Thanksgiving: A Cook's (and Celiac's) Holiday

If you love to cook you don't really need an excuse to prepare a feast. But Thanksgiving is different, at least for us. It's the one time of year when Brad is sure to eat stuffing, pies, and sandwiches, all guilt-and-gluten-free. This year I had been looking forward to going all out in our own Seattle kitchen, holing up to bake and cook and eat dips and watch movies. I even had the food preparation laid out over a three day schedule. But family things came up and family comes first, so we've postponed and greatly diminished our Thanksgiving meal. More to come on that in a couple weeks.
I have to pay tribute to my amazing mother-in-law and her mother, who made the traditional glutenous/gluten-free feast in Heber of which we were able to partake. Singley-Dayton Thanksgivings are all about a different coming together: gluten-free and wheat-infested food.
Gluten-free is some work, but with my mother-in-law's tasty recipes, even the gluten-challenged can enjoy the traditional fare. Here is what we ate in Heber (sorry no picture, but it did look great, I promise).

Turkey and cranberry sauce
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Green bean and bacon casserole
yams
candied yams
green salad
raspberry jell-o salad
3 pumpkin pies
1 apple pie
1 cherry pie
(wheat) rolls

This was the first year I've just shown up for dinner without helping at all, and it was strange. I'm not sure I like showing up just to eat, then leaving shortly after. I'm grateful we were able to eat such a great meal without doing any work, especially since we were driving until 3AM the night before, but there is something so rewarding about preparing the turkey and all its accompaniments--ah yes, leftovers. We were sent home with more than we felt was fair, but it's not quite the same. I will feel better when I see Brad bite into a hot leftovers sandwich.

I will post more recipes, even though Thanksgiving has passed, since some of us eat the same type of feast for Christmas. Or maybe, if you're gluten-free, seeing recipes for these foods you may not have eaten for a while will be cause for a whole new holiday.
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Turkey Stuffing Singley style
2 onions,
4 stalks of celery
1 cube of butter
Grind the celery and onions and save the juice
Chopping the onions works almost as well but Clare swears it is better
when they are ground. Put in deep frying pan and simmer in butter for
about an hour. Stir occasionally. Make sure it doesn't get brown,
just cooked. It is on very low heat.

Cube a loaf of bread* into cubes about 1/2 inch square. Put in huge
bowl or pan. Set aside.
Have ready but do not mix together:
2 cups of chicken broth or boullion or turkey broth.
1/2 cup dried parsley
Salt.

Add Celery and onion mixture to the bread cubes. Stir. Add some of
the broth and stir it in. Do not let it get too wet. Add more broth
if it needs it. Add parsley and then add the salt a little at a time
as you taste it. Once it is the right consistency and saltiness...
Add:
2 beaten eggs

Roll balls that resemble cheese balls and place them on cookie sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

*the bread works better if it's not fresh from the oven, so try to make it a day or two ahead.
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Here's a good bread recipe, also courtesy of my mother-in-law Susan. It takes some time, but it's mostly hands-off time.

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Rice Bread
3 cups rice flour OR 1½ cups rice flour, 1½ cups sorghum flour
¼ cup sugar
1 package or 1 Tablespoon dry active yeast
3½ teaspoons xanthan gum
1½ teaspoons salt
2 cups lukewarm water
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs

1. Combine flour(s), sugar, yeast, xanthan gum, and salt in mixing bowl. Blend well.
2. Add the lukewarm water (water that is too warm will kill the yeast) and the vegetable oil. Blend well.
3. Add the eggs. Mix at highest speed of mixer for 2 minutes.
4. Bread dough should be wetter than cookie dough and stiffer than cake dough.
5. Add water till correct consistency. Usually only needs ¼ more at the most.
6. Pour dough into greased bread pan. Let rise until slightly above pans.
7. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

Note: Take slightly less time for baking 2 small loaves instead of 1 large.

