Gluten-free fried onions

This post should have gone up in December, but I found myself overwhelmed during the holidays.  Everyone probably feels this way, but a kitchen remodel thrown into the mix really took it's toll on my holiday spirit and energy level ;)

   
For many years, I made homemade fried onions for my traditional green casserole.  I'd found a few gf brands of onions, but none were good enough to buy twice.  Last year I finally found a decent tasting shelf stable fried onion - Loeb's - at Publix.  They were packaged in a bag and are now in a plastic jar.  Either way, the onions were a suitable substitute for the French's brand of fried onions many of us grew up with.

Then, last month, an email from findmeglutenfree announced the availability of several brands of fried onions just in time for the holidays!  I noticed that the Sprouts brand was listed so that's the product I decided to try.  They are possibly the exact product from Loeb's as the ingredients are exactly the same (onion, buckwheat, vegetable oil and salt).  However, for some reason I can't pin down, I prefer the taste of the Sprouts product.  Aldi has a similar product which I'll probably try eventually.  So far, nothing tastes just like the French's brand, but that's okay.  That product has a form of sugar in it which, like many people, I can do without.


PRODUCT NOTE:  buckwheat is in fact, not related to wheat - nor is it a grain.  It's plant based and is completely gluten-free.       

Christmas trip meal ideas

We almost always have to travel for the two major holidays at the end of the year.  While we enjoy being with family, dealing with the stress of having to take enough food to cover all your needs in a non gluten-free house is not always welcome.  What works well for me is to do almost all my holiday cooking before I ever hit the road.  Below is what's 'on the menu' for me in a few weeks.

Christmas eve dinner: gluten-free lasagna, Italian side salad and garlic bread.  I make a small batch (that offers two nice sized servings for me) ahead of time and freeze it.  If I'm in a generous mood after I'm good and full, I'll give the left overs to the husband.

Christmas morning breakfast:  Pancetta and Gruyere cheese egg casserole and pumpkin muffins.   Again, I make two servings ahead of time and freeze.  When I get where I'm going, I put previously frozen items in the fridge and they're ready to heat up by the time I need to eat them.

Christmas dinner:  turkey (no gravy as I don't care for any type of gravy with or without gluten in it), cornbread dressing, green bean casserole (homemade onion rings last for two weeks in air tight container), sweet potato casserole, whole berry cranberry sauce (from a can) and last, but certainly not least, pecan pie!

To make sure my food stays gluten-free from cooler to table, I make sure and follow my own protocol to prevent cross contamination.  These tips work well any time of year.

• Take your own butter in a labeled container so no one puts their crumb laden knife it it. 
• Take mini foil sheets (I get them at Dollar Tree) to line pans and racks in oven or toaster ovens when heating bread, muffins, etc. 
• Take small packs of snacks and sweet stuff so you don't feel deprived having to pass on a dozen gluten-filled desserts. 
• Don't apologize for the fact that you can't indulge in Aunt Amy's cake or pie or dressing.  Doing so implies that you have a choice in the matter - if you're gluten-free because you can't eat gluten that's far from true.
• Don't feel bad if you can't share your expensive gluten-free food (like donuts, cheese straws, cookies or pie) with others.  If they're not sharing with you (because they don't have gluten-free foods to share), you don't owe them anything. 
• Do enjoy the holiday and all your fabulous gluten-free food!     

  Happy Holidays Y'all!!

Gluten-free fruit cake anyone?!

Forget everything you think you know about fruit cake - with or without gluten in it.  If you're a fan of really good fruitcake and can't eat gluten, I've got great news for you!  You can order an absolutely fabulous gluten-free fruit cake from American Gra-Frutti even if you can't buy one in person at their Roswell, GA bakery.  Check out all the great product options here.  Get your order in soon to make sure you get it in time for Christmas!

While you're at it, you might want to order some killer cheese straws (regular or spicy!) if you can do dairy.  Those are available from Marilyn's Gluten-Free which is a line within the American Gra-Frutti brand.  Those straws are over-the-top fantabulous!

If you're lucky enough to be able to buy the Peachtree Pimento cheese spread from this line, be sure to stock up for the holidays!  Whole Foods seems to run out around this time of year because they don't get that they need to order more to stock up for the holidays.  That stuff is great on bread, crackers and celery sticks  - and it makes killer cheese grits!

ENJOY!

Sally's Bakery offers Thanksgiving treats!

If you are in the Atlanta area, you probably know that the first gluten-free bakery here was Sally's Bakery in Sandy Springs. The bakery owners are dedicated to creating tasty gluten-free foods that are so good gluten eaters don't suspect they're gluten-free!  Many of their creations are dairy-free as well!  Just in time for Thanksgiving, Sally's Bakery is offering specialty holiday staples and treats.  They also tweaked their hamburger buns a bit so they're a normal size and are said to be just like a normal gluten containing bun!  I've placed my holiday order and am excited to try some new items from Sally's on Thanksgiving! 

With the bakery owner's permission, I'm posting their most recent newsletter below.

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Greetings,

We hope this newsletter finds everyone enjoying this fall weather!  After a great deal of experimentation and feedback, we are happy to introduce our new hamburger buns.  It is a completely new recipe; they are actually hamburger bun size and you would be hard pressed to tell they are gluten free. We're very pleased with this new recipe; they have the texture and feel of regular buns so grab a pack next time you're in!

