The perfect Thanksgiving meal is colorful and balanced with something for everyone

Thanksgiving Dinner is comprised of 4 main food groups: turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin, and cheese! Let me elaborate using some of my favorite family recipes from past blog posts…Here is a delicious rundown of the perfect Thanksgiving menu:

Appetizers
Grandma’s Shrimp (for a lighter start to your meal!)

Pimento Cheese Spread

Cheese & Sausage Balls

Aimee’s Amazing Spinach Dip

Cheese Platter (duh!)  

Dinner
The BEST Turkey and Gravy Recipe

Side Dishes
Southern Cornbread Stuffing

“Night Before” Mashed Potatoes

Homemade Cranberry Sauce (at the bottom of the page)

Green Bean Casserole (with a new twist!)

Butternut Squash & Cheddar Gratin

Gluten-Free Buttermilk Biscuits (Click through for some other fabulous gluten-free Thanksgiving treats!)

Dessert
Harvest Pie

Ginger Pumpkin Mousse

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

And don’t forget the leftovers! What’s on your Thanksgiving menu?

By Gillian

I’m so excited about today’s blog, and I’m not even on a gluten-free diet! Not only am I thrilled to be able to bring a bounty of gluten-free recipes to you today, I had so much fun working with Bob’s Red Mill, one of our consumer partners based right here in the Pacific Northwest, to gather them up. If you’re not familiar with Bob’s Red Mill, browse their website, check out their products and read about the company. You’ll be glad you did.

Making one dinner, for a large group of people with different dietary restrictions and preferences, can be tough. And Thanksgiving definitely features a lof gluten-FULL dishes. If you’ve been hoping, or needing, to incorporate some gluten-free dishes into your holiday dinner but can’t seem to track any down (or are just looking for a change from the usuals), I’ve got a few to share that should put smiles on everyone’s faces!

GLUTEN-FREE BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
Contributed by Carol Fenster, Ph.D. and Bob’s Red Mill

1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill® Sorghum Flour
1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill® Potato Starch
1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill® Tapioca Flour
1 tsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Tillamook Butter
1/2 cup Buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray, set aside. Sift dry ingredients together in medium bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles small peas. Stir in enough buttermilk to form soft dough that holds its shape when pressed together. (You may not need all the buttermilk).

Place the mixture on prepared baking sheet. Lay sheet of waxed paper over biscuit mixture and press to 1” thickness and about 6” x 6” square or circle. Remove sheet of waxed paper and cut into 8 or 9 round biscuit shapes using a 2” biscuit cutter or open end of glass. Remove uncut portions of biscuit dough and gently shape into 2” circles, or simply cut dough into 9 square pieces and spread pieces across baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 9 biscuits.

GLUTEN-FREE EASY AS PIE CRUST
Contributed by Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods

1-1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill® Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup (one stick) Tillamook Butter
4 – 6 Tbsp cold Milk

Combine flour and salt, then cut in margarine using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle milk, one tablespoon at a time, while blending, until all ingredients are moist. Using wax paper, place dough onto one sheet, flatten with palm, place another sheet on top and roll out to desired size. Remove the top sheet and invert into pie pan.

To bake the pie crust alone, bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes.

With pie filling, bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, and then reduce heat to 350°F for an additional 40 minutes. Makes 12 Servings.

GLUTEN-FREE CRISPY GINGER COOKIES
Contributed by Bob’s Red Mill

1/2 cup Tillamook Butter
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Molasses
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill® Sorghum Flour
3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill® Tapioca Flour
1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill® Potato Starch
1/2 tsp Guar Gum
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Ginger, ground
1/4 tsp Cloves, ground
1/4 cup Sugar, reserved

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and molasses and mix until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt and spices. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet and blend until combined. Place the reserved 1/4 cup of sugar in a bowl. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and drop into sugar cover the outside of the dough. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.

