anyway, it's all the stuff we add to them like butter, cheese, cream, etc., of course all the stuff that tastes so good and is hard to part with!

What I did is search and search for recipes with all of these traditional foods that didn't use dairy or could be modified with a dairy substitute.

For starters olive oil is my friend! It replaces butter in most of the recipes. I make roasted sweet potatoes with a simple marinade of olive oil, orange zest, and rosemary (you can add a little brown sugar if you want it sweeter). I use olive oil to sautee all the onions and celery instead of butter, and rice milk in place of the buttermilk in the corn bread for my corn bread dressing. I make "smashed" potatoes (a cf version of mashed potatoes) with potatoes, olive oil, fresh herbs and salt and pepper, a little rice milk if needed. Turkey, marinated green beans, roasted brussel sprouts, and cranberry compote complete my menu.

If it's dessert you want, I made a classic pecan pie using a gluten-free cookie crust last year that came out great.

One cup of pumpkin puree added to a Namaste Spice Cake Mix makes a really good Pumpkin Spice Cake or Pumpkin Spice Muffins.

I also make a Upside Down Apple Gingerbread cake by using a gluten-free cake mix (adding 1/4 c molasses, ginger and nutmeg to the mix) then I sautee sliced apples with cinnamon and brown sugar until soft and thickened a bit, put apples in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan and spoon the cake mix on top, bake according to directions.

[Mom23boys]

Milk free is way easier for me I think because the sub are more 1:1 and tastier.

I use pretty much all the basic recipes. Like juliem, I use lots of olive oil instead of butter for sauteeing and such.

Sweet potatoes are baked then sliced. I cook them briefly with orange juice and spices. Homemade marshmallows go on top (blue dye used in storebought is a no no in our house too). A homemade marshmallow fluff will make people forget about cool whip on top of pies. (Making marshmallows is only a little harder than making Jello). Coconut milk can replace canned milks in desserts.

Good luck.

[JNBunnie1]

I learned a trick the other day (and all you low-fat people are going to flip at this) but I made something with ground beef and I made baked potatos to mash, and I decided to see what would happen if I poured the drippings of the beef into the potatos. OH. MY. GOD. WOW is that yummy! You might try that with the potatos with the turkey juice, instead of using butter?

[HudsonValleyGal]

One thing that's worked very well for me is to make gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. For the pie crust I use Bette Hagman's recipe for Donna Jo's Dream Pastry. I use Spectrum Palm Oil Shortening in the crust instead of using butter or margarine, so as to avoid dairy and soy. Then, I follow the basic pumpkin pie recipe on a can of pumpkin, but substitute coconut milk for the dairy. It's yummy! (If you wanted to reduce the fat you could use a combination of rice milk and coconut milk, but since the coconut milk is thick, it really sets up the pie well.)

I've also had good luck making a gluten-free stuffing, using a combination of the gluten-free Pantry's French Bread (mix) and a corn bread as its base. I usually saute onions, celery, sausage, apple, and sage, mix in cubes of both kinds of bread, moisten with warm chicken stock, cover, and bake.

One recent discovery for me has been ghee (some brands guarantee that the ghee is free of casseinates and lactose). I've used a tiny, tiny bit of melted ghee when making mashed potatoes. It's a nice way to add back the butter flavor without actually getting the dairy that I react to.

Last but not least, my husband always makes guacamole as an appetizer for Thanksgiving. It's not exactly traditional, but it's good!

Happy eating, everyone

Rebecca

[EBsMom]

You might try that with the potatos with the turkey juice, instead of using butter?

I make mashed potatoe with Yukon Gold spuds (very flavorful, nice color), chicken broth (gluten-free, of course), a bit of rice milk and Spectrum non-dairy margarine. They're great (so say my 2 children, who are connoisseurs of mashed potatoes, lol!)

Rhonda

[143horses]

Milk free is way easier for me I think because the sub are more 1:1 and tastier.

