Thanksgiving...hmmm....

[Guest ~jules~]

I was chatting with my mother today about celiac, and we started talking about thanksgiving. I know its possible to have a nice thanksgiving dinner, as long as a few adjustments are made. This may be a silly question, BUT, can we eat a bird that was stuffed with it? I'm thinking no way, but I thought I'd ask anyway. We pretty much decided that were going to switch stuffing recipes this year Also I'm the big baker in the family, so, if I choose to still bake all those goodies for all those people I should be okay if I wear gloves? Ugh, I don't know I guess I'm just trying to find a way to keep things as normal as possible. So to those of you who have had a celiac holiday your stories would be appreciated...thanks so much....Julie

[daffadilly]

Julie re baking with wheat, I would not if I were you. For one thing flour poofs up & gets in the air & you breath it in or get some in your mouth & you get sick (& excuse me but some of us have sinuses that drain down our throat, which goes to our stomach) I was just reading in the living without magazine today, that it was a myth that just having flour poof around in the kitchen would make you sick , I read a little further & yep that was a doctor that was writing that You take a bag of rat poison & sift a few cups of that in the kitchen, I tell you it will make you sick. Nutty doctor, I do not know how they have the audacity to say stuff like this. When my daughter in law cleaned out her kitchen I told her to just throw the flour canister in the trash can, but she did not listen to me & dumped it out in the trash & when she went to put water in the canister more flour poofed up & got in her face - she was sick in bed for a few days.

Sorry, I just read that article 30 minutes ago & it rubbed me the wrong way.

i was the baker in my family, there is baking gluten-free & most people cannot tell the difference. I made hello dolly cookies - everyone loves those. take oblong cake pan & melt a stick of butter in it & sprinkle with gluten-free cookie crumbs, or almond meal (delicious) or those cookies that are a graham cracker substitute, layer coconut on top of that, then chocolate chips, then pecans, then pour a can of sweetened condensed milk over all & bake at 350% till all bubbly on the edges & starting to brown (I think about 30 minutes).

Re stuffing no you cannot eat the turkey & just leave the stuffing. Most turkey is okay, just discard the gravy packette if one is included. You can order a honey baked ham without the glaze, which of course has wheat in it. You really should not cook stuffing inside a turkey anyway. Put a carrot, onion, celery pieces in there & then discard it. We use cornbread stuffing so we had no problems there. Maybe your family could have two pans of stuffing. I used Lundberg rice chips ground up instead of cracker crumbs. Baked candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows & pecans on top. Green bean casserole is pretty much a goner - I never cared for it myself, but some people do make it gluten-free, I make fresh green beans. I also make a corn casserole & just substituted crumbs from leftovers, fruit salad was the same, cranberry sauce is okay canned or make from scratch,

okay, I am getting hungry.

good luck with your cooking

[LKelly8]

My mother makes a fantastic stuffing with gluten-free cornbread. Every year it's the first dish to disappear from the table, popular even with the gluten-eaters.

[Guest ~jules~]

Thanks! My mother handed thanksgiving down to me 2 years ago. I was going to take a break this year anyway, because my parents moved out of there "retirement condo" back into a larger home again. Since she's having thanksgiving this year, we were thinking of me coming over and helping her with my special dietary needs, and I'll have to watch the cross contamination of course. As far as the baking goes, I sorta thought about the stuff floating around in the air also....Well, its time to find a way to make my goodies gluten free I guess, I can't let everyone down, I'm the only one who bothers baking anything. (plus I'm good at it ) Thank you Julie

[tarnalberry]

I was chatting with my mother today about celiac, and we started talking about thanksgiving. I know its possible to have a nice thanksgiving dinner, as long as a few adjustments are made. This may be a silly question, BUT, can we eat a bird that was stuffed with it? I'm thinking no way, but I thought I'd ask anyway. We pretty much decided that were going to switch stuffing recipes this year Also I'm the big baker in the family, so, if I choose to still bake all those goodies for all those people I should be okay if I wear gloves? Ugh, I don't know I guess I'm just trying to find a way to keep things as normal as possible. So to those of you who have had a celiac holiday your stories would be appreciated...thanks so much....Julie

I usually do the cooking for thanksgiving dinner (I love cooking!), and I make the whole thing gluten and dairy free, and everyone loves it. We have turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, greens, root vegetables, mashed potates, salad, and pumpkin pie, usually (always with variations :-) ). All Gluten-free Casein-free. And it's no problem at all to make it all that way.

