Entertaining With Gluten

[Adalaide]

Just before my psuedotumor cerebri diagnosis my husband and I had purchased a large ham and shoved it in our freezer. Well, I'm not really supposed to eat ham any more so to solve this problem we're entertaining this evening. I grew up more or less in my grammy's kitchen and absolutely love cooking for people.. so oh woe is me! Hah!

Well, my husband's mother somehow has spent her whole life under the delusion that gravy comes from cans. This led my husband to be under the delusion when we met that he doesn't like gravy. Then magic happened. I made gravy, and he's been in love with me ever since.

So, this leads me to my dilemma. He likes gravy on bread because he hate hate hates mashed potatoes. So, I'll thaw out and warm up a few slices of Rudi's for him and probably one for me. I don't want to be the world's worst hostess so I am picking up one of those little packages of rolls that warm in the oven in their own metal tray for our guests. Our table isn't large but we have a huge long counter so we serve sort of buffet style but I don't really feel comfortable putting gluteny rolls up with my gluten free meal. I also don't want to come off as the world's most paranoid person being all, DON'T TOUCH MY FOOD IF YOU'VE TOUCHED BREAD! Although I realize I have to do this. Anyway, do you think it's safe to just put a butter dish and the rolls right on the table by them? As long as I'm not handling them other than to put them on the table it'll be fine right? I just keep telling myself I can't get sick from looking at them, but... they'll be there, staring at me, taunting me.

[kareng]

I would tell hub no gravy and bread today. Suck it up! Its hard to keep track of where the gluten goes. Putting them on the table away from the food or personally serving people a roll with tongs might be the best solutions if you must. I just worry someone will have a roll on the plate and go back to the buffet for more and the roll will fall off in the veggies.

One way I have handled it when the boys have friends over to grill burgers is I get my food first or keep it separate. I just assume any left-overs are gluteny and I don't eat them. We mark them with the name of the kid whose friends contaminated them and the boys finish up the leftover cheese slices, chips etc. I might put out a few pickles and if they don't eat them I throw them out.

When my family comes over, instead of bread I make gluten-free Pantry corn bread or Chebe breadsticks with olive oil, garlic powder & galic salt on the outside. Everyone likes it. We have to keep my nieces little guys from eating too much of it before they have any meat.

[pricklypear1971]

I agree, when dealing with those who aren't experienced with gluten cc risks/handling it's best NOT to serve gluten at all.

I do the same as Karen, above with burgers. Waste a lot of condiments, too because I spoon it out in bowls for them. And waste leftovers because invariably they don't eat them. I don't trust ANYTHING if I let people eat gluten. Last night we had burgers and it was just us, so I trusted hubs to make our son's. Both know how to be careful and it was ok. But if my FIL comes over, ut uh. Waste everywhere because I don't trust him and can't treat him like a kid and make his food .

[ravenwoodglass]

What about getting some gluten-free rolls for everyone? If you feel you must do gluten rolls for company then perhaps give them a small bread and butter plate. If they know about your celiac I don't see why they would have a problem with keeping their gluten bread on the plates if they are all adults. If kids are there then that would be another story. Oh and wash your hands after handling that tray.

[bartfull]

Can't your guest eat Rudi's? Or maybe you can find some gluten-free rolls to serve. Or, as Karen suggested, you could make some gluten-free cornbread. I remember a couple of years ago I was invited to a friend's house for Christmas dinner. She called about an hour before we were supposed to get there in a panic because she had forgotten to buy rolls and was even out of sliced bread. I offered to go to a convenience store and pick some up, but even the convenience stores were out of bread. I had some Jiffy cornbread mix in the cupboard (this was before I went gluten-free), so I threw som in the oven and brought that. All of the guests loved it. They commented that they hadn't had cornbread in a long time and what a nice change it was.

[cap6]

I have to agree here with everyone else - hubs and everyone else can get through one meal without gluten bread and gravy. We get through every single meal without gluten, right? You may want to think about starting out with your friends and family right from the start - your home=gluten free. It may be hard the first couple of times but eventually thy will all just accept that it's your food, your way. Aside from the fact that i don't like to cook I feel like if I am going to cook it won't be any gluten food, why torture myself?

[Adalaide]

I've had a few bread failures in baking so far but no successes. I've had wild success with cakes, cookies, brownies all all that but bread eludes me. This will be my white whale since I made the most amazing breads that had people raving before going gluten free. They do have children, who are invited. I wouldn't ask them to try to find a babysitter for three kids when one is an infant and another is autistic. They're a family and they come as a family and it would be rude of us to exclude their children.

Anyway, I appreciate the insight. I picked up a loaf of Rudi's which I will simply tell my husband he can enjoy at a later time with his gravy. Don't get me wrong, I didn't not enjoy Rudi's just after going gluten free but after spending several months completely bread free it has changed from a tolerable replacement to delicious. I wouldn't ask non gluten free people to eat it.

I've planned a huge spiral cut ham with a homemade pineapple glaze, a salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, glazed carrots and steamed corn. I'm pretty sure they won't notice that there isn't any bread. I'll try not to notice. I keep telling myself I don't need to run back out for $8 Against the Grain baguettes.

[pricklypear1971]

I promise if you make the Chebe bread sticks people will like them.

My dad liked them and he's a bread snob.

I almost fell over.

[kareng]

That's plenty of food. You don't need bread. You have potatoes.

[Adalaide]

I tried making Chebe rolls once. The end result was not edible. I did everything exactly like the directions say!

White.

Whale.

[pricklypear1971]

I tried making Chebe rolls once. The end result was not edible. I did everything exactly like the directions say!

White.

Whale.

I haven't made the rolls, but have made the focaccia and sticks.

[eatmeat4good]

Before I went gluten free, I was invited to dinner by regular eating folks. They served chicken breast, green beans, mashed potatoes and salad. There was no bread served. So it is perfectly appropriate to omit the bread from a meal. It didn't seem odd to me at all. I doubt anyone will say anything. I surely did not miss the bread when it was omitted from the meal. It didn't occur to me anything was missing because it was a full and delicious meal.

On the other side of things, I often have to cook for people as part of my job. I have learned to wear gloves and mask when baking gluten things, I never, ever, bake with flour. But I do make those pillsbury dough biscuits and crescent rolls for people I have to cook for. I serve them on little bread plates that are kept totally separate from the main meal dinner plates. I wash my hands frequently and change gloves frequently and always use gloves with the plates after the gluten eaters have eaten because they get it all over the place. So it can be done the way you had planned, it's just that you have to be very careful and not accidentally touch your face. The gloves help you remember not to do that. It's not that touching gluten will hurt you, but it's impossible to keep it from getting under your nails if you don't wear gloves. I also wash gluteny plates with paper towels and throw them away so I don't contaminate the common sponge. Just a few thoughts.

[cap6]

Just a thought, but Udi's has a new mille chia bread out that is really very good. My partner has switched from the nasty (lol) gluten bread to it and is very pleased.