T minus 7 days until Thanksgiving supper…

Turkey Day  is happening at Casa Metcalf this year.  Yep, that’s right; David and I are hosting his family.  I can’t wait to host everyone in our new house and have an excuse to cook.

So, what are we making this year?

Turkey on the grill: David did such a great job with the turkey last year, so I see no reason to change the preparation method.  Also, grilling our bird, frees up our oven for more baking.  David plans on brining our bird 24 hours in advance.  David has also mentioned covering the turkey with bacon while grilling.  I won’t argue with that.  After much debate, we went with a fresh turkey from Publix.  I had grand plans that we would get a local turkey, that lived a happy and freely roaming life, but the price tag was too steep ($120!!).  Does that make me an awful person?

Brussels sprouts: I just can’t get enough of those little bites of goodness!  Maybe with a little pancetta?  My friend, Hannah, tried brussels sprouts with grapes recently, something I saw in Real Simple.  I’m interested.

Canned cranberry: I could attempt making cranberry from scratch, but I’ve always preferred the canned version as I grew up with the oddly smooth cranberry on orange slices.  Fortunately, canned cranberry’s GF.

Mashed Potatoes with baby red potatoes, skin on.  I love the texture the skin adds.

Butternut Squash (my mother-in-law’s recipe)

Stuffing: This is adventurous, and we’ve never GF stuffing before, but we’re going to try a recipe, substituting Sally’s Sandwich Bread for real bread.  Of course our stuffing will have sausage in it!

Apple & Pumpkin Pie (Thank goodness for Whole Foods’ Gluten-Free Bakey Pie Crusts)

I will be serving (but not making) pecan pie and dinner rolls, courtesy of Sally’s Bakery.

I’ve also learned that when hosting Thanksgiving, it’s not just the actual Thanksgiving dinner that you have to think about.  The Metcalves will be with us from Thursday through Sunday, so just a turkey and some cranberry won’t last us.

Here are some other items I’m going to make to keep our bellies happy when the last bit of turkey has been consumed and there’s no more pie left for breakfast:

Granola and pumpkin bread for breakfasts and snacking

Chicken chili for lunches, once the leftovers run out

Honey mustard chicken for a weekend dinner.  It’s just so easy.

What are you planning for your Thanksgiving feast?  What are your favorite gluten-free holiday recipes?

Summer squash is a favorite of mine.  I love the different colors, textures and shapes.  Squash can be roasted simply but I also use it in squash casserole.  Yes, ‘squash casserole’ sounds a bit funny, but I promise, it’s delicious.  This is my grandmother, Dot’s, recipe and even though I never actually ate her version of it (because I was too young to appreciate squash casserole), it reminds me of her.  This recipe also makes me think of my mom because she always makes it in the summer, when I’m around.  My dad doesn’t like squash so when I’m in town, there’s someone else to enjoy it with her!

I found myself with a bounty of squash and onions this weekend so I made squash casserole for a dinner group.  You can bake it before hand so it transports easily.  I posted this recipe last summer, but I realized when making it on Sunday, and following my blog recipe, that I forgot to mention that you should melt the butter.

Oops.  It still turned out alright but I had to laugh at myself for messing up my own recipe.  (It looked a little funny but tasted yummy.)

Dot’s Summer Squash Casserole

Inngredients:
3 pounds summer squash, chunked
3 medium onions, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup 2% or whole milk
Parmesan cheese (the original recipe also calls for crumbled crackers on top but we just skip that step now to make it GF! Instead I sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top)

Directions:
Cook squash & onions with water, sugar, salt and pepper until mashable (about 45 minutes).
Beat two eggs lightly.
Add milk to eggs and mix well with squash. Add butter and mix.
Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes. (With 10 minutes left in cooking, remove from oven and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.)

Perfect for a 4th of July cookout!  Transports with no trouble and reheats easily.  You make make it and freeze, and just reheat before serving.  Happy cooking!

While it can seem overwhelming to cook gluten-free, it really can be done and done simply, with lots of good flavor.  I have to give a shout out to my friends Maury, Mary Stuart and Jen for showing just how easy gluten-free can be.  I invited the three of them over for dinner a few weeks ago and we shared a delicious gluten-free meal together.  Two years ago, if I invited friends over for dinner, I would have denied any requests made by my guests to “bring something.”  I feel safest in my home because I make the food myself and in the past I didn’t want to bring any variables into my one controlled eating space.

Over time I’ve become much more comfortable explaining to friends my dietary restrictions, and I’ve allowed myself to trust others to make gluten-free food.  My friends (and yours too!) want to accommodate our gluten-free needs.  Of course this thoughtful group of women each wanted to bring something and since I’ve eaten with them many times (I lived in Mary Stuart’s house while moving this summer and she and her husband, Joel made many delicious GF meals for me), I trust each of them and they serve as reminders to me, just how easy and simple gluten-free dining can be.

