On Saturday, for the second year in a row, my sweet boyfriend and I are hosting a pre-Thanksgiving potluck at our apartment in Brooklyn. Last year was awesome: all the smells, tastes, and homeyness of the traditional holiday, without any of the family stress. People brought sweet potatoes and greens and fig paste and wine and cheese and pies (not to mention love and humor and amazing energy). We supplied the bird (my first ever).
This is such an ideal party for me. I love to cook and I love the challenge of making traditionally gluten-filled dishes turn out just as good, gluten-free. Since I found out I had celiac in 2002, my main goal has been to live healthfully and self-protectively without feeling too crazy or deprived. Thanksgiving, with its wealth of bread and stuffing and pies and casseroles, is a perfect opportunity to experiment with serious GF cooking. Last year I made just the turkey and a pumpkin pie. This year, with more guests and more preparation time, I'm going to expand to:
Fennel and Celeriac salad
Mushroom-chestnut stuffing
Gluten-free stuffed tofurky (I felt bad for our vegetarian guests last year)
Gluten-free gravy (meat and vegetarian)
Roasted root vegetables
Corn bread
Chocolate-rum bundt cake
Stay tuned!