Definitely don't eat a bird that's been stuffed with gluten stuffing, and I would not recommend baking with wheat flour - you are *very* likely to end up ingesting some.

[eKatherine]

I suggest you make stuffing and turkey and gravy at your home, and make up a casserole dish that can be reheated before the meal. That way you can have your own gluten-free turkey and stuffing without complicating their turkey.

[CarlaB]

I was chatting with my mother today about celiac, and we started talking about thanksgiving. I know its possible to have a nice thanksgiving dinner, as long as a few adjustments are made. This may be a silly question, BUT, can we eat a bird that was stuffed with it? I'm thinking no way, but I thought I'd ask anyway. We pretty much decided that were going to switch stuffing recipes this year Also I'm the big baker in the family, so, if I choose to still bake all those goodies for all those people I should be okay if I wear gloves? Ugh, I don't know I guess I'm just trying to find a way to keep things as normal as possible. So to those of you who have had a celiac holiday your stories would be appreciated...thanks so much....Julie

That disgusting Ener-g bread .... breaks up really easily and makes GREAT stuffing!! I used the same old bread stuffing recipe with it.

I would find a gluten-free flour you like. Experiment between now and Thanksgiving, then share your recipes with us!!!!!!!

Our whole Thanksgiving last year was gluten-free, except for the green bean casserole with cream of mushroom soup and those fried onions. No one even noticed.

[jerseyangel]

Last Thanksgiving was my first, gluten-free.

Everyone came to my house--I made the whole meal gluten-free, except for a basket of rolls.

I made turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, green beans, homemade cranberry orange relish, and pumpkin pie.

Nobody left hungry, and the leftovers were the best part!

[Guest ~jules~]

I will probably make my own little bird and stuffing..My father is very old stubborn and set in his ways, he's not going to be flexible on the bird or the stuffing. But thats okay with me I like my cooking better than my moms anyhow he he secret.... I have some really good ideas now, and I realize that the holidays will be as wonderful as they always are, just different ingredients! (I don't like the green bean casserole either, blah!) If I find some way to make all my special goodies, and they turn out just as good, I will share! thanks again, julie..

[Sweetfudge]

If you were cooking for non-celiacs couldn't you just wear a mask (like dr's and dentists wear) to block the inhale of wheat? Would that work? Just curious.

As far as the green bean casserole goes, does anyone have a good gluten-free recipe? I've experimented with making my own cream of mushroom soup (one of my former faves) and not had much luck yet. I miss the flavor. Grew up on the stuff-in roasts, on chicken and rice, even in enchiladas.

This will be my first gluten-free thanksgiving. I don't know how to go about it really, because I haven't ever taken on the full meal. There are a lot of good cooks in my family, and I don't know if I can ask them to change their methods for me. Should I just have a small meal with husband and myself? I thought about just making a couple of desserts to take over and joining the fam after the main meal. I'm not really that close to the MIL and didnt' want to offend her in any way or make her change things for me. Not too sure what to do...

Anyway, where's the best place to get a turkey? What brands are safe?

Thanks for all the help

[CarlaB]

I have been the main holiday cook for years. I buy a free-range fresh turkey from a health food store. They're the best and no additives to worry about.

If I were going elsewhere, I would just prepare my meal at home and bring it with me to eat with everyone else. That way you'll have leftovers to enjoy! I always picture buffets with food slopping around all over as families dig in ... too much danger of cc, and really you can't expect someone to prepare a whole meal differently for just one person. Maybe bring a nice gluten-free dessert to share.

[Guest ~jules~]

I make my scalloped potatoes with cream of mushroom also. I found this soup at a health food store, it comes in a box, its calle Imagine (brand) Creamy protabello mushroom soup. Its pretty good, I actually thought my potatoes were better with this kind. If you find it, a few tips though, don't add water, and you may want to season it a little its sort of bland....good luck...julie

[IrishKelly]

Can someone give me a really good gluten-free & DF stuffing recipe?...that's one thing i don't have.

[jerseyangel]

I used Carrie's (carriefaith) stuffing recipe. It was fantastic!

She has it posted in the recipe section. If you have trouble finding it, let me know.

OK, I found it for you--

Open Original Shared Link

It's in post #3. Last year, I made it with Whole Foods Sandwich bread--this year, I'm making it with Gluten Free Pantry French Bread.