Bun Ingredients: brown rice flour, non-GMO cornstarch, tapioca flour, eggs, sugar, canola oil, potato flour, non-GMO cornmeal, yeast, rice bran, baking powder, vinegar, gelatin, egg replacer, xanthan gum, sea salt

With Thanksgiving coming up, we are pleased to announce the following additions to our menu:

9” Pumpkin Pie – $13.99 – As a holiday staple, this favorite will round out your Thanksgiving meal or make a great breakfast the next day...if it lasts! – Our pumpkin pie is gluten free and soy free.  Contains dairy and eggs.

9” Pecan Pie – $15.99 – Our best ever pecan pie is a must have in our house.  No one will ever know it's gluten free.  We're using fresh south Georgia pecans to top this pleasantly sweet southern favorite. – Our pecan pie is gluten free and soy free.  Contains dairy and eggs.

8" Apple Buckle Cake – $14.99  – Our apple buckle is very similar to an apple coffee cake.  With the perfect balance of brown sugar and cinnamon this treat will be gone before you know it! – Our apple buckle cake is gluten free and soy free.  Contains dairy and eggs.

Yeast Dinner Rolls (pack of 6) – $5.99 – These classic yeast dinner rolls will be a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu and are sure to melt in your mouth. – Our dinner rolls are free of gluten, soy, dairy, and eggs.

9" Chocolate Cake - $14.99 - This is our classic chocolate cake recipe many of you have had just in a smaller version.  You can trick your gluten-eating family and friends; they won't be able to tell it's gluten free! - Our chocolate cake is free of gluten, soy, and eggs.  Contains dairy (butter only).  Dairy free version available upon request.

9" Vanilla Cake - $14.99 - This is our classic yellow cake recipe many of you have had as well.  You can trick your gluten-eating family and friends; they won't be able to tell it's gluten free! - Our vanilla cake is gluten free and soy free. Contains dairy (butter only) and eggs.

Let us help you save some time this Thanksgiving!  These additional offerings will be available from Tuesday, November 15^th through Wednesday, November 23^th by special order.  Special orders may be picked up after 12pm.  Some items will be frozen.  Place your order by phone, via email, using the contact form, or in person!  Also, to make Thanksgiving week easier we will be open on Monday, November 21st with regular weekday hours.  

Our holiday schedule is as follows:

Open Monday, November 21st - Wednesday, November 23rd: 10:00am - 5:30pm.

Closed Thursday, November 24th - Monday, November 28th.

We will reopen with our normal operating hours on Tuesday, November 29th.

Thank you all for your support!

Best regards,

Sally, Bonnie, Taylor, and Davis Owings

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Sally's Bakery - A Gluten Free Place
5920 Roswell Road, Suite 108A
Sandy Springs, GA 30328
Bakery: 404-847-0211

Sign up for our Email Newsletter to hear about new baked goods, special offers, etc.!
Go to www.sallysbakery.com and sign up on the left sidebar.


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UPDATE 11-17-11:  I picked up my order from Sally's Bakery today and the soft, FRESH hamburger buns demanded we have burgers for dinner.  We paired bun-less burgers from Five Guys with Sally's 'new and improved' hamburger buns.  Well, believe it or not - the new buns are really improved even though they were pretty tasty before!  While I've never had a gluten bun at Five Guys, my husband gets them most of the time and he said without question that the Sally's Bakery buns were much better than the gluten buns he normally gets!  Now that is impressive - and surprising! 


It's important to note that the buns need to be refreshed after they've been frozen and you must use a low temperature (200-250 degrees) to do this.  I like warm buns so even though I could have eaten the very soft buns right out of the bag, I heated them slightly at 250 in the toaster oven.  Now we have another thing to be thankful for at this special time of year - delicious gluten-free buns from Sally's Bakery! 
  

  

Whole Foods gluten-free holiday recipes

The latest Whole Foods Market newsletter was very thoughtful. It includes a plethora of gluten-free holiday recipes. From apps to salads to soups to entrees to sides to desserts to beverages - this list of recipes contains something for everyone! Though neither is something I've had during the holidays before, the crab stuffed deviled eggs and salmon dip both sound amazing!

There are a couple of pie crust recipes on the list and I've not made either of them. However, I can vouch for the basic pie crust recipe on the Pamela's Products website. It's a no-fail crust, but since the Pamela's mix contains dairy, it's not an option for the gluten/dairy-free set. For a great gluten/dairy-free crust, check out the version from Jules Gluten Free.

No one is going to accuse me of being an exceptional cook or baker, but I do pretty well for someone who didn't do much in the kitchen except buy pretty things for it until after she was forty and diagnosed with celiac disease...lol! Below are the dishes (not recipes) we've always made in my family for Thanksgiving.

• Roasted Turkey (Butterball brand is gluten-free and as of 2009, so is the gravy packet!)

• Cornbread dressing (I make the cornbread from the Pamela's website using the pancake mix, not the cornbread mix from that line)

• Green Bean Casserole (I prefer homemade fried onions made with Jules Gluten Free flour and am excited to use the new condensed Cream of Mushroom soup from Pacific Natural Foods for the first time this year)

• Candied Yams *this dish is naturally gluten-free

• Cranberry Sauce (both the jellied and whole berry versions from Ocean Spray are gluten-free)

• Pecan Pie (I use the Pamela's mix for the pie crust as noted above)   

For a complete list of wonderful gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes, visit Teri's page at About.com! Also, we have many Thanksgiving and Fall recipes over at Celiac-Disease.com.


Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!