So, last week we looked at desserts for Thanksgiving. This week we’re going to talk about two hotly debated sides: dressing, and mashed potatoes!
First, gluten free dressing is possible, but honestly? The bread isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve made it before, but if you have a yeast allergy like I do, even that’s off the table because…well…no breads except quick breads and GF biscuits don’t fare well with the addition of wet ingredients IMO. They break down and become pretty much…crumbs. Wet crumbs. So what I suggest is making a rice side dish–that tastes a lot like dressing, but is safe.
Rice Dressing
4 cups rice, cooked till just barely done
1 cup wild rice, cooked
8 oz. ground beef
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup unsweetened cranberries
1 tbsp dill
1 tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
Optional, if you can eat them:
1/2 cup diced green onions
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
Crumble beef (add onions here if you are using them) and add herbs, then brown with pomegranate juice until almost caramelized. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add olive oil, heat over medium heat until hot (but not smoking)
Add carrots and celery. Saute until almost crisp. Add rice and wild rice, fry until hot. Add cranberries and saute another 4-5 minutes. Add beef (and bacon if you’re using it), and stir thoroughly, then heat through.
Serves 6-8
Mashed Potatoes
This one is simple. To make excellent dairy free mashed potatoes you can use the following to substitute for milk and butter:
Dairy Free Margarine
Olive or Vegetable Oil
Coconut Milk, Rice Milk, Chicken Stock
My favorite way to make a huge batch of mashed potatoes is to whip them with my stand mixer. I start them with the fat, ON LOW–because flying hot potatoes aren’t fun and can burn. Then I slowly add my coconut milk until they are the texture we like. I also add parsley and sometimes a little dill.
Gluten Free Gravy:
1/4 cup turkey drippings (add enough oil to make up the difference)
1/4 cup white rice flour
1 cup coconut or rice milk
3-4 cups water
1/4 tsp each: oregano, sage, dill, marjoram, parsley
1 tsp salt
(You can add chicken stock in place of water, if you want)
Heat turkey drippings in a large pan. Add rice flour, herbs, salt, and whisk till incorporated. With rice flour, you don’t have to cook the roux long–a couple minutes will do. Begin whisking in the liquid 1 cup at a time. Then let cook for a minute. Then add another cup, and let cook for one minute, whisking constantly. You may need more liquid, or less than the 3-4 cups, but that’s the general range I find works. Add salt to taste if you like, or if you can use bouillon, I used to use a scant tsp of Better Than Bouillon’s chicken bouillon paste in my gravies to give the flavor added oomph. I suggest making a couple batches if you plan on having more than a few guests. Gravy ALWAYS goes fast, and the remainder can be used as a soup base with leftover turkey and mashed potatoes (or the leftover dressing would be a great addition into post-T-Day-soup).
Have a wonderful holiday this month, and eat well–and happy, even with food allergies!
Mmmm im hungry now!
Thank you for them.
All sounds lovely! Your dressing recipe sounds like my mom’s dirty rice dressing except for the pomogranate juice and cranberries and she adds sausage to hers. Yes, she adds carrots though most don’t. I really appreciate the recipes, good to know some has something. My mom and I are pretty much carb free except for rice because she slips into high glucose and I have weird reactions. Not a glutton allergy or diabetes that any doctor can tell but I do better without a lot of carbs.