GLUTEN-FREE QUINOA STUFFING
Contributed by Bob’s Red Mill

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill® Organic Quinoa Grain
1 cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1 cup Water
1/4 cup Tillamook Butter
1 Onion, chopped
6 Celery Stalks, diced
1 tsp Sage, dried
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Parsley Flakes

Bring broth and water to boil. Add quinoa and bring back to boil. Cook over medium heat for 12 minutes, or until quinoa has absorbed all the liquid. In a skillet, melt margarine and cook onion and celery on medium heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine prepared quinoa, onion mixture and spices. Place in an 8-inch square pan and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Makes 12 Servings.

GLUTEN-FREE HOLIDAY CUT-OUT COOKIES
Contributed by Carol Fenster, “1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes” cookbook author and Bob’s Red Mill

2 1/4 cups Carol’s Sorghum Blend (recipe below)
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoons
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tbsp packed Brown Sugar, light
1 large Egg
1 tsp pure Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Almond Extract
White Rice Flour for dusting

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sorghum blend, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the butter pieces until smooth. Beat in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract until well blended. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead it with your hands until very smooth. Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a flat 1-inch disk. Wrap each disk tightly and refrigerate 1 hour.

Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 15 x 10-inch baking sheet (not nonstick) and line with parchment paper and have it ready.

Put half the chilled dough on a 15-inch square piece of parchment paper that is dusted with white rice flour. Cut a piece of plastic wrap the same size as the parchment paper, lay it on top of the dough, sprinkle it with white rice flour, and roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Remove the plastic wrap and cut out the desired shapes, reserving the scraps. Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Cut the second half of the dough into shapes. Re-roll the scraps from both halves, cut more cookies, and arrange on the baking sheet. If your sheet won’t hold all the shapes, bake two batches.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet on a wire rack 2 minutes. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and cool completely on the wire rack. Bake the second half of the cookies and cool in the same manner. Store undecorated cookies, tightly covered, for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Decorate as desired with frosting, sprinkles, coconut, raisins, chocolate chips, and so on. Makes about 24 cookies (depending on shapes and sizes of cookies).

Carol’s Sorghum Blend: Whisk together 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill® Sorghum Flour, 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill® Potato Starch (or Corn Starch) and 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill® Tapioca Flour. Store, tightly covered, in a dark, dry place.  Makes 4 cups.

Thanks Bob’s for contributing to this blog!

Don’t forget to ‘Like’ Bob’s on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

By Jala

Gluten Free Mac & Cheese by The AMERICAN Grilled Cheese Kitchen

Celebrate National Noodle Month with the Gluten Free Mac & Cheese recipe on the Tillamook Kitchen! This recipe is super delicious, but when I look at this recipe I also love looking at the reviews. Melanie from Stockton, CA left a review that keeps me struggling to hold back tears each time I read it:

Celiac’s dream
“Made it for my mom who was diagnosed with Celiac disease less than 2 years ago. She still can’t eat a lot of fat or dairy due the damage done to her intestines from the disease, but it was so good she almost cried.”

Thanks for the kind words, Melanie. I am so happy that you can make this for your Mom!

Ingredients:
7 tablespoons Tillamook® Salted Butter
6 tablespoons gluten-free flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour)
4 cups milk
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1½ teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 lb gluten free pasta of your choice (elbow shape is traditional), cooked to al dente or according to the directions on the package
3 cups (12 oz) Tillamook® Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 oz) gruyere, shredded (mixed together with cheddar)
1 cup fresh gluten free bread crumbs (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix shredded sharp cheddar and gruyere cheese together in a bowl, set aside. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a medium heavy bottom saucepan over medium-low heat. When butter is melted, whisk in gluten free flour; keep whisking until roux thickens and lets of a nutty aroma, 2-3 minutes.

Add milk in a thin stream to roux, whisking as you go. Add cayenne, mustard, salt and pepper. Allow mixture to come to a low boil, continuing to whisk. Simmer sauce until thickened, about 2 minutes, then turn off heat and stir in all but ½ cup of shredded cheese.

Stir in cooked, drained gluten free macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour entire contents into buttered casserole dish (a 3-Qt dish is the right size). In a small bowl, stir together bread crumbs (if using) and remaining ½ cup cheese. Sprinkle over macaroni.

Bake in middle of oven 25-30 minutes, until golden and bubbling.

By Laura