Sugar Cookies for Cassie

Back in good old Utah my sister-in-law Cassie and I had some grand baking adventures. One treat that eluded us in our Gluten-free baking: sugar cookies. You might even call it our holy grail. There are recipes out there, sure, but they are impossible to roll out let alone cut out in fun shapes, and their texture is tragically coarse. Read: you cannot eat a cookie without a fork or spoon. Diana's sugar cookies were so soft, I thought she might hold a key for good gluten-free cookies: cream cheese.* These may not be perfect, but so far, this is the best gluten-free sugar cookie Brad and I have tried.
For this experiment I didn't use the sweet potato, although that would make them more tender and somewhat healthy. That will be the next phase of the experiment.
Cassie, these cookies are for you. With ginger frosting on top.

1pkg (8oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup (1and a 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 1/4 cups rice flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat cream cheese, butter, granulated sugar, vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium-low speed until well blended. Add flour, xanthan, and baking soda: mix well.

Roll dough or flatten with your hand to 1/4-in. thickness on parchment or wax paper. Cut into
assorted shapes using 3-in. cookie cutters. Place on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes; they will not brown on top. Let cool on sheet for a few minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack; cool completely before icing.

Good Kitchen Karma

Today I finally took some action to reverse my bad kitchen karma. I've been sick the last couple days, and just generally through the pregnancy the tidiness of the kitchen has sometimes been questionable (shame, shame, I know). I've decided that the best way to reverse bad kitchen karma is to flush it down the disposal and bake something tasty. Today's treat: Pumpkin Bread with Ginger Frosting. I highly recommend trying the ginger frosting--we were inspired by Da Vinci Bakery and concocted this recipe with the help of the Joy of Cooking and a couple handy tasting fingers. It came out pretty tasty, actually.


Good karma, for two.

If you're not GF, it should be easy to find a good pumpkin bread recipe. If you are, this bread recipe comes out soft and tall. The frosting is pretty sweet, so you probably don't need the chocolate chips and raisins. But only you know what you need...

Pumpkin Bread
Susan Singley

350°

1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup cooked pumpkin
½ cup salad oil
2 eggs

2 cups regular rice flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
¼ cup water
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Combine the sugar, brown sugar, cooked pumpkin, salad oil and eggs. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine rice flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. Mix well.

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Mix thoroughly.

Add raisins, chocolate chips, nuts, and water.

Bake in two small loaf pans at 350° for 60 to 70 minutes. Muffins estimate: 30-40 minutes. Use your best judgment.

Ginger Frosting

Here are some measurements for guidelines, but they're not exact. You will have to taste it (darn) and decide how thick you want it. Add more powdered sugar and/or butter, or milk for the right consistency.

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
2 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 Tablespoons milk
a shake of salt
fresh finely grated ginger or powdered ginger, to taste. Note: powdered ginger is strong!
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Combine the powdered sugar and butter in a medium bowl and beat together until smooth.

Add milk, salt, and ginger, and beat until smooth.

Add more sugar, butter, and ginger until you like the flavor and consistency.

Enjoy over a nice slice of pumpkin bread or over top of a muffin. Now that's good karma.

Diana's Sneaky Sugar Cookies

Perfect for Halloween, and any cookie occasion, really. My friend Diana modified this recipe from Kraft Foods with a little inspiration from Jessica Seinfeld's new book. I still need to see how this works gluten free...


Some things you don't have to sneak.

DIANA'S SNEAKY SUGAR COOKIES

1pkg (8oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened (I use low fat)
3/4 cup (1and a 1/2sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2tsp. Vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda

***my secret ingredient****1/2 cup pureed sweet potatoes (not yams--see below)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Beat cream cheese, butter, granulated sugar,
vanilla ***and sweet potato puree*** in large bowl with electric mixer
on medium speed until well blended.
Add flour and baking soda: mix well.
Roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into
assorted shapes using 3-in. cookie cutters. Place on greased baking
sheets.
Bake 10 to 12 min. or until edges begin to brown. Transfer cookies to
wire rack; cool completely before icing.

For the icing I just used a store bought kind and whipped it up with
about a 1/2 cup of carrot puree--that could use some improvement. (The rest of us thought it was great. The carrots gave the icing a light orange color.)