Each of us provided a component of the meal that we shared.  The food was delicious and they all made gluten-free seem so “normal” (because it can be!).  It is the best feeling when friends and family members accommodate my gluten-free needs and I’m so appreciative of the many people in my life who have been thoughtful and gone to great lengths to ask questions, educate themselves and prepare gluten-free food for me.

There are probably many meals you make that are naturally gluten-free.  Check out our dinner menu to see how simple it can be.

Here’s what we ate:

Mary Stuart brought a creative, yet simple appetizer.  She made delicious crackers, using Glutinos, topped with Gruyere cheese and fig jam.  Great flavor combinations and very easy to assemble.  The fig jam added nice color and I loved the texture as well.

I made Red Wine Braised Chicken with Onions & Thyme for our entrée that tasted delicious on a cold winter night.

Maury made her famous roasted sweet potatoes that have become one of my favorite dishes.  All she does is roast sweet potatoes tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper at 375 for about 40 minutes and then she adds parmesan cheese to them.  So good!  (A sprinkle of parmesan cheese is a great addition to roasted veggies.)

Jen, who recently went gluten-free, brought a spinach salad with walnuts, craisins, feta and red onions.  A great winter salad and the red onions and craisins added festive colors.  Jen’s homemade salad dressing was composed of olive oil, basil, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar.  Very flavorful and not too heavy.  It complimented the salad perfectly.

I’m one of those people that likes to mix everything on my plate and this meal was perfect for that, even though we didn’t even plan our components of the meal together.  It just seemed to fit.  I only wish I had more photos to document the evening’s cuisine.  We’ll just have to do it again!

Who knew gluten free could be so easy?

When I was first diagnosed with celiac, I never imagined that I would feel so safe eating food made by others.  It takes time, but you too can enjoy sharing meals with others.  When your friends ask questions, give them clear answers.  They want to get it right, I promise.  And they will.

This weekend I had an abundance of sweet peppers of all shapes, sizes and colors.  I had never roasted peppers before so I decided to give it a try.  It’s really easy to do and there are so many things to do with the roasted peppers.

Turn on broiler.  Wash peppers and lie them on a baking sheet.  Put the baking sheet with peppers closest to the broiler heat source.  Let cook for about 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally so that they brown on each side.  The peppers are done when they darken begin to collapse on themselves.

Remove from oven and wrap in tin foil and let cool.  Remove the skin, seeds and stems from the peppers.  It helps to do this under running water, but it’s really a lot easier than it seems.

We enjoyed roasted peppers at multiple meals throughout the weekend as they keep well in refrigerator.  I served them on salads and by themselves, drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper.  They make a great side dish as they combine well with different meats and entrees.

The best dish I made with the roasted peppers was breakfast Saturday morning.  I made omelets with  farm fresh eggs, roasted peppers, goat cheese and basil.  Yummy!  The peppers were such a nice addition to the eggs and the goat cheese made it quite a filling meal.  You could even make breakfast for dinner with this hearty dish.

Roasting peppers is another great idea if you get some in your CSA and aren’t quite sure what to do with them.  Also, if your peppers are looking a little bruised and not all that beautiful, you do not need perfect peppers for roasting them.  Next time I roast peppers I’m going to experiment with making hummus.

Fall is on its way and while I’m sad to see the last cherry tomatoes at the farmers’ markets, I’m also excited about the cool weather produce and all of the different things to make with them.  The method to my cooking lately has been to find an ingredient that I want to use and then create (with guidance from my treasured cookbooks) recipes that use that item.  This weekend I went on a cooking spree, and the result was healthy, flavorful, gluten-free food.  The first item on my list was acorn squash.

I had been eyeing the acorn squash at The Local Farmstand for a while, wondering what I could make with it.  I’ve cooked a lot with other members of the squash family, including zucchini, butternut and summer squash.  Acorn squash looks like its name and can be found in a variety of colors.  A pretty vegetable, I had only ever seen acorn squash on display at holiday times, never actually in a dish.

I found a seasonal rice recipe using acorn squash in Sara Foster’s Fresh Every Day cookbook and I tweaked it to make it gluten-free.  The recipe also interested me for a couple of reasons beyond having acorn squash in the title.  This rice dish included shallots and they have recently become one of my favorite things to use when I cook.  Shallots are in the onion family, but their flavor is complex and delicious.  Many cooks praise shallots, but I had never truly appreciated them until the last few weeks.  A nice touch for many dishes!  I also chose this recipe because it’s dairy and egg free and our friend, Chris, was coming over and has to stay away from dairy and eggs.

Here’s what I made:

Brown Rice with Roasted Acorn Squash, Spinach and Satueed Shallots

Ingredients:

About 1 pound of acorn squash, peeled and seeded (I used 2 ½ smaller acorn squash…I actually don’t think you can have too much of this ingredient!  If you find you have too much squash you can refrigerate it once you’ve roasted it and serve it as leftovers.)

