Gluten-Free Ideas

[Barbara]

Fellow Rockwellian Nena Daves and I have been asked to host a Baby Shower for one of our neighbors who is on a Gluten-free diet. Yes, I have a nice recipe for a flourless chocolate cake which will fit the bill, but we are looking for some "out of the box" suggestions for finger foods for a late-afternoon affair. Since quite of few in our merry band have the same restrictions, I thought this would be the first place to seek information. We want to present nothing that the mother-to-be can't eat (and, no, she is not a vegetarian). Oh, and no pine nuts.

[goodeats]

Things that come to mind are:

Deviled eggs

Hummus and veggies

Salad of some sort

Fruit salad or Fruit and parfait/yogurt

Oat flour scones

Gluten free muffins with some fruit folded in

Mini smoothies

Mejool date + cheese wrapped with bacon

Mashed potato bar or potato pancakes using tapioca flour

Cheese platter or cheese + charcuterie platter

I can dig up some modified recipes I have used in the past, if you want Barbara - pm or email me. :-)

[KMango]

Out of the Box...hrm...building on goodeats theme, perhaps you can go international.

"Welcome The Baby To The Whole, Wide World!"

Middle East: Hummus and baba ghanoush with veggies and Mary's Gone Crackers (available at all Whole Foods, Mom's, etc.). Lebanese Taverna on Lee Highway in Arlington can provide excellent by-the-pound spreads, and you also have outstanding Medjool dates, to stuff like goodeats suggested.

Far East: Rice-paper, rice vermicelli-stuffed spring rolls (good at room temp) or Vietnamese "summer rolls" (cover with damp clean towel to keep moist or else will harden over time).

Africa: All-teff injera (Meaza in Arlington makes an outstanding edition) to scoop up bits of lentils, cabbage, chicken, etc. There is a chance the injera touched surfaces the wheat-based injera touched, so this might not be an option for true celiacs.

Australia: Grilled shrimp-n-such.

Europe: So many options, as with all the continents. You could flip the hummus and baba ghanoush to be Greek-inspired, and let the dates alone represent the Middle East. All of France, Ireland, Italy, etc., await your gluten-free, finger-food interpretations.

Best wishes for a memorable (and comfortable, for the GF folks) event.

[ktmoomau]

There are some really good gluten free crackers out there too! There is a brand at most grocery stores that has olive flavor chip/crisp things I really like. They have other flavors too, they are in a grey bag. Shar brand crackers are also pretty tasty.

What about a waldorf chicken salad too? That could be eaten with lettuce wraps, gf crackers or on top of lettuce and has some protein. I know this sounds silly, but I also always crave kind of homey things and I make a really simple chicken or turkey rice casserole that always makes me happy, really simple can be made ahead and not many ingredients just chicken, cooked rice, cheese, gf soup of some casseroley type, and then I normally add some blanched veggies. You could also do dips with gf tortilla chips, artichoke dip or something. I always like a few things that don't seem to waive the you must eat gf flag. It makes me feel better about the whole thing.

I always like olive tapenade and cheese and gf crisps/crackers that seems indulgent to me, not restricting. And strawberries with fruit dip or something like that. Just good for everyone.

[Flavortown]

When I think finger food, I think fried. Do you have a deep fryer (or a bunch of oil and a pot)? As soon as you ditch AP flour for rice flour in dredges, you can go to town frying whatever you want. And there are plenty of things you can fry without a dredge at all, like chickpeas: fried chickpeas, tossed with whatever spices you like (over at Radius they use cumin and thyme), are perfect finger food.

Also, if you want to do something like a pasta salad, corn pasta is an alternative that actually tastes good, and you can work with the flavor it brings by employing ingredients that complement it. Oh, and on the subject of corn, there's always polenta, which can easily be chilled, cut into cakes, seared or baked, and then topped off with all sorts of condiments.

[bookluvingbabe]

Mary's Gone Crackers are a really nice gluten free cracker that are available at Whole Foods and Giant.

Hello Cupcake sells decent gluten free cupcakes.

I've done some baking with coconut flour but I haven't done anything with it that is party worthy yet!

[Barbara]

Wow! Excellent suggestions here; I knew I came to the right place. Keep 'em coming, please. Scottee, where are ya?

[ktmoomau]

Macarons too! Made with almond flour.

[Tweaked]

cucumber cups with salmon mousse

[Barbara]

cucumber cups with salmon mousse

Recipe, please?

[Barbara]

Macarons too! Made with almond flour.

I found a chocolate chip and almond cookie recipe using almond flour and brown rice flour. I found both flours at the Yes! Gourmet on Columbia Road. Dessert is nailed, ii's just the rest of the stuff TBD.

[porcupine]

Instead of crudites, roasted vegetables (tiny new potatoes, asparagus, etc.) on toothpicks and a bowl of aioli to swipe 'em through. I also like to stuff dates with a brandy-spiked blue cheese. And baderillas are fun: chorizo and potato, manchego and membrillo, asparagus and smoked salmon...

[zoramargolis]

kale chips (these were a huge hit at a Thanksgiving party in NYC)

flavored popcorn or kettle corn

[Pat]

Finger food-sized pieces of frittata might work. You could do them with a couple of different fillings/add-ins.

Belgian endive leaves with gf dip would be good too.