Sweet potatoes are white or yellowish in color and have a firmer flesh than the orange yams we see at Thanksgiving. In case you were wondering.

Salmon en Papillote

Speaking of fancy recipes, here is one that sounds much more fancy and tricky than it actually is. I recently shared it at a recipe exchange, and worry that without clearer instructions, it will go untried by most of the recipients. In case any of those lovely ladies catch this, there are slightly more detailed instructions here.

Salmon en Papillote (parchment purses)

I didn't have fresh dill or fennel, and this was still good. The salmon comes out moist and flavorful.

4-6-ounces salmon steaks
4 golden potatoes, peeled, diced
1 large yellow onion, sliced
3 carrots, peeled, sliced

diced celery (optional)
1 cup chopped fennel bulb (leeks would also wo
1 tbsp dry basil
1 tbsp lemon zest
4 sprigs fresh dill
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper

1. Skin, rinse, and set aside salmon until ready to use.
2. Cut four squares of parchment paper, about 14 inches square. Set aside until ready to use.
3. Divide ingredients equally between the 4 parchment papers.
4. Drizzle each with about 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Fold parchment over on itself covering the salmon, forming a triangle.
7. Beginning at either the left or the right side of the parchment paper where it is creased, fold the paper edges over on itself until you reach the other side (make a purse—it comes out in a crescent shape)
8. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
9. Remove, place each pouch on a separate plate, cut open and serve.

Cooking Fancy Foods

Maybe it's just me, but there is something so fulfilling about cooking foods or recipes that sound really fancy or exotic. Sometimes it really is an accomplishment; other times it's just satisfying to unravel a recipe that seemed so daunting beforehand. It's like joining some elite club, the club of people who know how to poach chicken or how to make a New York style cheesecake. I am definitely no master at anything and very much still a student. But that's what I find so exciting--I can be an eternal student in the art of food and still make a delicious meal for my family.


The art of New York style cheesecake still eludes me.

You Can Always Make Brownies

Ghirardelli. Need I say more? Here's an excellent choose your own adventure recipe. You can use it to make the cookies, which sound delightful, or to make brownies, or rich little cupcakes. And of course, you can always use good old fashioned chocolate chips of your choice (Western Family, anyone?) I especially like this as a gluten-free recipe--it's not coarse or gritty, at least as brownies and cupcakes. It's not as cake-like as Bob's Red Mill Mix, but a lot richer and a little cheaper.



Ghirardelli Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies
1 bag (11.5 oz) Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (For a sweeter dough or batter try semi-sweet or other dark chocolate. I think this is better for brownies, personally.)
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour OR rice flour (go GF!)
a little xanthan gum (Optional GF ingredient. I believe the ratio guideline for xanthan gum and rice flour is 1 teaspoon to 1 cup flour, so you can use your best judgment. It's probably fine without xanthan as well.)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 bag (12 oz) Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (optional)
1 cup (4 oz) chopped walnuts (optional)

In double boiler or heat-proof mixing bowl over hot water, melt the bittersweet chocolate chips and butter.
In large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick (note: for brownies, mix less). Stir in the chocolate mixture.
In small bowl, stir together flour and baking powder; stir into chocolate mixture.
Gently mix in chocolate chips and walnuts, if using.
FOR COOKIES: On a plastic wrap, form dough into two logs, each 2 inches in diameter and about 8 inches long. Wrap tightly; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm. (Dough can also be frozen; thaw in refrigerator before proceeding with recipe.)
Preheat oven to 375. Unwrap dough; with sharp knife, cut into 3/4-inch slices. Place slices 1 1/2 inches apart on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until shiny crust forms on top but interior is still soft.
Cook on baking sheet. Enjoy the moment of timeless pleasure.
FOR BROWNIES or CUPCAKES: Pour batter into a pan or muffin tin. Bake at 375 for about 40minutes (time will vary depending on type of pan and your oven; I'd start with 25 minutes, then add any additional time you need after that). A knife or cake tester inserted in the center should come out with crumbs, not wet batter.
Let cool completely before serving.