Things I wish I would have known before Thanksgiving!

I can't wait to blog about my first gluten free Thanksgiving but in the mean time here's some info to file away for next year. Just put it in the what I needed to know but didn't file! Thanks for the email gluten intolerance group of Utah. Next year I will read my email BEFORE Thanksgiving!!!!!!

You need to find a turkey that does not have gluten injected into it in the broth or have a gravy packet stuck inside which can introduce contamination. All fresh turkeys usually meet this requirement, but so do many frozen ones. The best sale I have seen on turkeys this season is at Smith’s. I called Kroger foods yesterday and spent a half hour on the phone talking to their nutritionist, who assured me that their Private Selection brand is gluten free. It contains no gluten, either in the broth injected nor does it have a gravy packet in it. So there is one possibility for you. If you cook your turkey in a cooking bag, make sure you coat it with any gluten free flour.

Do not stuff the turkey with regular bread stuffing. You can cook the turkey unstuffed, and cook your favorite stuffing separately in a cooking bag for the gluten eaters among you. You can use your favorite stuffing recipe with gluten-free bread. I have also heard that if you like your stuffing on the dry side, Glutino bread sticks make an excellent substitution for bread.

There is a description of how to cook a gluten free turkey at: http://www.ehow.com/how_4589922_cook-turkey-gluten-free.html
It is pretty good, except they say you can use a turkey with a gravy packet in it and just throw the gravy packet away. My experience in our pre-GF days tells me that I have removed a lot of gravy packets that had tiny punctures in them and had spilled the gravy mix into the body cavity of the bird.

Gravy: Swanson broth is GF, use cornstarch or potato starch as a thickener.

Potatoes, yams, & cranberry sauce are fine unless someone does something creative to add gluten. Pumpkin pie filling if made from scratch usually does not contain gluten. There are gluten free pie crust mixes available as well as two recipes at the end of this email that I have not tried. I have also included a roll recipe that I do like.

There is a really yummy looking pumpkin-pie like dessert recipe at http://kitchenparade.com/2008/11/pumpkin-cheesecake-bars.php. It will be gluten free if you can find gluten free graham crackers or substitute GF animal crackers or other cookie for the crust.

FEATHERLIGHT BISCUITS http://forums.glutenfree.com/topic4561.html1 ¾ CUP Featherlight Mix 1 tsp Xanthan Gum 3 tsps Baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsps sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tsps to 1 Tb of Flax meal (opt) 6 Tbs shortening 1 cup of buttermilk ** (or 1 cup of milk with 2 teaspoons lemon juice.) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and whisk to mix. Mix the shortening until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add the liquid and gently mix until the dough forms a ball. Turn out onto a floured surface (sweet rice flour) and pat to ¾” thickness. Cut the dough into 2 ½” squares or use a biscuit cutter. Place 1” apart on an ungreased baking pan (or pizza stone) Bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes 8 large biscuits **I have found if I sub 1 cup of yogurt, it makes a very light biscuit. FeatherLight Mix 3 cups (4c) Rice Flour 3 cups (4c) Tapioca Flour 3 cups (4c) Cornstarch 3 Tbs. (4 Tbs.) Potato flour (I haven't tried this with arrowroot to make it corn free) I have used this flour mix with the biscuits and made a very light biscuit that my family loves for me to use. Multi-Grain Flour Blend: 1 1/4 c. garfava flour 1 3/4 c. super fine brown rice flour 2 c. potato starch 2 c. cornstarch 1 c. tapioca starch flour 1 c. sorghum flour or amaranth flour (I used sorghum)

Someone else used Wendy Warks mix and liked them,

7 gluten free appetizer recipes are at: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/gallery/0,28548,1848223_1685975,00.html

TWO GLUTEN-FREE PIE CRUSTSTender Gluten-Free Pie Crust(Adapted from Karen Robertson)Ingredients:1 ¼ cup gluten-free flour blend (+ up to 1 tablespoon more as needed)¼ cup tapioca starch¼ cup potato starch1 ½ teaspoon guar gum or 1 ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum, not both2 teaspoons fructose9 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan margarine or shortening*1 large egg + 1 egg yolk1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar or cold water(if using shortening, add ½ teaspoon salt)Directions:
Mix together dry ingredients, then cut in margarine or shortening carefully until there are no lumps larger than pea-size.
Beat together the eggs, and water or vinegar.
Make a well in dry ingredients and add egg and liquid mixture, stirring carefully with fork to combine.
When dough is just barely beginning to hold together, turn out onto a floured surface and flatten and fold, and flatten and fold again. Do not overwork dough.
Roll out carefully between wax paper.
Remove top sheet of wax paper, and invert crust into pan. Using wax paper, press crust into pan and form, then remove wax paper. Use a similar technique for top crust if using.
SOY-FREE, EGG-FREE OIL-BASED PIE CRUST(Adapted from Betty Hagman’s recipe)Ingredients:1 cup gluten-free flour blend½ cup potato starch½ cup sweet rice flour3 teaspoons xanthan gum1 teaspoon salt2 teaspoons fructose3 tablespoons cold rice milk2/3 cup vegetable oilDirections:
Mix together all dry ingredients, then mix together rice milk and oil.
Make well in dry ingredients and add rice milk/oil mixture, stirring gently with fork to combine.
Proceed as directed in previous recipe.
t a chance to read. I have learned my lesson and will stay on top of it next year, but untill then I will stash this info safely on my blog. Being my first Gluten free thanksgiving I think it went well. I never really made any fancy dishes before our gluten free days so the chances of the food being unedible really were high so I'm ecstatic that no one got food poisoning, gluten poisoning, or refused to eat. Actually, I beat out stove top in a side by side taste test at the dinner table. Enjoy the info: