Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is less than a week away and I am busy deciding what to make this year for our holiday feast. We are dining with our neighbors this year, as all of our family has decided to travel out of state and we decided to stay home. Here's a look at my menu so far:

All Natural, Anti-biotic free brined Turkey from Trader Joe's
Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Apple Cranberry sauce
Wild Rice Hotdish
Roasted vegetables
Some kind of sweet potatoes - I'm still deciding what to make
Dairy Free/Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

Last year, I included a delicious gluten free corn-bread stuffing. It was the hit of Thanksgiving dinner and my very picky Uncle said he really enjoyed it. While I'm not making this dish for 2009, I thought I would share for those of you who are making stuffing. I adapted this recipe from Cusine At Home December 2006 issue. The cornbread recipe I found at WholeFoods.com

Gluten Free Apple Cornbread Dressing

Gluten Free Corn Bread
1 Tbsp Dairy Free Butter
1 Cup Corn Meal
1 Cup GF All Purpose Flour
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Egg
1 Cup Dairy Free Milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place dairy free butter in 9 inch square baking pan or cast iron skillet. (I use the cast iron skillet). Place the pan in the pre-heating oven until butter is melted. Remove from oven and coat pan with melted butter. Set aside.

2. Mix corn meal, flour, salt, brown sugar, and baking soda together. Add egg, dairy free milk and melted butter. Mix together with a wooden spoon - using a few strokes. Do not over mix. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

3. Cool corn bread and cut into cubes. To stale the corn bread spread on a baking sheet then dry in a 200 degree oven for about 2 hours (or let sit out for several days ahead of time).

Stuffing
4 cups Gluten Free Bread - cubed and staled
4 cups Corn Bread - cubed and staled
2 1/2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 cup Apple Juice
3 eggs, beaten

6 Tbsp Dairy Free Butter
1 cup Onion, diced
1 cup Celery, diced
2 cups Braeburn or Granny Smith Apple, peeled, diced
1 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped fresh Parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh Sage
1 Tbsp fresh Thyme leaves
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

2. Fold breads, broth, apple juice, and eggs in bowl.

3. Saute onion and celery in dairy free butter in non-stick skillet over medium high heat until soft - 3 minutes.

4. Add onion mixture and remaining ingredients to the breads. Mix well, then pour mixture into prepared baking dish.

5. Bake 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

I'll post more of my Gluten Free/Dairy Free Thanksgiving recipes later this week. Happy Thanksgiving to all!