Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving menu and recipes

As promised, here is the complete menu for our gluten-free Thanksgiving meal; I made everything myself (except for the rolls which were gluten free cream biscuits from Whole Foods Market), with a little help from DH, Paul, who sliced mushrooms, grated cheese, and generally helped to reach things on the top shelves (I'm 5'3" and he's 6'2"). I have a wheelchair with a seat that elevates several inches, which enabled me to cook while sitting down (still necessary, unfortunately).
  • Turkey, slow-roasted with bacon (recipe is in post #10 in this thread on celiac.com, see picture of bird about to go into the oven, below)
  • Turkey gravy, made with pan drippings, brown rice flour, and chicken broth. Seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and sage. Note: next time use potato starch instead of brown rice flour.
  • Mushrooms Parmesan (one of my all-time favorite holiday dishes, converted to be gluten-free, recipe below)
  • Broccoli-Cheese Casserole (one of my all-time favorite holiday dishes, converted to be gluten-free, recipe below)
  • Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow Topping (gluten free, casein free, egg free, soy free, recipe below)
  • Homemade Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce (recipe on the bag of cranberries)
  • Jellied Cranberry Sauce from a can (for DH)
  • Stephanie's Crockpot Mashed Potatos
  • Erica's Sausage Apple Stuffing, with ~2 Cups chicken broth added, baked in a crockpot.
  • Cream Biscuits (gluten free, purchased from Whole Foods Market)
  • Stephanie's Pumpkin Cheesecake
  • Cherry Streusel Pie (used Erica's gluten free piecrust from her apple tart recipe and the cornstarch streusel topping from Roben Ryberg's book "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free" (page 432), see pictures below of the cherry streusel pie and the pumpkin cheesecake cooling in crockpot before I added the sour cream topping).




Mushrooms Parmesan

3 T. butter
1 1/2 lbs mushrooms
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
3 T. butter
3 T. brown rice flour
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
salt, pepper to taste
gluten free bread crumbs

Clean and slice the mushrooms (I like the slices fairly thick myself). Melt the first 3 T. butter in a large skillet and saute the mushrooms until wilted. Drain.

Make a roux with the second 3 T. of butter and brown rice flour by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and quickly blending in the flour to form a paste; cook briefly, do not burn it! Add the heavy cream and whisk to ensure no lumps; simmer and stir until it thickens, slowly add the milk and simmer and stir again until thick. If too thick add a bit more milk. Lastly add most of the Parmesan cheese (reserve a bit to put on top) and the nutmeg. The sauce should be quite thick at this point, almost like a thick batter, because the mushrooms will still retain and release some liquid, even though they've been drained, which will thin out the sauce when they are added.

Add the mushrooms to the sauce, stir well, pour into a casserole dish and top with reserved Parmesan, gluten free bread crumbs (we used gluten free pretzel crumbs) and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly and starting to brown slightly on top.


Broccoli Cheese Casserole

2 lbs broccoli florets or 3 large heads of broccoli, cut up and steamed until tender
1 1/2 cups cream of mushroom soup, gluten free (not condensed)
2 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 lbs of cheddar cheese, grated
2 jars Kraft Old English Cheese Spread
1 cup diced chives or diced green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
garlic powder (1-2 tsp)
dill weed (a few pinches)
rosemary (a few pinches)
thyme (a few pinches)
1 tsp dry mustard

Whisk the cornstarch into the mushroom soup in a medium sized saucepan, heat and stir until it thickens. Add most of the grated cheese (reserve a bit for topping), the Kraft spread, the diced veggies and seasonings to taste. Cheese sauce should be thick; if not, take out a small amount of sauce, add more cornstarch to it then add it back to the saucepan. Whisk and stir until thick.

Combine steamed broccoli with the cheese sauce mixture, add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a casserole dish, top with cheese and crushed potato chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly around the edges.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Use two large cans of yams or sweet potatos, drain and reserve juice. Mash the yams in a large bowl, add brown sugar to taste, beginning with 1/2 cup. Add a shake or two of cinnamon and ginger, plus small amounts of juice from the can until it is the proper consistency (smooth but very thick). Scrape into a casserole dish; bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then add marshmallows and bake until golden brown on top.

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