Pumpkin Pie, Please... And Hold the Flour.

Gluten. Free. Thanksgiving. Three words which together can strike fear into the heart of a food-lover. Or so I thought until recently. 

In case you are unaware of what constitutes "gluten," it is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. In other words, it can be found in anything made with flour. More and more people are avoiding gluten for health reasons—either they are allergic or they have been diagnosed with Celiac, which is a lifelong inherited autoimmune disease which does not allow the body to process this protein.

Though the disease is common both in Europe and the United States, it has only recently gained more attention from food industry officials in the U.S.   

I will be experiencing my first gluten-free (GF for those in the know) Thanksgiving this week. My two sisters, along with a niece and nephew, are the unfortunate winners in a crazy game of roulette with Celiac disease, as our family learned this past year. However, after doing a bit of research of what's available for gluten-intolerant people, I'm convinced that it will still be more than a satisfying meal.

So what to make for Thanksgivingl? What do you substitute for the stuffing, gravy, dinner rolls… and, more importantly, can we still savor a decent pumpkin pie? I consulted with my sisters, both avid and adept cooks, as well as local residents who will be cooking sans gluten this Thursday. I also contacted two Bedford/Mt. Kisco-area caterers for their professional opinions on this matter of utmost gastronomic importance.

Rachel Wortendyke, my sister and culinary confidant, swears by the Whole Foods line of GF products. She loves their pie crusts and plans on using these for our meal.

As for the dinner rolls, Rachel recommends using Pamela's Products-brand "Baking and Pancake Mix" to bake drop biscuits.  She finds these to be delicious and easy, with no strange after-taste or textures which you sometimes get with gluten-free breads. 

Instead of stuffing, our family will be feasting on my sister's Wild Rice Stuffing with Cranberry and Pecan. Incidentally, we switched to this stuffing several years ago when the younger family members boycotted the conventional stuffing. Little did we know then that this would become a necessary tradition.

Liz Gereghty of Katonah discovered she had Celiac disease last year. She says she also switched to a wild rice stuffing for her family's feast. Gereghty prefers to use a sweet rice flour for her gravy, which she purchases at Kisco Farm in Mt. Kisco. As for dessert, Gereghty will be making a pumpkin cheesecake using Pamela's Products brand Ginger Cookies for the crust.

 second-grader Sydney Bieber has grown accostomed to her gluten-free diet due to her Celiac diagnosis several years ago. Her fourth-grade sister, Katie, deals with her own dietary restrictions due to her diabetes. Their family meals are definitely met with challenges, but mother Michelle takes it all in stride. "I'm no cook, so I'll pick up something good for Sidney at Three Dogs Bakery. It's really great!"

Three Dogs Gluten-Free Bakery, as recommended by the Bieber family, is located in Briarcliff Manor. They have an impressive Thanksgiving menu of GF desserts and breads.  The benefit of a completely gluten-free bakery or restaurant to those sensitive to the protein is that there is no fear of cross-contamination.

Katonah-residents Pam and Bettina Hervey were both diagnosed with Celiac in 2009. This will be their second GF Thanksgiving. Pam swears by her Gluten-Free Baking Classics Cookbook by Annalise Roberts.

"Annalise has a great pie crust recipe that I used for three pies last Thanksgiving—her 'Apple Pie with Crumb Topping', her 'Pecan Pie', and my own very basic back-of-the-can pumpkin pie recipe. The pie crust is very dense and firm—almost like a shortbread—and is delicious," she told me.

Both my sister and Pam recommended the blog "Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef" for excellent GF recipes. Gluten-Free Girl Shauna Ahern and her chef husband, Daniel, provide a mouth-watering GF Thanksgiving menu on their blog. The photos on this site had me drooling and thinking that I had nothing to worry about this year. Check out the couple's video on making a stuffing using GF bread, which even has their toddler daughter, Lucy, assisting in the preparation. 

Mt. Kisco-based caterer Myong said to try using corn for such side dishes as cornbread stuffing and polenta, both gluten-free. Myong is currently in the process of opening up her new restaurant at 437 Main St. in Mt. Kisco, so will not be catering this Thanksgiving. Look for it in early 2011 across from TJ Maxx.

Bedford caterer Christine Salazar is always willing to provide a gluten-free menu for her clients. Salazar recommends a roasted vegetable soup which is delicious whether you are gluten-sensitive or not. It can even be perfect for your vegetarian and vegan family members. I love how Christine serves it in a roasted pumpkin for her clients—it looks so festive!

As for me, I'll be making my late grandmother's creamed corn recipe, albeit with a gluten-free flour mix this year to thicken it. Ironically, my grandmother was a wheat-farmer's wife in Kansas. Go figure.

GLUTEN-FREE THANKSGIVING RECIPES

Christine Salazar's Roasted Vegetable Soup 

6 to 8 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

Roasted Vegetables: 1 pound of carrots,1 pound of parsnips,1 large sweet potato peeled, 1 small butternut squash (peeled and seeded), 3 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper to taste, 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Cut vegetables into similiar size and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast @425 degrees for 25-35 mins, until tender. Sprinkle with parsley.

In large saucepan, heat 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock. In two batches, coarsely puree the roasted vegetables along with the chicken stock. Pour the soup back into the pot and season to taste. Thin with more chicken stock and reheat. The soup should be thick but not like a vegetable puree, so add more chicken stock and/or water until it's the consistency you like.

Serve with gluten-free or cornbread croutons and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Watt Girl's Wild Rice Stuffing with Cranberry and Pecan

serves 12

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ cups chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup uncooked wild rice

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups gluten free chicken broth, such as Pacific Natural foods

1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh sage

1 cup uncooked long grain brown rice

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup shopped dried apricots

½ cup chopped roasted pecans

½-1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon pepper

Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, swirling to cover. Add celery, onion, wild rice, and garlic to pan; saute 3 minutes. Stir in broth and sage, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes. Stir in brown rice and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, let stand covered for 10 minutes. Stir in cranberries, apricots, pecans, salt and pepper.

WHERE TO FIND LOCAL GF PRODUCTS FOR YOUR FEAST:

202 Katonah Avenue

Katonah, NY 10536-2110

(914) 232-7574

Mrs. Greens Natural Market

666 Lexington Avenue

Mount Kisco, NY 10549

(914) 242-9292

A&P Fresh Market

195 N Bedford Rd.

Mt Kisco, NY 10549-1140

(914) 241-1494 ‎

Kisco Farm

21 S Moger Ave.

Mount Kisco, NY 10549

914-666-2369

Super Stop & Shop

86 Route 6

Baldwin Place, NY 10505

(914) 628-5602

Trader Joes

113 Mill Plain Rd # 3

Danbury, CT 06811-5278

(203) 739-0098

Whole Foods Market

110 Bloomingdale Rd

White Plains, NY 10605

(914) 288-1300

Three Dogs Gluten-Free Bakery

510 North State Road

Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510

914-762-2121

Ladle of Love

11 S Moger Ave # B

Mount Kisco, NY 10549-2204

(914) 242-9661

Happiness Is Catering

1069 North St. Greenwich, CT (but located in the village of Banksville, NY)

203-861-4020