High School Graduation Party

[Vlynx]

My son is graduating from high school in a few months. We will be throwing a large open house. I am not sure what I should serve. Should I serve regular cake for our guest and serve a separate gluten free cake. There will be 3 celiac in attendance for the party. Should I serve all gluten free food? Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks!

[happygirl]

Is your son one of the ones with Celiac? If that's the case, it might be nice to have an all gluten free open house, so that he can fully enjoy everything and not have to worry at all.

[Lisa]

My son is graduating from high school in a few months. We will be throwing a large open house. I am not sure what I should serve. Should I serve regular cake for our guest and serve a separate gluten free cake. There will be 3 celiac in attendance for the party. Should I serve all gluten free food? Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks!

My, non-celiac, husband and family all love Pamela's Chocolate Cake and swear it's better than Duncan Hines anyday. Gluten free for everyone!

Make it all gluten free, then you don't have to worry about special instructions for a few. Everyone can enjoy the food without worry (especially YOU).

There are great recipies in the Baking Thread..

[home-based-mom]

I say make the whole event gluten free and other than the celiacs no one needs to know. Just let celiacs know that everything is safe for them!

[Vlynx]

Is your son one of the ones with Celiac? If that's the case, it might be nice to have an all gluten free open house, so that he can fully enjoy everything and not have to worry at all.

Yes, he is one of the them, myself and his brother. My husband says that everyone will want the regular cake and frosting.

[happygirl]

Everyone in our house eats gluten free cakes/desserts. I'm sure your son would enjoy one day of not having to worry at all, especially on HIS big day!

[HiDee]

I would agree that it should all be gluten free....however, if you have a whole lot of guests coming and it's just too much work for you to do all the food gluten free as well as cakes, maybe you could just buy a big sheet cake from your local supermarket bakery and keep it separate from all the other food. But if there aren't that many people coming, it shouldn't be too hard to do some pamela's cake mixes and if no one knows I doubt they'd even guess. Since it's an open house, I would just keep the food pretty simple: chips and salsa or dip, fresh fruit and vegetables, deli style meats and cheeses with gluten free crackers, some of the Delimex brand taquitos are gluten free, etc.

Good luck.

[CeliacMom2008]

I'd go gluten-free for everyone. We've had many parties with gluten-free cakes and no one can tell. We use Kinnikinnick. Last summer we had several parties with gluten-free cakes and they were a hit! The only hiccup I've found with gluten free parties is that hamburgers and hot dogs make very easy mass crowd feeding alternatives and gluten-free buns aren't all that great (to us anyway) and they can be costly. So you just have to be creative and find non-traditional ways around that. Tacos, lasagna, meatballs, chicken wings, nachos, chicken breasts on the gril etc. can work for larger groups, as well as a whole host of appetizers.

Go gluten-free!!

[MollyBeth]

Yes, he is one of the them, myself and his brother. My husband says that everyone will want the regular cake and frosting.

I think you guys shuold just goo al gluten free! I think people will only notice the difference if they know it's gluten free going into it... If nothing is said then I doubt anyone will even notice. I'm pretty sure the ducan hines frosting is gluten free also so If you make some chocolate cake and throw some of that on it...It's better than the flour cake! I'm also a big fan of pam's baking stuff!

[mamaw]

If we are voting I vote gluten-free as well.Its is about your son & his day & he is gluten-free so be gluten-free for his special day. Most foods can be made gluten-free anyway & now days one usually cannot tell the difference....If you need help in changing a recipe to gluten-free I'm sure everyone on here would help you....

blessings

mamaw

[Juliet]

All gluten free unless you don't want to do the work.

If you use Pamela's Chocolate Cake mix using the sour cream recipe for cupcakes and no one will know. I've done this so many times at schools, parties, etc., and every time someone asks if it's actually OK for my kids and I to eat it. And as someone who was not gluten free when we first got a diagnosis about our son (I didn't figure it out for myself until a year and a half later) I can personally attest that it tastes better than any "gluten" chocolate cake mix (although there are a few gluten bakeries that do taste better, but then again you're spending $75 for a 10" triple layer round cake, too). Buttercream frosting from scratch is ALWAYS gluten free so it's not "different", same with cream cheese frostings (side note, Pamela's chocolate frosting mix using the cream cheese recipe is FABULOUSLY rich). And chocolate ganache filling in a cake is rich, decadent, and gluten free (if you're doing a layered cake instead). Most of the sugar letters you buy for decoration at the grocery store are safe, too, so you can spell out "congratulations", too.

