Happy Gluten Free Dairy Free Thanksgiving!

Holidays and get togethers can bring a feeling of dread for those with food allergies, but they don't have to! Living without traditional recipes does not have to mean giving up your favorite foods! Thanksgiving is the perfect example. Making a gluten free dairy free Thanksgiving meal is a piece of cake! I made a gluten free dairy free pumpkin pie yesterday for a pre-Thanksgiving family get together, and I have to say that it was WAY better than the store bought gluten containing pies on the table. I also brought mashed potatoes that were good even without the gravy (we did not have a turkey, so there was no gravy, but keep reading to learn how to make gravy...

PUMPKIN PIE Preheat oven to 425 F
Crust:
(crust recipe adapted from Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts)
1c plus 2 Tblsp. brown rice flour
2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 tsp orange juice

mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add cold butter and mix into dry ingredients with a pastry blender (two knives and your hands will also work) until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add in egg and orange juice and stir until well blended. Form into a ball. Ball may be a bit tacky, but should not be sticky. Place between 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll out into a circle that is about an inch larger all around than your pie plate when you invert your pie plate over the rolled dough. If your dough was a bit sticky, you can roll out on a bread board dusted with rice flour. No need to refrigerate this dough before rolling as with other doughs! An easy way to get the dough into the pie plate without breaking is to take the top waxed paper off, place the pie plate inverted over the dough, put your hand under the other waxed paper and flip. If you rolled out onto a board, fold the pie dough into quarters, place the dough in pie plate and unfold. If there are any rips/tears in dough, simply press it back together. Use your fingertips or a fork to make a nice rim at the top of the pie plate. Dough only needs to reach the top of the pie tin, does not have to overlap the edges.

Pumpkin Pie Filling (HOMEMADE!)
For this filling, a homecooked pumpkin or butternut squash will make the filling more light than a canned pumpkin. But you can use either one. If you are using pumpkin, be sure to get a "sugar pumpkin", not a jack-o-lantern one. I think it's easier to use a butternut squash which tastes almost exactly the same and has the same texture.
Cut butternut squash in half. A large butternut squash will make 2 pies (large squash will be about 12" long and about 5" in diameter). Place in baking dish with skin side up and bake at 400 degrees F for an hour (if using a smaller squash reduce time to 45 minutes). When done, you can spear through the skin easily with a fork and the skin will be brown in spots. Simply flip the squash over and spoon out the orange flesh. You can make this up to 2 days in advance and keep in the refrigerator.

Ingredients for filling:
2 cups cooked butternut squash or sugar pumpkin
1 cup milk substitute (thicker is better. I used hazelnut, but almond, hemp or soy would also be good)
2 large eggs (or 3 small ones)
1/2 cup honey (if you use pumpkin instead of butternut squash, increase honey to 2/3 cup)
1+1/2 tsp ground cinnnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine (wire whisk works well). Pour into prepared pie crust. If desired, put foil or pie crust "shade" over outside edge of pie crust so it doesn't get well done while filling is perfectly done. Put into preheated 425 degree F oven and bake 15 minutes. Decrease temp to 350 and bake an additional 55 minutes. When done, you should be able to jiggle the pie without seeing a portion that looks liquid-y. Allow to cool before cutting!!!!

For a non-dairy topping, Cool Whip is an inexpensive albeit not very healthy alternative. This pie is delicious without topping.


MASHED POTATOES
Mashed potatoes without milk is easy and yummy! Boil 12 yukon gold or 8 Russet potatoes and drain off the water. Mash. Then simply add in chicken broth instead of milk (adding by 1/4 cups to desired consitency while mashing with potato masher). Add salt, pepper, dill, and a touch of paprika (just shake them in until it looks and tastes nice. Then add one or both of the next 2 ingredients:

3 Tblsns butter with 4-5 minced garlic cloves simmered over stove or in microwave for about 30 seconds.

4 Tblspns soy sour cream or soy cream cheese.

Mash until encorporated and fluffy. YUM!

GRAVY
To make any gravy, the trick to encorporating the flour with the meat juice is to mix it with butter first!! For gravy from a big turkey, simply take 3 Tblspns of butter, mash in 1/4 cup of sweet rice flour. Cook this on low on a stove while stirring and mashing with a spoon until mixture starts to turn a little golden brown. Add turkey juices by 1/2 cup portions while stirring and simmering until all of the juices from the turkey pan have been added. Simmer to desired consistency. Add salt and pepper as desired. Serve warm.

I'm going to try a coconut egg nog recipe I found online. If you have any good recipe suggestions, write in! Enjoy your holiday!