Saturday, November 29, 2008

Gluten Free Turkey Day Recap & Super Simple Kale Dip

Part of the reason I'm able to stay healthy and stick to my gluten-free diet is because I have a wonderfully supportive family who does whatever they can to adapt and change their recipes to be safe for me to eat. For instance, this Thanksgiving there wasn't a single dish with gluten in it: turkey, ham, pureed butternut squash, cranberry bread, potato celery root puree, mushroom gravy, spinach pomegranate salad, sausage and cornbread stuffing, braised brussel sprouts, spiced cranberry chutney, Indian corn pudding, carrot cake and pies galore.

I could eat it all (and did). I'm one lucky gal.

I should really have my mother write a guest post describing how she did it; how she fed thirteen people with a deliciously satisfying meal, using mostly local ingredients and remaining sane while doing it. The whole family played a large role in fact -- my sister made the spinach salad, pureed butternut squash and braised brussel sprouts. I was in charge of the potato and celery root puree (aka mashed potatoes), pumpkin pie and kale dip. My soon-to-be mother in law made the cranberry chutney (made with wild picked Maine cranberries) and amazing cranberry bread (with a bit of orange zest in it -- yum) and the rest was up to dear mom. Hopefully, she'll take me through how she made the stuffing, because really it should be a staple in all gluten-free cooks repertoire.

And Dad. Dear Dad did all the dishes (and a lot of the food prep). The kitchen was overflowing with dishes once we were done and it was spotless when he was through with it. Now that's a team player.

I thought I'd finish off this post with a super simple recipe for kale dip that I made for our appetizer spread (which also included a cheese tray, shrimp cocktail, and rock crab).


Super Simple Kale Dip

gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian

1 cup light mayonnaise
9 oz package of frozen chopped kale, thawed
1/2 onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until combined (your goal is to make it look like a typical spinach artichoke dip, so try not to over-puree it).

Serve with gluten-free crackers (we used Blue Diamond brand nut thins -- the smokehouse flavor is also dairy-free), carrot sticks and celery.


And of course Henry was there right under the table, just waiting for the occasional crumb to drop.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's wonderful (and incredible) you have a family that supportive! I'm happy for you and also envious. :)

Anonymous said...

That does sound like an incredible feast--everything you described sounds so GOOD!--and wow, what a supportive family you do have! I bet that made the holiday that much nicer :) (And glad Henry got in on the action, too!--yes, I do agree that he and Elsie were meant to be together! --Oh, wait, if they pair up, does that mean I get to be part of that incredible family you described??? Arranged marriage, I say!) ;)

Emilia said...

The food looks and sounds fantastic!

I would love to have Thanksgiving here just because of the food :)
We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Europe.

Anonymous said...

Your kale dip reminds me of the way my mom used to prepare spinach!

That is so great. I have been dairy-free for a long time now, but this year was the first year (first meal really) that my family went out of their way to make the feast dairy-free. It really does make it so much more special!

Liz said...

Thanks Sally! As I grow older each year, I realize how lucky I truly am in that department. Though now, we're not too close geographically which makes our get-togethers even more special.

Ricki, you WOULD be part of the family! I should have videotaped the dogs during Thanksgiving, add Elsie and Chaser to the mix and it would have been fantastic!

Thanks Emilia! It was so good. Is Christmas a big time to feast in Finland?

That's so great Alisa! It's nice when family members realize that their foods can taste just as good with a few modifications (and it really shows how good of a cook someone is if they can modify and still make it taste fantastic). BTW, I don't know if I've ever mentioned, but I love your site! I visit it often for dairy-free tips!

Emilia said...

Yes it is, the biggest one of the year :) It's so nice to have Christmas in the middle of the year because it is so very dark here, like pitch black.

If you want to send me the list of the gluten-free cookbooks I would be grateful, I've been going through books on amazon yet again, but have not found anything interesting :)

Liz said...

Oh wow. I forgot Finland gets so dark in the winter! I'm sure it's something you've gotten used to, but I don't know how I'd survive. Sometimes I feel like I'm solar-powered.

Anonymous said...

I left a comment on this post, and for whatever reason, it never showed up. Hm. Well, I had said that I wanted to try the kale dip, and so I did!

Thanks for sharing!

http://www.lifeglutenfree.com/mama_baby_gluten_free/2008/12/kale-dip.html