Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes, Links, and Pictures

My mom and Seth's mom on dish duty (we don't let them cook), and my sis-in-law who is an amazing cook!

My mom's plate- she only took a small amount of bread at first, leery of gf breads, but she loved the Against the Grain Baguettes, so she ended up eating more of it!  I used Seth's grandma's china and bought gold chargers.

Me.  Cooking.  In pajamas.  As an active-duty military family, we rent this house, so disregard the ugly cabinets and appliances.  The granite counters are nice, tho! 

                                          

This WAS  my second time hosting a gluten free Thanksgiving.  I've had the luxury of two other gluten free Thanksgivings hosted by my mother (when it was just she & I), and by my best friend (who also made vegetarian options for another guest, so I wasn't the only one requiring intensive care in food prep).

Here are "professional" Turkey Day recipes from Living Without Magazine.

This is what I planned on preparing for Turkey Day, some updates added in from AFTERward:

• Gluten Free Turkey (remember some poultry is injected with gluten containing flavorings/broths). BEST GLUTEN FREE TURKEY: Brined turkey from Trader Joe's. SUPER JUICY, even the gluten-eaters loved it.  I've tried Shelton's before, but it didn't knock my socks off.  Other gf options listed in an old copy of Living Without magazine show Aaron's Gourmet, Empire Kosher, Honeysuckle White, Jennie-O, Norbest, Organic Prairie, Perdue, and Shady Brook Farms.  **Remember NOT to stuff the turkey.  Martha Stewart doesn't recommend it (due to bacteria from poultry), and my mother insisted we do it with gf stuffing once, and it was so mushy we had to throw it out.  Obviously, if you are also having gluten-full stuffing, do not put it in the turkey!
• Gluten Free Stuffing - **The KEY is to TOAST the gluten free bread in the OVEN before you make it and to NOT stuff it in the bird (sog city).  The BEST gluten free STUFFING EVER is Emeril's simple recipe link here with Against the Grain Baguettes toasted in oven. I'm adding more bacon this year.  I've tried others: cornbread stuffing (my bff made it superbly one year) or the new recipe, here, that I got from the gluten free expo from Against the Grain.  Click here for Enjoy Life's gluten free recipes for pie crust made from smashed cookies, stuffing, etc.  Remember, many people find cooking the stuffing in the crock pot keeps it moist, but I've never tried it.  Click here for more stuffing recipes.
• Cranberry Sauce- I'm a purist- no chutneys, no orange zest.  Just the original sauce, naturally gf!
• Bread- Leaning toward Against the Grain, but may choose Schar rolls or make cornbread-- I love Sylvan Border Farm Classic Dark Bread Mix (similar to Pumpernickel), but I think I'm going to order CranRaisAppWalnut bread and cornbread from Sally's GF Bakery in Sandy Springs, GA.
• I also recommend ordering from THE SILLY YAK Bakery here.  They ship from Wisconsin.  Feeling gutsy? How about trying a gluten free bread bowl recipe, here.
• Yams- regular recipe, with brown sugar, butter, and marshmallows- naturally gluten free!
• Click here for a link to gluten free flour blends you can make yourself, or try Better Batter, GF Bisquick, or Pamela's Baking Mix.  Be mindful of whether or not it already includes baking powder and xanthan gum/guar gum.
• Green Beans- I like them with slivered almonds, but my Midwestern mom loves that green bean casserole, so I did by a gravy packet from a guy at the gf expo, his website is here.  I also liked the sample he had of sausage gravy (like for breakfast), yum!  
• Corn Pudding:  Combine and mix:  14 oz can creamed corn, 2 eggs (lightly beaten), 1 c evap milk, 1/4 c sugar, 2 and 1/2 c GF flour blend, 2 tbsp butter, salt to taste (add a can of drained corn if you wish).  Pour into 1.5 qt casserole dish or 8x8 square dish. Bake @350 for 50 min. Serves 6
• Mashed potatoes- a la Gordon Ramsey, using a potato ricer, hot milk, whipping over heat.
• Gluten free Gravy- in the past I've used drippings with corn starch, but this year I'm using the packet I bought at the gf expo (see link under green beans).
• Appetizers: olive/relish tray, brie cheese and Trader Joe's rice crackers, crudite with pumpkin hummus recipe here.



pumpkin muffins I made- flavorful and MOIST, although not "quick & easy" as recipe describes