I use pretty much all the basic recipes. Like juliem, I use lots of olive oil instead of butter for sauteeing and such.

Sweet potatoes are baked then sliced. I cook them briefly with orange juice and spices. Homemade marshmallows go on top (blue dye used in storebought is a no no in our house too). A homemade marshmallow fluff will make people forget about cool whip on top of pies. (Making marshmallows is only a little harder than making Jello). Coconut milk can replace canned milks in desserts.

Good luck.

How do you make home made marshmallows? Sounds fun and yummy!

[missy'smom]

How do you make home made marshmallows? Sounds fun and yummy!

Here's a recipie I came across yesterday, before I read your post, while I was searching for something else. There are others on that site as well.

Open Original Shared Link

[missy'smom]

Thank you all for your replies.

juliem, Pecan pie is a good idea, why didn't I think of that! I'm playing with the idea of making tarts now. So I can freeze them and have a stash. Do you use ghee for the butter? How do you do your marinated green beans? In a vinegar?

And while I'm on the subject of ghee do you all limit your amounts in case of a stray amount of casien? I have an Indian market near me, I'm wondering if their ghee will be ok or if I should stick to the ones that promise no casien.

I'm going to try a traditional bread stuffing too. It would be nice to have my old traditional stuffing back. Last year I did cornbread because I wasn't ready to deal with gluten-free bread. I like the idea of combining the two too.

[Green12]

juliem, Pecan pie is a good idea, why didn't I think of that! I'm playing with the idea of making tarts now. So I can freeze them and have a stash. Do you use ghee for the butter?

How do you do your marinated green beans? In a vinegar?

I'm going to try a traditional bread stuffing too. It would be nice to have my old traditional stuffing back. Last year I did cornbread because I wasn't ready to deal with gluten-free bread. I like the idea of combining the two too.

I haven't tried a crust without the butter, that was the only thing on my menu I didn't do cf. I am going to do some test runs with that Spectrum spread and then safflower oil and see how they come out.

Has it been verified that ghee is for certain cf?? If so I imagine ghee would work perfectly in a crust.

My green bean marinade/vinaigrette is:

1/4 c lemon juice

1/4 c olive oil

1 tsp gluten-free dijon mustard

1/2 tbsp dried savory

2-3 cloves garlic pressed or minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 1/2 lb green beans

Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Steam green beans until tender. Toss green beans with marinade. Let set for a couple hours. These are great warm, room temp, and cold!

Some people swear by using the EnerG bread in stuffing. It tastes awful as a bread but they say it makes the best stuffing.

[Green12]

I was asked to post my sweet potato and Upside Down Apple Gingerbread Cake recipes.

Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes

1/3 olive oil

1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed (optional)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Peel potatoes and cut into 8 wedges.

Mix together olive oil, brown sugar, chopped rosemary, and orange rind, until sugar dissolves.

Pour mixture into a plastic ziplock bag and add potato wedges.

Seal bag and work mixture over potatoes, coating them thoroughly.

Place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 400F for 35-40 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender and golden brown, turning potatoes once or twice during cooking.

*I actually don't use the brown sugar because I find the sweet potatoes to be naturally sweet, but if you do use the sugar they get all gooey and carmelized, very good.

Upside Down Apple Gingerbread Cake:

For the apples:

I sautee 4-5 apples, cored and sliced (peeling is optional) with 1/2 c brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 cup water. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until apples are very soft and the liquids thicken a little bit.

Oil a 11 x 15 baking pan, layer apple mixture on the bottom.

For the cake mix:

I use a Namaste Vanilla Cake Mix

prepared according to directions with the oil and eggs, added 1/4 c molasses, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg, the dry mix, and the recommended amount of water on the package slowly until it reached the desired cake batter consistency (I am at high altitude so it was about 1/2- 3/4 c of water), mix unti ingredients are incorporated and pour over the apples in the baking pan.

Then bake as directed.