A World Without Wheat...Turkey Turkey!

So a friend of mine asked me to post on getting a Thanksgiving meal together that is GF.  Whether for your own family or if you have someone coming who is GF, the following is for you.  Now mind you this: I have only been gluten free for ten months so I have not endured the danger zone that stretches from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve! I am a bit intimidated by the prospect of making my favorite time for gluttony into a GF extravaganza but here goes.

First, if your kitchen is not normally GF you will need to run all your pots and pans that  you plan to use to cook this GF meal through the dishwasher.  Be sure to clean your cutting board off incredibly well.  Bread boards are particularly hard to get really clean of flour.   You might want to read my post a few months ago on serving a GF meal to a celiac friend.  Lots of good pointers in there on how to do it right.  Be sure to open a fresh stick of butter for any of your recipes as a used one is likely crumb contaminated if anyone in the house eats wheat toast or bread.

So, on to the main deal: the bird.  I went looking for a GF turkey and I had heard, surprisingly, that some turkeys have been injected or otherwise contaminated with gluten.  An organic fresh turkey is the best choice but honesty, the Giant Store brand turkey in the freezer case says it is GF so I am all set.  Get what suits you but you should be looking for that magic phrase “gluten free” or you may be surprised with wheat in the bird!

Plan out the big meal’s menu carefully, just like you do every year.  But, where you were using wheat bread in your stuffing; just use crumbled stale GF bread.  Or you can use cornbread in your stuffing; you will have to make a pan of cornbread without wheat flour. There are lots of GF cornbread recipes out there.  Check on line.  You can buy redi-made GF stuffing although the only time I made some, the flavor was very bland and disappointing.   Some people make a delicious potato dressing, baked in a pan.  This can be a good alternative to traditional bread stuffing.

Your turkey gravy can be thickened with cornstarch or rice flour instead of wheat flour.  Make sure the rice flour is extra fine; especially brown rice flour: you can grind it a bit in the blender to be sure.  Do not use canned gravy unless it is clearly labeled as gluten free.

Mashed potatoes and many sweet potato dishes tend to be naturally GF.  So do most veggie side dishes.  Just check your ingredients: no wheat flour, white or whole wheat.  No rye or barley, no wheat pasta including no cous cous.  As for condiments like pickles and relishes: usually safe but still read the label!   Do be careful about that green bean casserole: Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup is not GF.  Try Progresso for a GF alternative in your recipe.  Only issue is that Progresso soups are not condensed so take that into cooking consideration. If you like mac and cheese you can make it with a box of GF pasta; check the GF section for elbow pasta.  They even have the boxes of orange colored sauce mac and cheese there made with GF pasta.

Rolls and bread may be the most problematic.  If you must have them there are a variety of GF roll recipes out there.  I am trying out one this weekend and if it is good I will be using it Thursday! For very good GF French bread look on cook.com – it is easy and everyone seems to love it.

Finally, the dessert; I have posted a fantastic pie crust recipe in the past.  You can definitely make a GF pumpkin or apple pie.  Check my prior posts for that crust.  The pumpkin pie filling if made using canned pumpkin is GF, just use a GF crust. If you are not up to making your own crust I hear Pillsbury has a GF crust redi-made that you could certainly use in a pinch.

So, there you have it.  You can serve a GF meal and no one may even notice.  But your GF friend will be so happy to eat a delicious and traditional Thanksgiving meal they will hug you twice on their way out with their turkey doggie bag for a tasty lunch tomorrow!