Giving Thanks For A GF/CF Feast

It's the day before Thanksgiving and all through the house, not a creature is stirring, not even a … hold on! Wrong holiday poem!

It's the day before Thanksgiving and all through the house, ALL HANDS are stirring including the spouse. There's stuffing, and cornbread, and mashed potato in a bowl, and sweet potatoes and candied carrots and gluten-free dinner rolls. On dash of paprika, on pinch of parsley. Some pepper some salt and a bit of rosemary.

Thanksgiving is one of THE EASIEST holidays to make GF/CF/SF. Nearly all the things that make Thanksgiving smell like Thanksgiving are naturally diet-friendly.

In case you're still scrambling today, I'm putting forth the LwL Thanksgiving menu. For those few items that require tweaking, I'm including links to some amazing GF/CF/SF recipes.

• Turkey - Although virtually all turkey recipes are GF/CF/SF, I'm still linking here to the recipe Bubbe uses. Why? Because the instructions include "and don't ever open the oven until it's done!" No basting at all. Also, it's much faster than most recipes, which means less stress for you. Alton Brown, Good Eats Turkey. (By the way, if you have time, you can watch Alton at work here.)
• Stuffing - Gluten-Free Girl offers a GF/CF/SF recipe that calls for one egg.
• Corn - Recipe: Open can, heat, serve.
• Mashed Potatoes - either use Earth Balance for your butter, or just add a bit of olive oil, instead.
• Candied Yams - Pennies on a Platter is not GF/CF, but I liked her unusual presentation, so just trade out the butter for Earth Balance and you're good as gold. (That is, if you don't already have a lifelong tradition of mashed sweet potatoes with E.B. "butter", GF/CF/SF marshmallows, and cinnamon. Yum!)
• Candied Carrots - though not a GF/CF blog, Hillbilly Housewife offers a simple recipe that fits the needs. And I just LOVE the name!
• Cornbread Muffins - Bird is the Word offers up a delicious recipe!
• Bread/bread rolls - Pig in the Kitchen offers a simple bread roll recipe that's also egg-free! (Not a baker; afraid of breads? Okay, we don't usually promote store brands, but needs must. Bubbe's never tried Udi's bread, but everyone raves about it. Print out your $1 off coupon at Udi's site, check the stores that carry it (on their site), and dash out for a loaf of bread. Wrap it in a slightly damp tea towel and heat in the oven for a few minutes right before dinner and it'll be "fresh out of the oven" gorgeous!)
• Cranberry sauce. - A tip: buy a couple cans of the gelled kind, plop them into a pan and warm them back up to liquid, then put them into your favorite jello mold and re-gel. You can even mix in some sauted apple chunks for variety.
• Pumpkin pie - Gluten-Free Goddess comes up with an incredibly allergy-friendly delicious pie recipe!
• Pecan pie - Our very own frazzledmomma sets you up here! Check the recipes page for a pie crust if you feel like you want one. Or, crush pecans or almonds and lay it down on the bottom of your pie tin for a base.
• Chocolate -n- stuff balls - Bubbe's own "unrecipe", it'll take you longer to find it than for me to write it here, so here you go: Melt chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life) in microwave, small batches at a time. Toss in GF corn flakes or rice crispies or broken pretzels or whatever. Stir to coat. Pour onto baking paper or wax paper. Stick in fridge. When solid, break into bite-sized pieces.

Bubbe would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your love and loyalty for LwL, frazzledmomma, and me. Wishing you a delicious feast, laughter, family time, and many new things to be thankful for!