Backstory: I'm currently in a long-distance relationship, and the only option for me and my man to see each other this month was for us to both hike it to his parents' house in Stockton, CA, for Thanksgiving. Luckily for me, his mother is a huge health food fanatic and was very supportive of us making allergen-free meal options for me. Luckily for them, the allergen-free options were as good if not better than the traditional dishes. Allergen-free Thanksgiving Dinner For the Win!!!!!
Here's what we made: Allergen-free, gluten-free cornbread stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, turkey (obvi) and AF gravy, yams, and then AF dual-layer pumpkin cheesecake pie. It was totes amazeballs USA.
ALLERGEN-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE CORNBREAD STUFFING
1 bag Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free Cornbread mix
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1+ cup chicken broth
3 tbsp butter
salt, pepper, sage, thyme to taste (don't be stingy)
First, you have to make the cornbread the day before. The package calls for eggs and milk to be added...just use allowed milk and the Ener-g Egg Replacer. Bake it in a loaf or cake pan as the package directs you, and then let it cool for a few hours. When it's completely cool, cut into crouton-sized cubes and lay out to dry overnight. If you don't have the time, spread the cubes out on baking sheets and toast on about 325F, but make sure not to burn them.
Once you have your crunchy cornbread cubes all set, chop up your veggies and gather your spices. Melt the butter in a large pot. When it's lightly sizzling, add all the veggies and simmer them until they're tender. Then add your spices (I'd recommend a teaspoon of each to start) and your bread cubes. Stir gently until completely blended, then add the broth and more spices. If you're using high sodium broth, be very careful about how much salt you add with your spices!! We found that 1 cup of broth wasn't enough, so we added it in 1/4 cups until it was the right amount of mushiness.
Once all your ingredients are combined and spiced to taste, transfer to a greased baking pan and bake at 350F for 20 minutes covered, then another 20 mins uncovered. It's bangin. Enjoy!
HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE
1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries
1 cup OJ (I recommend Trader Joe's fresh squeezed in the jug, no pulp)
1 cup sugar
Pour the OJ into a saucepan and warm over medium heat. Stir in and completely dissolve the sugar. Then add the cranberries and cook them until they all pop (about 10 mins). Transfer to a Pyrex bowl and let stand to cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve. It's a fantastic recipe and it's the easiest thing in the world.
ALLERGEN-FREE GRAVY
Now I'm no expert on cooking turkey, but my man's mom is. And when she realized that her usual gravy recipe called for regular wheat, she flipped and asked me what to do. Then she decided to just try it with cornstarch, and guess what?? It worked beautifully! So just take your drippings and add cornstarch over low heat until it reaches the desired consistency...I'd say add it by the teaspoon or tablespoon and whisk it in. She made it...I didn't. But it was tasty :)
YAMS
I hope J's mom doesn't mind me sharing her secret recipe, but these were PERFECT. You could do this with sweet potatoes too. Simply take each potato, poke it about 6 times with a fork, rub the skin in canola oil and wrap in foil. Bake until tender...and they will be VERY tender!!!
ALLERGEN-FREE DUAL-LAYER PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE PIE
1 allergen-free pie crust (we used almond flour and it was FANTASTIC...see recipe below)
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Neufchatel Cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. cold fat-free milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 cups thawed Lite Cool Whip
1 cup cold fat-free milk
1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
First, you need to make the pie crust. You can use any allergen-free pie crust, but this almond flour crust worked super well because it's press-in (no rolling required!) AND because the flavor and texture are very similar to a graham cracker crust.
ALMOND FLOUR PIE CRUST
1 1/2 cups Almond Flour (I use Bob's Red Mill available at Whole Foods)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 tbsp agave nectar OR maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda...set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the oil, vanilla, and agave or maple syrup (we used maple syrup instead because my boyfriend is allergic to agave...it worked perfectly!). Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients bowl and mix thoroughly. Then press the dough into a pie dish, spreading it as evenly and thinly as possible. Bake 10-15 mins until golden brown and cool completely before filling.
Then, you make the two-layer delicious pumpkin cheesecake filling: Beat Neufchatel cheese, 1 Tbsp. milk and sugar in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in (do not beat) whipped topping. Spread onto bottom of crust. Pour 1 cup milk into medium bowl. Add pumpkin, pudding mix and spices. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended (mixture will be thick). Spread over Neufchatel layer. Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.
So there you have it. A delicious and easy AF Thanksgiving dinner. It required minimal extra preparation...we made the pie crust and stuffing a day ahead so the oven could be completely devoted to the turkey. I swear, it was so easy and fun to cook with him and his family, and it was because they were supportive and willing to experiment. I was fully expecting one or more of the recipes to completely flop, but they all turned out GREAT! Here's hoping this kicks off a fantastic AF holiday season :)
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