2 T. olive oil

2 t. sea salt

½ t. ground pepper

1 T. unsalted butter

4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup brown rice

2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

4 oz. spinach, washed (about 3 cups)  I just used what I had left in the fridge from a meal earlier that week; you can use as much or as little as you’d like

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut the squash into ½ inch cubes and place on baking pan.  Drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Roast spinach for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally until squash starts to brown and become soft.  Allow squash to cool a little.

Melt remaining tablespoon of olive oil and butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add shallots and cook about 5 minutes to soften.  Add the rice and cook and stir for about 2 minutes.  Stir in all of the broth, 2 teaspoons of salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.

Remove pan from heat and add roasted squash and spinach, tossing gently until spinach starts to wilt.  Season as needed and serve warm.

Between the brown rice, spinach and squash, the colors were beautiful and definitely looked like a seasonal, fall dish.  This might have been one of the best tasting rice dishes I’ve ever eating, and there wasn’t any cheese adding to the rich flavor.  I served it as a side dish with a roasted pork loin.  There were four of us at dinner and not a bit of the the rice was left at the end of the meal so if you’re entertaining a larger group, you might want to double the recipe.

Like I said earlier, I just sort of eyeballed the spinach and the squash as I added them to the rice so it’s definitely not an exact science.  I’m sure you could make this same recipe with delicata or butternut squash.

Let me know if there’s anything else you like to make with acorn squash or other winter squash.

The husband and I love Old Bay! Ever since my friend, Becky, gave us a huge container of the seasoning salt as an engagement gift (she’s from Easton so that sort of explains the gift), we’ve loved using it. When I was first diagnosed with celiacs, we immediately checked to see if Old Bay is gluten free. Lucky for us, it is!

Old Bay is a seasoning salt that is typically used when eating crabs. The husband and I have found that it adds good flavor to many foods. Two of our favorites are sweet potato fries and burgers. This combo is one of our go to weeknight meals and it’s perfect for having a group of people over for dinner. Old Bay is yummy in both turkey burgers and hamburgers and the recipe we use is the same for both.

Old Bay Dinner for 6

Old Bay Burgers:
Ingredients:
2 lbs. hamburger (I prefer 85/15…90/10 gets a bit dry)
2 eggs
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 T. Old Bay (the husband and I vary our amount of Old Bay depending on whose taste buds we’re feeding…in our minds, you can’t have too much! 4 tablespoons is actually a bit conservative)
Sliced white cheddar cheese
Sliced avocado
Sliced fresh tomato

1. Heat olive oil in pan and add chopped onion. Saute until onion is brown.
2. In a bowl, mix meat, eggs, onion and Old Bay.
3. Make into 7 patties and they are ready to cook. I think everything is better on the grill, but you can make them on the stove top as well.
4. Add cheese when burgers are almost cooked through.
5. Top burgers with avocado and tomato.

*Note: we prefer to go bunless with these burgers. I still haven’t found a gluten free bun that I love and I find that eating burgers with a fork is not the end of the world; in fact, it makes the dinner seem a little fancier!

Old Bay Sweet Potato Fries:
Ingredients:
4 Large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into strips (think steak fries shape…2 inches wide, 4 inches long, and about 1/2 inch thick)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Old Bay

1. Preheat oven to 385.
2. In a bowl, mix olive oil and Old Bay; then add sweet potatoes and mix
3. Lay sweet potatoes flat on cookie sheet.
4. Cook for 15 minutes and then flip sweet potatoes and cook for another 15 minutes.
I keep my eye on them and serve them once they start to get brown and a little crispy. The husband thinks you can’t overcook them!

We usually serve this meal with a nice salad as well to add more color to the plate. You can use the extra tomato and avocado for the salad. One of my favorite GF dressings is Maple Farms of Vermont Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Enjoy!

My mom and I LOVE mashed potatoes so this is a go to side dish at holiday meals. Simple, flavorful and minimal dishes to wash!
Ingredients:
2 ½-3 lbs. red potatoes washed (not peeled)
¼ cup parmesan cheese
Plenty of salt and pepper
¾ cup 2% milk (warmed)

Directions:
Wash potatoes and put in a pot. Fill with water to cover potatoes. Boil water and let potatoes cook for 25-30 minutes once water boils. Once potatoes are tender to the touch of a fork, drain water. (Don’t poke with fork too much because potatoes will dry out.) Add half of the milk and start to mash with a potato masher. Add rest of milk and start adding salt and pepper and parmesan cheese.

Taste as you add more cheese, salt and pepper. You might choose to use more or less milk and cheese depending on your taste buds and desired consistency of potatoes. (I prefer chunky mashed potatoes but if you want them smoother, add more milk.)

I like this side dish because it’s relatively easy and you don’t even need to break out the Kitchen Aid. It’s perfect when there’s already a lot going on in the kitchen…it minimizes dishes and space. I find that the skin left on adds color and texture to the dish!

Leftover Tip: These reheat well in the microwave, but I suggest adding a little milk before reheating.

Recipe Variation: Use sour cream instead of or in addition to parmesan cheese.