Thanksgiving is on my mind! With all the food allergies in this family, I decided that it would be easier for me to host Thanksgiving rather than try to make small dishes of all the different types of foods that would be eaten. Even if we tried to be so cautious at another person’s home, I was also afraid of added butter on an innocent looking veggie, or wheat flour in the gravy. I also don’t want to go too crazy and be too controlling, so this is a great exercise in finding balance!
I have to admit that the menu I wrote up last night is a bit expansive. Much of my inspiration is on my Pinterest page. I’m going to find some shortcuts along the way, and pretty much every recipe I’m going to try beforehand and post it on my blog.
Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Apple Free, and Nut Free Thanksgiving Menu (tentative):
Appetizers:
Grapes
Gluten Free Chex Mix (gf)
Candied Pepitas (gf) (v)
Main Dishes:
Oven Roasted Turkey with Bacon, Fresh Herbs, Baby Carrots, and Onion. Pan Dripping Gravy (gf with brown rice flour)
Organic Cranberry Sauce (gf) (v)
Roasted Pears (gf) (v)
Cornbread Stuffing with Giblets (gf)
Wild Rice, Pepitas, Mushroom & dried Cranberry Dressing (gf) (v)
Mashed Garlic Potatoes (gf) (v) using either soy or rice milk
Candied Sweet Potatoes (gf) (v)
Herbed Dinner Rolls (gf) v)
Brussels Sprouts, boiled, sea salt (gf) (v)
Desserts:
Pumpkin Pie (possible tofu ingredient) (gf) (v)
Red Jello with Coconut Whipped Cream (gf) (df)
Drinks:
Red and White Wine
Old Fashioned’s (Eberhardt tradition) with homegrown Lemon and Orange rinds, and homemade Maraschino Cherries
Coffee, Tea
First up is the Herbed Dinner Rolls, because I had to make bread for the week anyway this morning! The recipe for my gluten free bread is here. I used for inspiration Betty Crocker’s Cookbook Fifth Printing from1988, but I really think the recipes and pictures look more like their first copyright from 1969! For a holiday like Thanksgiving, I couldn’t resist using this book for a consultation.
I prepared my dough exactly the same as I always do. Then I followed the directions for Betty Crocker’s Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls. “Cut half of the (dough) into 36 pieces; shape into balls. Place 3 balls in each of 12 greased medium muffin cups, 2 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches” (i used the one I have). Since my gluten free dough is quite sticky, I used parchment paper on my counter, and a generous sprinkle of sorghum flour to make this work.
Credit to Betty Crocker Fifth Printing 1988, Golden Press/New York
For sesame seeds on top, I mixed seeds with a slight amount of rice milk to make them wet, then smeared seeds over the tops of some of the rolls with the back of a spoon.
I baked the muffins uncovered for 10 minutes, and then for 15-18 minutes more covered with an aluminum foil tent. Then another 3 minutes uncovered to brown the top slightly. When a wooden toothpick comes out clean, they are done!
I also made a bonus mini sesame roll on a baking sheet because I had extra! (how did that happen??)
Here is the regular loaf! Came out the same as usual:
Next time, I am going to try adding fresh herbs to the mix and see how it comes out! These came out well enough. I imagine when dipped in brown gravy they would be delish! Adding the herbs will only enhance the flavor.
(gf) = gluten free
(v) = vegan
(df) = dairy free
Experiments in Cooking for Allergies 