LIST - Gluten Free for a Crowd

This might be a BIT of an exaggeration, but hey, people are gluten free!

It's that time of year in NYC... the time when everyone is finishing their spring cleaning, prepping for summer, and having parties. And since I'm not in college anymore, normally at parties people feed you! It's a great concept. But hosting a party for a crowd, especially if you are gluten free, can be a big challenge. Why? Take a look:

• If you are like me, you are anal about food being cooked properly and being hot when served. This is hard to achieve with a crowd because you usually have to cook food in batches and it may take a while to serve lots of people
• People like variety, so when cooking for a crowd you tend to have more dishes to offer than if you were just cooking for yourself or your family
• People have their own special diets (like you!) only different. There are vegetarians, vegans, people that don't eat fish, people that don't eat red meat, even people that don't eat veggies!
• Groceries. Cooking for a crowd can cost a lot, especially if you serve alcohol in addition to your meal.
• Dishes. Need I say more?

Now, I am certainly NOT trying to be a Martha Stewart or Sandra Lee type and tell you my time-tested tips. These are things that work for me. If it doesn't work for you, or if it doesn't sound "quite right", then don't do it!

What to Make?

• Don't accommodate wheat-eaters - don't feel obligated to make a dish containing wheat if you're the only gluten-free person at the party. They'll live. If it's a pot luck, they can always bring something glutenny.
• Slow cooking - I am a big fan of making a giant hunk of meat for a party. Anything you can put in an oven or crockpot for hours is awesome. You hardly have to touch it the whole day. 
• BBQ - another great way to cook gluten free (who cooks wheat on a grill?!??!) Just throw some meat and veggies on, get some good BBQ Sauce (like Sweet Baby Ray's), and you're good to go.
• Healthy choices - unless you're having a Super Bowl party, it's always a good idea to make your party as healthy as possible. It'll save you time and money.

Saving Time

• The night before - all this can be done the night before your party: chopping veggies, defrosting/trimming meat, making dessert, making spice blends
• The hours before - all this can be done the morning of your party: cooking starchy side dishes like rice and potatoes, putting everything cold in their serving bowls, pre-cooking veggies and meat, setting up your crock pot or roast.

Saving Money

• BYOB - you never get to old to ask guests to bring some wine or other booze. 
• Do it Yourself - instead of buying the pre-sliced carrots or taco mix from a packet, make it yourself. Fresh veggies are cheaper than the pre-sliced ones, and you probably have all the spices you need to make any blend
• Naturally gluten free - especially if there are only a few guests that are gluten free, don't try to impress with gluten free breads or gluten free pasta. First, you'll probably have one guest that insists the wheat version is "so much better' (annoying), and second it's so much cheaper to keep it naturally gluten free.

Sense the inspiration?

Sample Menu
We made this menu last weekend for 25 people. Only took ~3hrs to prep and cook everything, and probably cost ~$75 (included standard stuff not listed, like plates and napkins).

Sangria - made with Trader Joe's red wine, rum, apples, peaches, pears, blueberries.  Oh, and made in our giant plastic cauldron leftover from Halloween. It was a nice touch.

Appetizers - corn chips w/ guacamole and salsa, guests brought a few appetizers as well

Meat - a giant hunk of pot roast cooked in my crock pot with tomatoes, onion, chili pepper, hot sauce, a little water, and spices (garlic, cumin, chili powder, ancho chili powder, salt, pepper, oregano). Cooked for ~6hrs and shredded.

Sides - spanish rice (cooked with tomatoes, onion, garlic, pepper, and same spices as above), black beans (cooked with onion, garlic, and same spices as above), fajita veggies (zucchini, peppers, onion, mushrooms cooked with same spices as above). Also with standard taco toppings: tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, lime

Dessert - gluten free chocolate/raspberry cake, guests brought other desserts (including gluten free brownies!)

