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Tips for Our Holiday Favorites by Carol Fenster

by info@gfreecuisine.com 30. November 2009 09:29
Judging from the calls and emails I get, the following foods puzzle us the most at the holidays:

Pie crust.....Stuffing......Bread......Gravy
 
Here are my tips to help you get those favorite foods on the table with a minimum of fuss.

Perplexed by pie crust? Make it in a food processor and press it into a fluted-edge pie dish or tart pan with your fingertips.  This makes a professional-looking pie crust without rolling pins or hand-fluting. No one knows that your holiday pie―whether it's pumpkin, pecan, or mincemeat― took a shortcut.  The delicious-looking pecan pie in the photo below used the pie crust recipe that is in all my cookbooks and it is very easy to roll out and shape.  

Stressed out by stuffing? Gluten-free bread makes delicious stuffing. Trim crusts for even browning, cut into cubes, and dry out in a 300 degree oven so the bread can better absorb the liquid and seasonings.  Bake it in a dish like bread pudding, which is far easier than wrestling with the bird---and safer because the stuffing bakes more evenly.  And, I often add another cup of liquid for a really moist stuffing. Bake it with the lid (or foil) on at first, then remove it to let the top layer get browned and crispy.

Baffled by bread? Instead of dinner rolls (which are hard to hand-shape because gluten-free dough is soft and sticky) make quick-baking French baguettes. Assemble the dough in a food processor. Use a metal, spring-action ice cream scoop to drop uniform balls of dough into the French baguette pan trenches, then shape the dough into logs with a wet spatula and let rise. Baguettes are narrow and bake quickly, so pop them into the oven while the turkey rests. By the time the turkey is carved, the bread is ready for slicing, piping hot from the oven and tantalizing your guests with its heavenly aroma.

Griped by gravy?  My favorite thickener for gravy is sweet rice flour because it gives the gravy a look very similar to the gravy made with the wheat flour you once used in your favorite pre-gluten-free days. Use the same amount as wheat flour. A fail-proof tip is to stir the sweet rice flour into about one-half cup of the liquid until smooth and then add it to the broth and pan drippings and keep whisking until it thickens. That way, you won't have any lumps. If you prefer cornstarch, which I think gives the gravy a bit too much sheen but works well, use half as much cornstarch as wheat flour and whisk it into the liquid first until smooth before adding it to the pan.

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About the Authors

Ann Bender & Karen Hutcherson
Marketers by profession, both Ann and Karen have a fondness for good food and healthy cooking. They understand the importance of the nightly family dinner and developed Relish! a premier menu-planning service (relishrelish.com). Relish! received hundreds of requests to offer the same type of service but to make it gluten-free. Because of the complexity of the product, they solicited the help of gluten-free cooking expert, Carol Fenster, to provide all of the recipes and many of her famous bread and dessert recipes!