• Desserts:  Here is the BEST moist pumkin muffin recipe (although not all that simple- you have to let the batter "rest", for example). Gluten Free Hello Dolly Bars (my mom just subs gf ingredients, but there is a recipe in the 2011 Delight GF Magazine, Apple Cranberry Crisp (remember to omit the gf flour the recipes call for- texture is like sand! I use gf oats and gf graham crumbs), Vitamix pumpkin cake (sub gf flours), and ***BEST Gluten free Chocolate cream pie with BEST PIE CRUST-  gf graham crumb crust- just substitute S'morables gf graham crackers-  and mix w/melted butter like a regular graham cracker crust.  I get them at SUper Target or WHole Foods. Click here for a version of Betty Hagman's pie crust.  Some Whole Foods Markets sell pre-made pie crusts.   
• Remember to use Aluminum-Free Baking Powder for your baking this year, to avoid a metallic aftertaste.  I get it at Trader Joe's along with alcohol-free vanilla extract and real vanilla beans- did you know vanilla comes from orchids?  
• Drinks:  Rhubarb wine, water, apple cider, soda, milk, and PUMPKIN LATTEs with VitaMix!
• Ask guests to bring: Drinks, flowers, cranberry sauce, crudite, cool whip, ice cream, yams, gr.beans, or hummus.  Explain about cc.
• Now, this won't work for everyone.  My stepdad and mom are coming from FL for the holiday weekend, but they will be dining out for Thanksgiving, choosing to opt-out of a gf dinner.  My stepdad is a stickler for tradition and a control freak.  He's also unable to stay at other people's homes, always in a hotel.  Hopefully he remembers his blood pressure meds this year (to see what happened when he didn't one year, click here).
• If you're traveling, you can order travel sized dressings and soy sauce packets here.
• I'm also hosting my first Halloween Party.  Here is the list of gluten free Halloween treats I'll be serving.

Gluten Free Cupcake Wars

WINNER:  Black Velvet gluten free cupcake from Red Velvet Cupcakery.

OVERALL WINNER:  The only one I'd buy every day, all day (way better than my own baking) is black velvet cupcake from Red Velvet Cupcakery in D.C.  A light crunch on the muffin-top area's exterior, perfect deep, fudgy flavor, light texture (neither crumbly nor dense) and amount of frosting.  Heaven in your hand.  And the cupcake elves are aware enough to put on a clean glove to grab it with. On the website they describe it as:  This light, moist chocolate cake uses the best Valrhona cocoa powder complemented by a chocolate buttercream” to make a vegan, gluten-free cupcake truly like no other. 
SECOND PLACE in this region is Sweet 27 in Baltimore, MD.  Peanut butter or oreo cupcakes.  Really, all of them were awesome.  However, they upset my stomach and lack the crispy top I love.

GF Cutie:  The Devil Came Down to Georgia is their signature cupcake that sells out daily from this totally gf bakery.

GEORGIA WINNER:  Gluten Free Cutie in Roswell, GA.  See my full review with photos of this totally gfree bakery's wide selection of goodies here.

Sally's Bakery Red Velvet Gluten Free Cupcake

STORE-BOUGHT WINNERS:  Whole Foods Market frozen chocolate with chocolate frosting.  Defrost for 30+ seconds in microwave (watch to remove before frosting collapses).  Rich chocolate flavor, soft, fluffy texture.  Another worth purchasing: Sally's Bakery Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting.

FROSTING WARS:

And if Gigi's cupcakes are overkill on the frosting, American Gra-futti cupcakes (from the Braves game and Sandy Springs Whole Foods Market)  are greasy and dense like a muffin, not a cake.  Plus Gra-frutti are underkill on the frosting-it's barely a pat-o-butter portion.  Frosting-to-cake ratio is important on cupcakes, you see.  This, coming from a former frosting flouter, no less!  (As a kid, I used to plop cake frosting-side-down on my plate and lift the cake off of it's sugary cap to devour, leaving a buttery, sugary, uneaten mass on the dish.)
Nowadays, since The Big Gluten Free Funnel has whittled my diet (no croissants, turnovers, cannoli, etc.), I have learned to appreciate foods I never took a second look at before.  Grits, macaroons, polenta, and fudge have also been upgraded from the D-List to the A-List.  I guess this is a good thing.  Unless you're in a French Cafe or Patisserie.  So, frosting is a new addition to my "likes" list.

 

Gigi's Cupcakes- pretty to look at, I didn't finish it. Not tasty.

American Grafrutti

Tin Lizzy's Cantina- pulled pork skillet- pretty good, flavorful, served w a bag of Tostitos tortilla chips. I'd leave off the pickled jalapeños next time- overkill.

Tin Lizzy's Cantina:  Gluten Free Pulled Pork Skillet

Gluten Free Cutie- I Finally Love a Cupcake in Atlanta area!