And, silly as it sounds, what about cocktail franks and mustard? Wellshire Farms sells them and they're gluten-free. I"m almost certain I recently saw them at a Whole Foods.

ETA: I guess the hotdogs are probably on the "can't eat" list for the mother-to-be, so that would rule them out.

[bookluvingbabe]

Or bite size mini quiches without a crust.

[hillvalley]

cucumber cups with salmon mousse

I do the same thing but either on cucumber rounds or endive and with tuna pate or smoked trout

This coming weekend I am catering an event where one of the family members is gluten intolerant. We are doing the above mentioned tuna pate on cucumbers and a Tunisian eggplant spread served in endive. Endive is a great alternative to crackers. In the past we have also done tapanade in endive. For dessert we are doing chocolate dipped coconut macaroons which are super easy (no oven required) and always go fast.

[ScotteeM]

Sorry for the late reply, Barbara! I was flat-out with a virus for 2 days. But back up and running now.

One of the keys to successful GF menu planning is to focus on what you CAN include, rather than what you cannot. IOW, think positive! Avoid a lot of GF substitutes. Not all GF pastas are that great, and most won't work in a dish like ziti, in my experience. But what about cold sesame rice noodles?

In terms of convenience foods, there are a growing number that are GF. You can make GF Chex Mix by omitting the Wheat Chex (be sure you get genuine Rice and Corn Chex, which are labelled GF) and substituting GF pretzels (Ener-G, Glutino, and Snyders of Hanover make good ones--the last is probably the least expensive, if you can find it). Progresso chicken and beef broths are GF. Many of the Frito-Lay snack products are GF, and they have a list on the website (plain Lay's potato chips, and Ruffles, are GF). Bisquick offers a GF version, although I think it is very expensive and I'm still evaluating it. My friends have enjoyed the GF Betty Crocker brownies I've made.

With the exception of flour tortillas, much of Mexican cuisine is already GF. How about a nice warm cheese/jalapeno dip with corn tortilla chips? Or a 7-layer dip? Taquitos, or a taco bar might be fun. Don't forget the guacamole!

Some variation of potato salad seems essential. Crudites and dips are pretty standard, but are naturally GF. Rice salads are great, too. Forget the pasta salad, I say!

Cold cuts for sandwiches, with Udi's GF bread for those who need it (this worked well at an office party I helped host).

One of my go-to sites for recipes in general is Simply Recipes. Not all of Elise's recipes are GF, but you can search on GF to find a comprehensive list. Another fabulous website is Gluten Free Girl and the Chef. Her baking recipes are for experienced bakers, IMO (OK, I don't bake. Period.). But her other recipes might help with ideas.

A party is not the time to experiment with GF flours. Their textures and properties are different, and it may take some practice to use them comfortably, even if you're using tried and true recipes (or so I've read).

If you're using a kitchen and utensils that are not GF, be careful of nonstick pans that can be permanently contaminated. I had to toss mine, as well as my toaster, when I went GF. Just don't use them if you're not sure.

I hope this helps a little. I've been GF for 2 years now, and there is a learning curve, but it can be done. Feel free to PM me or contact me on Facebook if I can help more. I'll try to keep an eye on this thread.

And, please, do post your menu when you get it done!

[ScotteeM]

After I hit Add Reply, I thought about Italian cuisine. With only a few exceptions, excluding pastas, traditional Italian dishes tend to be GF.

[Barbara]

Glad you are feeling better, Scottee! I am in the process of getting rid of most of my non-stick stuff and replacing my most useful pans with stainless steel. Not because I am GF, but because I object to having to throw pans out after a couple of years--eventhough I have been doing all the right things to try and keep the non-stick surfaces in good shape.

So many good suggestions here! Nena and I have decided that since it will be a late afternoon party with a relatively small group, we will just served cold finger foods. The intertubes has quite a few good GF websites, I've discovered, and I really appreciate the comments attached to recipes--I find that they are generally very helpful, particularly regarding baked goods.

I'll make sure Nena brings her camera and posts some pictures here. The party is on Feb. 19, so we have some time to get this right.

[nenadaves]

Fellow Rockwellian Nena Daves and I have been asked to host a Baby Shower for one of our neighbors who is on a Gluten-free diet. Yes, I have a nice recipe for a flourless chocolate cake which will fit the bill, but we are looking for some "out of the box" suggestions for finger foods for a late-afternoon affair. Since quite of few in our merry band have the same restrictions, I thought this would be the first place to seek information. We want to present nothing that the mother-to-be can't eat (and, no, she is not a vegetarian). Oh, and no pine nuts.

Barbara, all are excellent ideas..Mmmm, decisions! decisions!.. I am driven to serve an “Antipasto”, or “Dolmades" or “Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto”. I am thinking on making a trip down to Calvert Woodley and Baci the Italian deli on Connecticut Ave. on Friday or Saturday morning. I need to make some Argentinean style empanadas for the office, so I need to go to Baci to buy the pastry anyway..

All suggestions are great.. Thanks!! I should get into Don Rockwell more often!

[Barbara]

Well, well, well. The baby arrived yesterday--three weeks early. Mother and daughter are doing fine, according to Daddy, but will be in the hospital for a few more days. So, we have to postpone the baby shower. It's a good thing that bubbly doesn't go bad.