As for food, there are so many naturally gluten free versions that teenagers like, no one would know you're being "different." Nachos, tacos, veggies and dip, Chili with corn chips, etc.

People who still eat gluten automatically think things must taste bad when they hear the words "gluten free" (I got to admit, it irritated me in the movie "Bedtime Stories" when Courtney Cox was serving "gluten free wheat grass cake" and A) no one would eat it because "obviously" it tasted so bad since it was gluten free and had wheat grass, and it can't be gluten free if there's wheat grass). Just don't let the gluten eaters know and everyone will be happy.

[Juliet]

This is the Husband to Juliet

And we are in the same situation as you folks, 2 kids and the mother with Celiac disease. I cannot fathom a father that appears to care so little for his son's welfare that he would take the chance of contaminating him. I have to think that he never saw his son really sick or had to deal with it.

Our whole house went gluten free when we knew only our son had the disease. We got rid of all of our pans that we used we gluten free food. Our son did become so sick at 2 that he was hospitalized and we were told he was close to passing away. So that is part of the reason we acted so strong and quickly with the pans.

One way to sell being gluten free to your husband is it is a great way to do a diet. I lost 17 pounds and have never felt better. I am lucky in that Juliet is a fantastic cook.

All the best to you and tell your husband to Man Up and face the facts. Tell him I said so

Dean

[ang1e0251]

I also vote for gluten-free. Not because I could eat everything there, but because the guest of honor needs gluten-free food and the day is all about him. Frankly I would just tell DH and everyone else that I'm baking their gluten cake and not tell them it's the same gluten-free cake as your son's.

We often serve sloppy joes at open houses and I would serve that with the giant corn chips. That's how I eat that now. I'm hosting my DD's grad party from college in the spring so I've been thinking about it too. Since money is tight, I'm not going to serve as much food as I did for hs graduation open houses. I'm ordering a regular cake (I'm the only celiac.) I'm going to make some fruit centerpieces, like you can order. I'm going to have my little chocolate fountain and maybe a veggie tray.

I think everyone will have just as much fun gluten-free as not. And...what they don't know won't hurt them.

[Vlynx]

This is the Husband to Juliet

And we are in the same situation as you folks, 2 kids and the mother with Celiac disease. I cannot fathom a father that appears to care so little for his son's welfare that he would take the chance of contaminating him. I have to think that he never saw his son really sick or had to deal with it.

Our whole house went gluten free when we knew only our son had the disease. We got rid of all of our pans that we used we gluten free food. Our son did become so sick at 2 that he was hospitalized and we were told he was close to passing away. So that is part of the reason we acted so strong and quickly with the pans.

One way to sell being gluten free to your husband is it is a great way to do a diet. I lost 17 pounds and have never felt better. I am lucky in that Juliet is a fantastic cook.

All the best to you and tell your husband to Man Up and face the facts. Tell him I said so

Dean

[Vlynx]

He has seen all three of us sick, very sick. I know it is not easy for him living without regular food. I just want to make sure that our guest will not feel cheated by not having a traditional cake. I appreciate your comments.

[stolly]

Vlynx- we made Namaste's chocolate cake mix for DD's birthday party and everyone really liked it. Each mix makes (2) 9" layers, whereas some mixes only make one layer. I find it cheapest on A M A Z O N dot COM, esp if you need a lot for a big party.

For big parties we've done baked ziti (with gluten-free pasta), meatballs in a crockpot, spiral ham (Costco's is gluten free but the glaze had gluten the last time I checked--it tastes great without the glaze but I made my own glaze--very easy), pineapple stuffing with gluten-free bread. I wasn't sure if I could pull off a gluten-free party, but we did it...everyone loved everything and DD could eat anything at the party which was nice (plus no worries about CC). Let me know if you have any questions.