Gluten Free Cutie's Gluten Free Whoopie Pie

With visions of Red Velvet Cupcakery's gluten free black velvet cupcake in my head (from when we lived in DC area last year- see my cupcake wars blog post here), I have been settling for frozen Whole Foods Markets chocolate cupcakes because they are the tastiest I could get my hands on.  Well, finally, I have found a DELICIOUS cupcake place in Roswell, GA, about 20 minutes from mi casa.
Gluten Free Cutie is a boutique bakery with shabby-chic interior-even a porch swing inside- where all offerings are gluten free, dye free, egg free, peanut free and some dairy free.  It's a mom & pops shop with close attention to detail and a variety of gluten free goodies, from apple pie and buns to quiche.  I sampled several items:

Whoopie Pies- they were ok...fudgy, dense, a touch dry with a filling resembling marshmallow fluff.  Didn't finish it.  A bite was enough.


Apple-Pie-In-A-Jar which was flavorful and served warm with a flaky, buttery crust and sugary, crumbly topping- 5 stars!


Cake Pops that were loaded with flavor, but overly sweet for my taste.  Didn't finish mine.

and, of course,

 Cupcakes  that were all with a great, fluffy-ish texture, great flavors from which to choose, many with fillings and lovely and tasty frostings (not that overly sugary buttercream, more like a soft, mushy, frosting with a bit of a marshmallow-like texture to it) and toppings.  Two thumbs way up for the best-seller, The Devil Went Down to Georgia!  Seth (part-time gluten-eater) loved it as well!  I also loved the Cinnamon one and the peach one with peach fruit inside.  The Smore's one was pretty good, with a springy, marshmallow "frosting" with a hint of graham cracker flavoring and a chocolate cake with chocolate-filled center.
     Best of luck to the newly open Gluten Free Cutie!  Seth felt the inside of the shop was a bit loud acoustically, with it hard to have an intimate conversation without everyone hearing you, or you hearing them.  I would suggest that they partner with Sally's (frozen foods) Bakery to sell frozen baked goods in larger quantities that people can take home, while bringing in more traffic for GFC.  I think it's a tough row to hoe for gluten free only places to go it alone.

Cake Pops from Gluten Free Cutie

Inside of Gluten Free Whoopie Pie

Gluten Free Apple Pie In A Jar

Flaky, light, delectable gluten free pie crust!

S'mores/Campfire gluten free cupcake

The fillings inside the cupcakes add something special!

How to Make Gluten Free Granola

Gluten Free Granola, made with honey, nuts, raisins, and Bob's Red Mill gluten free certified oats. 

It was at-home cuddle-time movie night.  My Marine helped me make homemade gluten free granola for a movie snack to layer atop peanut butter apple slices as we watched Our Idiot Brother, a movie that actually had a very realistic portrayal of a parole officer (like me!) played by one of my favorite actors, Sterling Brown, the guy who plays Roland on Army Wives!
Anyway, I looked up a regular granola recipe here. We subbed Bob's Red Mill gluten free certified oats, and added some sunflower seeds, ground flax, and pumpkin seeds (sex drive boosters, it's true- see here).  It was super quick and easy to make, smelled fantabulous and tasted great, even before baking.  This stuff had me asking, WHY did I ever buy gluten free granola???

Questionable Pan-fried Gluten Free French Toast

2 Breads Gluten Free Whole Foods White Bread and Light White Bread made as classic French Toast.  

Seth (who doesn't care for GF bread at all) loved it.  He gobbled up all of his and one of mine.  I liked the bottom piece ok (the smaller, "Whole Foods White Bread").  It was a bit spongy and springy in texture, but tasted fine.  The larger, "light white"WF gf bread piece was too soggy to me, and I didn't like it at all.  Most of the recipes I google for gluten free french toast are for baking it, or call for baking your own bread first.  All that is too much work.  I grew up with a single mom who just threw stuff in a pan and stayed skinny doing it (we didn't use real butter or real cream or other stuff that the chubbier moms used).  Although she did whisk up her own cinnamon syrup, which I won't share the recipe.  It's too special.

Dining Gluten Free at Random Greasy Spoon Diners

(RANDOM)DINERS-No gf menu- I will often eat at random diners (especially while traveling and desperate for fresh and hot food) as long as I trust the server is listening to my needs, and especially when I can SEE them preparing the food. I explain my "allergy", cc, and order an omelet or eggs to be cooked in a clean pan (rather than the grill), with clean utensils. Sometimes I'll order hash browns or grits, after much interrogation. Bacon, I have to ask if they set it on bread to drain the grease. Fruit, juice, or yogurt round-out the meal.  Sometimes, I bring my own gf bread or biscuit.  Remember, celiacs HATE IHOP with a passion- IHOP even puts gluteny pancake batter in their EGGS-not recommended, steer clear!