Hi and welcome to my first post! Please excuse our mess – we’re still in the process of putting this blog site together, but I really wanted to start posting.
Surviving the Minefield of Holiday Party Food.
Holiday parties and food go hand in hand. Are you wondering how you or your child are going to survive? With Thanksgiving around the corner, I will tell you how, I’ve handled family parties, in the past (Not the best way…) and how I handle them now (The better way…).
Family Gatherings: My husband and I each have 5 siblings. Add to that, their spouses, children and grandchildren and we’re talking about anywhere from 50-100 people in each of our extended families. (That’s a lot of people to cook for.) Both sides of our families like the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy meal with family members bringing side dishes and desserts. If you’re not doing the cooking, exactly how do you ask the host/hostess about the menu and how they’ll prepare the food without sounding like a control freak?
What I have done. (Not the best way…): 1.) I’ve tried asking them to set a few potatoes aside for me before they mash them. They usually forget until it’s too late. (ME: “No, really, that…that’s alright, no…don’t… I don’t think you can rinse butter off of warm potatoes. Honestly, I’ll survive without potatoes.”) 2.) I’ve arrived early to the party; armed with my own flour mixture, offering to make the gravy. I wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms. 3.) I’ve checked the turkey over asking, “Did you use any butter or flour when prepping this? ” (THEM: “I used margarine, so you should be fine.” {For those who don’t know, margarine contains dairy. I’m not gonna be fine. They had the best of intentions, but the food could still make me sick.}) 4.) I’ve asked them to please keep any packaging that foods came in so I can read the ingredients. (THEM: “Uh-oh.”)
Ok, two things. First off; I’m not giving any of this lovable, crazy bunch of people I call family any grief. (I have 45 of them coming for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday; I don’t need an angry mob!) Secondly, there is nothing wrong with telling family what’s going on with your food allergies and asking for their help. My family really does try to accommodate my kids and I with our food allergies. As time passes more family members are going out of their way to call and ask what they can do when preparing their food so that all of my family can eat it. This is awesome and greatly appreciated. But I also had to acknowledge that I am the only one that can police the foods I eat. I can’t expect others to be responsible for making sure my kids and I are not eating something that could make us sick. That’s why I say what I used to do is “Not the best way…”. I was so tired of rolling the dice when it came to my potatoes and veggies, digging through wastebaskets or having to pull yet another Benadryl out of my purse for whoever was sick this time.
What I do now. (The better way…) My husband’s family celebrates the holidays once a year with a traditional meal. This means we only host the party once every 6 years. On my side of the family we celebrate a holiday with the large traditional meal twice a year. I try to host one of the two dinners, knowing I can prepare the food my way. The turkey is rubbed with MY butter and dusted with MY flour. The gravy is made with MY flour mixture. The potatoes will be mashed with MY butter and MY milk. I make two separate pans of stuffing. The larger pan is good old-fashioned stuffing, just like my Mom used to make; the kind that makes the whole house smell awesome, but could take me out of the game for at least a day or two. I make a smaller one that my kids and I, as well as anyone else that is feeling adventurous, can eat. (I’ve included the recipe at the bottom of this post.) When planning the menu, I group-text family members with the items I would like for the dinner. I check the list. If I’m getting seven layer salads and hot vegetables slathered in butter, I will make a hot vegetable I know I can eat. I always ask that someone bring a relish tray, and someone else a fruit bowl – both of which everyone, including my kids and I, can eat. I also make a dessert. When we don’t host the party, a little more time and effort are required of me. Depending on the meat being served, I bring a meat I’ve made at home. I make and bring my own mashed potatoes and gravy. My dishes to pass are usually a hot vegetable and dessert everyone can eat, my family included.
In future posts, I plan to tell you about myself and my kids, describing our symptoms and how, eventually we were diagnosed with food allergies. I’m also sure some of you may have encountered people with differing opinions on whether to call it food allergy or food sensitivity; I will give you my thoughts on that. Lastly, I have a recipe for a cookie that is pretty enough to set on a Christmas treat tray. Thanks for reading!
Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy all of your celebrations with family and friends! Don’t forget, my stuffing recipe is below!
Brenda
Stuffing
(Credit: My mom, Maybelle, made this for years -yum!)
The following version of Maybelle’s stuffing is my variation of her recipe.
My version is wheat-free and dairy-free.
Ingredients:
1 loaf Schar Gluten Free Artisan Baker Multi-Grain Bread (Walmart & Meijer sell)
¼ cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread (Kroger, Walmart & Meijer sell)
½ cup chopped onion*
2 cloves (minced or pressed) fresh garlic**
1 cup chopped celery
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cups chicken stock (if prefer you can use vegetable stock)
Directions:
One to two days in advance, toast all of the bread. After toasting the bread, break it up into small pieces. Place bread in bowl and sprinkle up to 2 or 3 teaspoons of rubbed sage over the top of the bread. (Careful with the sage, it can be overpowering.) Let bread set out uncovered so it dries out. (If you’re not comfortable doing this, covering the bread will not mess with the recipe.)
The day you want to make the stuffing.
- Place bread crumbs in a bowl that is large enough to combine & mix all ingredients.
- In a small pan, cook and stir the onion, garlic and celery in the Buttery Spread till celery is soft, remove from heat . Pour cooked vegetables over bread crumbs.
- Add 2 cups of stock to bread crumbs, stir. Bread is very dense so let mixture set for about 10 minutes to allow stock to soak into bread crumbs. If mixture appears somewhat dry, add another ½ cup of stock, let set 10 minutes and repeat with remaining ½ cup of stock if needed.
- Mix the stuffing with a large spoon or your hands. It will be sticky. You want the stuffing’s consistency to be similar to a very thick, somewhat dry oatmeal.
- Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish.
- Bake covered in 350 degree oven 45 minutes.
*If you don’t want to use fresh onion, use 1 teaspoon onion powder OR 1 Tablespoon dried onion flake
per 1/3 cup diced onion.
**If you don’t want to use fresh garlic, use 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder for every clove.
You can check out www.foodsubs.com The Cook’s Thesaurus for these and more substitutions.
Disclaimer:
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know? Just read your labels!)