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Valued Contributor
Posts: 650
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Help with Gluten Free side dish pls

I'm having 15 for Thanksgiving, and 5 staying at least 2 nights. I have lots of beds, but I am starting to feel overwhelmed at the prospect of providing so much food while being in the kitchen all day.

One DIL must be gluten free. I have got some ideas on much of the food, but I need more help than I'm finding on GF sites.

I'd like to have a corn pudding casserole that is not only GF, but can be made a day or two ahead. Something that won't scare small children hopefully! Thanks!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,510
Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: Help with Gluten Free side dish pls

Cream spinach. Rice with a mushroom sauce. Zucchini sliced with olive oil, bit of butter, parmesan and baked in the oven until just soft. Use a little cream cheese in the cream spinach with cream, onion and tsp. of chicken bouillon. If you make a white sauce, use cornstarch or rice flour. Carrots with honey sauce, just sauté sliced carrots, finish with butter, salt and a little honey. Sweet potato casserole. Sweet potato, baked.

Super Contributor
Posts: 415
Registered: ‎03-09-2011

Re: Help with Gluten Free side dish pls

Gluten free? Easy--everything but the dressing and the dinner rolls! Any kind of vegetable dishes, salads, potatoes, sweet potatoes. That green bean casserole, even, if you like it. Roasted vegetables, baked vegetables, steamed vegetables, raw vegetable platters. And you can make a wild rice dressing with cranberries, pistachios, celery and shallots--yum. Or just make risotto with broth from the turkey if you have one. Risotto in the pressure cooker is a snap. Put bacon or pancetta in things if you want more flavor. Or balsamic vinegar.

Desserts are a little harder, but pumpkin mousse is like pie without the crust. There are lots of gluten free baking mixes and recipes, but I'd just as soon not bother when I can have fruit crisps instead of pie, poached pears with cinnamon, etc. Then there are sugared grapes, dishes of nuts, wedges of really wonderful cheese that you don't splurge on every day, and chocolates. Making me hungry.

One suggestion is to make sure it's actually gluten your guest avoids, and not all grains. Of course, anything grain free is also gluten free, but the reverse isn't true. So your corn pudding would be out for someone who avoids grains, as would the rice ideas.

Valued Contributor
Posts: 650
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Help with Gluten Free side dish pls

Thank you both. I'll make things simple.... of course, there is still dinner the night before, breakfast, and breakfast the next day.

Frequent Contributor
Posts: 93
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Help with Gluten Free side dish pls

My young daughter cannot have gluten and we plan the following:

- Gravy: thicken with cornstarch which is GF rather than flour. It tastes and looks the same.

- Don't put stuffing inside the turkey. We are making a wild rice dish rather than a traditional stuffing.

- In addition to gluten dinner rolls, I'll have either GF bread or rolls (not in the same basket)

- If your family makes something like a green bean casserole, know that canned soup contains gluten.

- Keep the food as fresh/unpackaged as possible and prep them yourself, then you know what's in them gluten-wise.

- Dessert: when you make traditional pumpkin pie, pour some filling in ramikens and bake without a crust for a GF dessert. Apple crisp made with GF oats and no flour. Ice cream (no gluten additives in the flavor like cookies, cookie dough, pie crust, etc). Fruit salad with a GF sugar cookie.

Other days of the visit:

- Breakfast - oatmeal (we can use Quaker brand but check with her), Chex cereal of any flavor, GF Rice Krispies (different from the regular Rice Krispies).

- Dinner - (besides leftovers), make your own pizza night -- for her pizza, just purchase a frozen premade GF shell (or GF tortilla if you can't find a pizza crust) in the frozen section, then let everyone add their own toppings. Put a selection for her in separate bowls including sauce so that the flour from the kids fingers doesn't cross contaminate her options if she isn't first. This is what we do for my little girl and then she can have a pizza bar with her cousins and not stand out.

Also, burrito, taco, or rice bowls with the same concept. Most tortilla chips are GF and many hard taco shells plus it's kid friendly.