RECIPE - Gluten Free Pork Ribs & Corn Bread Muffins

I love Southern food. Now, I know what you're thinking. "Another Jersey girl that's never been to the South tries some KFC fried chicken and thinks she's on the pulse of Southern cooking". Don't worry. I've been to Tampa and to the Atlanta airport, that totally counts as the South. Also, I watch the Food Network, and they only show authentic Southern cuisine. I have standards, ya know?

Let's start with the cornbread muffins. These muffins came from my new favorite cookbook "Gluten Free Baking Classics" by Annalise Roberts. Annalise is part of The Food Philosopher group, run by Annalise and her sister Claudia Pillow. They are both highly active in the gluten free community. Annalise has written two books on gluten free cooking, and Claudia is a DOCTOR(!) and serves on the board for the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG).

This cookbook has changed my mindset about cooking, and especially about baking. Annalise talks a lot about the delicate balance between flours, liquids, baking temperature, and storage for all the goodies in the book. An over-measurement of flour or a minute or two under-baking can cause some real damage to your baked goods. So I've been trying to be as careful as I can with measurements and such (cutting down on the "BAM!"s, and it turns out that (literally) everything I've made from this cookbook has blown my mind.

The cornbread muffins are no exception. They turned out soft, moist, and with perfect texture. Here's a link to the recipe from The Food Philosopher's website.

I wanted to mimic my Grandma's recipe for cornbread, so I added some frozen (and defrosted, then squeezed out) corn kernels. If I really wanted to follow my Grandma's recipe, I would also add a gallon of cream cheese and a pound of grated cheddar cheese, but I'm saving that for the next batch. The corn was a fabulous addition.

Now, onto the ribs. I cannot take any credit for this recipe. The only thing I can take credit for is choosing the perfect barbecue sauce to complement the spicy rub. Here's the recipe, courtesy of Food Network and the Neely's. I know it seems like a lot of work, but you can make a large recipe of the rub once and use it multiple times.

For the barbecue sauce, I ONLY use Sweet Baby Ray's. You can't do any better. I once tried using their Hickory & Brown Sugar version for the ribs, but it was too sweet because there was brown sugar in the rub and the sauce. I like using the Original recipe for this because it's not too sweet. The combination of the spicy rub and this sweet and tangy sauce is ridiculous. Everyone that's tried these ribs spends about 20 minutes shaking their heads in disbelief. They're that good.

Even though it's still pretty cold out, you should definitely be preparing for the summer months. You'll want to make these gluten free cornbread muffins and pork ribs for every BBQ you attend, so try these recipes out now!


PS. For another southern recipe, check out this recipe I posted in the fall for gluten free buttermilk fried chicken.

RECIPE - Super Crunch Chicken Fingers (with Kale)

Happy Meals got nothing on this! This is one of the juiciest, crunchiest, and cheapest meals you can make! It's even got some healthy greens in there.

To prove it to you, next to each ingredient (not including spices, you should have those!) I put about how much it costs. I'd estimate this meal can feed 4-6 people, and it costs $10. No joke.

If that wasn't enough, take a look at these crunchy strips of Happy:

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips ($5)
3/4 cup cornstarch ($1)
1 cup milk
1 cup cornmeal ($1)
1/2 cup GF puffed rice cereal (box costs $4, so ~$1)
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
salt and ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying

For the kale:
1 bunch kale, thoroughly washed and roughly chopped ($2)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, whole but smashed
salt and ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Pour the cornstarch into a Ziploc bag. Add chicken and shake until chicken is coated. Remove chicken onto a paper plate. Discard extra cornstarch.
2. In the same bag, add the cornmeal and spices.
3. Pour milk into a bowl, and add chicken in batches. Coat the chicken, shake off excess, and place into bag with cornmeal and spices.
4. Fry the chicken in batches in a saute pan with about 1/2 inch vegetable oil. Cook on medium-high heat until chicken is golden brown, about 3 minutes per side (this will vary depending on how thick the chicken is).
5. For the kale, heat the olive oil in a pan, and add garlic. Saute garlic for a minute or two until it starts to turn brown. Remove garlic and add kale. Saute kale until fully wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve super crunchy chicken fingers with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce!