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 The
holidays are truly an opportunity to dispel the myth that
gluten-free food is substandard in any way.
Throughout the year, we teach gluten-free
cooking classes and we are always surprised to find that our
holiday oriented classes are met with such amazement. It seems
that many people feel hesitant to cook gluten-free for guests
especially during Thanksgiving or Christmas because they think
their guests will find the food not up to par.
Think again! Gluten-free gourmet food is
delicious and can be prepared successfully by anyone.
Follow these few simple guidelines to ensure
your success:
- Plan ahead
Whether you are cooking gluten-free or
not, planning ahead is the most important element to a successful
outcome. Planning ahead includes making and following a
game plan, step by step.
- Cook ahead of time
Make as many things as possible ahead
of time. This generally does not include most gluten-free
bread items, as most of us know, (or will come to know),
gluten-free baked goods are rarely as good the day after
they are baked.
- Don’t experiment on your guests
Don’t try last minute substitutions.
Our recipes that call for gluten-free flour have been tested
using The Gluten-free Pantry’s Country French Bread
Mix. If you cannot use this flour, experiment with your
own gluten-free flour prior to your party to make sure the
flour will perform as you wish.
- Plan a few easy dishes
When planning your menu, try to choose a
few selections that are ‘automatic’ and that don’t
require special preparation or thought.
For our Christmas dinner menu, we prepared
the Salmon Cheesecake, the baguettes for crostini (crostini
is one of the few bread items that can be made ahead because
the bread slices are toasted just before serving), the chocolate
cups and champagne cream the day before. The actual preparation
and cooking for the dinner took two of us 2-1/2 hours from
prep to table.
Menu
Smoked
Salmon Cheesecake with Crostini
Mushroom
Timbale
Gourmet
Greens with Feta, Pears and Glazed Nuts
Filet of
Beef Wrapped in Bacon with Mushroom Wine Sauce
Saffron
and Almond Pilaf
Green
Beans
Champagne
Ice Cream in Chocolate Cups
Merry Christmas from Glutenfreeda!
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