[Carriefaith]

This is the recipe I have used for stuffing:

Stuffing

4 shallots, minced

1 onion, diced

5 celery ribs, diced

5 carrots, diced

2-3 tbl soy butter (Earth Balance)

2 tbl dry sage

2 tbl dry thyme

2 tbl dry summer savory

dash of pepper

1 cup white wine

1 loaf gluten-free bread, cubed (I use Kinnikinnick Italian white tapioca, thawed)

1 cup gluten-free chicken stock (I use 1 cup of Imagine chicken broth, or 2

cubes of McCormick chicken bouillon and 1 cup of water).

Optional: chestnuts, apples, raisons, cranberries, peacans.

Sauté the vegetables in the butter until they are soft, and the onions begin to carmelize. Add the seasonings and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the white wine, and continue cooking over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by half. In a casserole dish, mix all ingedients together. Bake for 20 minutes at 325̊ F.

[jerseyangel]

Hi Carrie! I didn't realize you were on today Sorry I jumped in about the stuffing, but it's the one I always recommend!

[Sweetfudge]

Jules,

With the imagine soup, do you thicken it? I have tried it before and I know it's not the same consistancy as Campbell's. What seasonings do you recommend? I think I have a box in my cupboard, I'm gonna go check, and plan a meal with it! Also, what do you do with leftover soup? I know it doesn't keep long, do you freeze it? Thanks all, learning how to cook again sucks!

[Carriefaith]

Hi Carrie! I didn't realize you were on today ph34r.gif Sorry I jumped in about the stuffing, but it's the one I always recommend! biggrin.gif

No problem I actually posted after I noticed your post I haven't been posting for awhile since I was away getting married on PEI last week!

[jkmunchkin]

Thanksgiving always has been and still is my favorite holiday; celiac and all. We go to my uncles house every year and I think part of what still makes this such a great day for me, is it's one of the few days where I'm not the only celiac in the room. I was diagnosed after my 1st cousin found out she had celiac, and then my brother was diagnosed after me. Last year was the 1st Thanksgiving for all of us with celiac, and it was great. There was very little we had to change. Obviously we couldn't have the stuffing, and we made a different gravy for the 3 of us, and added in a few extra gluten free deserts we normally wouldn't have had; but overall it was the same Thanksgiving.

[IrishKelly]

I make homemade sweet potatoe casserole every year and i'm still going to be able to make it this year because it's completely gluten-free (and even df if you wanted which is the way i'll be making it this year).

Sweet Potatoe Casserole

You peel and boil 4-6 large sweet potatoes until tender. Drain water and add two teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 stick butter (or soy butter, vegan butter, etc..), and 1/4 cup brown suger. Blend all ingredients together, place in a baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle mini marshmallows over the top and bake for five minutes or watch for the tops of marshmallows to become golden brown.

[jayhawkmom]

Our CSA group puts on a gluten-free thanksgiving dinner every year for it's members. I was really excited to hear that.

I hadn't thought about it much, until now. I just can't see my MIL making a bunch of "extra" stuff for me and the kids. I'm going to keep following this thread, and figure out how to approach the issue!

[FrostyFriday]

You could try a stuffing with rice instead of bread. To make this use brown and wild rice, add various herbs and spices to your liking such as sage, rosemary, thyme. Also add stir-fried veggies like carrots, celery, onion and a few raisins, dried cranberries, etc. The whole thing is much like a fried rice without the soy sauce. Can be kept warm in the oven or stuffed and cooked in the turkey.

[tarnalberry]

Can someone give me a really good gluten-free & DF stuffing recipe?...that's one thing i don't have.

Mine's on my recipe thread in the recipe section ("As Promised, A Few Recipes"). It's brown rice based.

[GFBetsy]

Sweetfudge -

If you bring your own rolls, stuffing, and pie, you ought to be okay (as long as the bird was cooked w/out stuffing inside). It sounds like a lot of work, but you can make bread/rolls the day (or week) before, freeze your rolls, and make dry bread cubes for the stuffing. Then the only things you have to do the day of the get together is throw stuffing stuff together and make a pie. Oh, and pumpkin pie filling and even apple pie filling bake perfectly well outside of a crust. Then you have pumpkin custard and baked apples instead - both of which are FABULOUS with ice cream!

[Sweetfudge]

Mmm, great ideas! Making me crave thanksgiving dinner early

I might just have to bake a pie tomorrow!