GLUTEN FREE ON A SHOESTRING

M E N U P L A N S F O R

By Nicole Hunn

Gluten Free

Small Bites

Easter/Christmas Holiday Menu

>> Page numbers refer to recipes in Gluten free Small Bites.Maple-Glazed Spiral Ham (see recipe below)Chicken Empanadas (page 123) in “Bigger Bite” versionPotato Skins (page 68) Vegetables: Baked Asparagus Fries (page 67)Bread: Naan Bread (page 210) and Basic Pastry and Biscuit Dough (page 186)—made into biscuits (see recipe below)Desserts: Sugar Cookie Cups (page 151), Easy Palmiers (page 162)

• One 7 to 8-pound bone-in spiral ham

• 1/2 cup (109 g) packed light brown

sugar

• 3/4 cup pineapple juice or water

• 1/2 cup (168 g) pure maple syrup

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preheat your oven to 300°F. Grease a large roasting pan lightly.

Place the ham, flat side down, in the roasting pan and rub on all exposed sides with 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Pour the pineapple juice or water into the bottom of the pan, cover the pan securely with alu-minum foil, and place in the center of the preheated oven for about 1 hour 30 minutes, or until heated through, soft and tender.

When the ham is nearly heated through, in a small, heavy-bottom saucepan, place the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, maple syrup and mustard. Whisk to combine and heat over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes or until just beginning to simmer.

Remove the ham from the oven, and raise the oven temperature to 400°F. Remove the aluminum foil from the pan, and brush the maple Dijon glaze all over the ham. Return the ham to the oven and cook until the glaze has begun to darken in color and is bubbling. Serve immediately.

Maple-Glazed Spiral Ham Recipe

EASTER/CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY MENU >> flour calculator

Basic Pastry and Biscuit Dough (page 186)

Instructions for making

traditional biscuits

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.

Roll the prepared biscuit dough into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. With a floured, round 2 1/2 –inch biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out rounds of dough and place them, about 1 1/2-inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet. Gather and reroll the scraps of dough, and cut out as many more rounds as possible, placing them on the baking sheet. You should have about 6 or 7 biscuits.

Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill the dough. Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the biscuits are puffed and pale golden, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, or until firm. Serve warm or at room temperature.

EASTER/CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY MENU >> flour calculator

Easter/Christmas Holiday Menu Advance Preparation

Chicken Empanadas: Up to 2 weeks in advance, make empanada dough, wrap very tightly and refrigerate. Up to 3 days in advance: cook the chicken and shred it, then wrap it tightly and store in the refrigerator. The empanadas themselves can even be shaped and filled, then frozen in a single layer on a baking sheet. Pile them into a freezer-safe bag and return them to the freezer. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and pat dry before frying or baking.

Potato Skins: The potatoes can be baked up to a week ahead of time, cooled and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Baked Asparagus Fries: If you are making your own panko-style gluten free breadcrumbs, make them weeks ahead of time, if desired, wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

Naan Bread: The raw dough can be made up to 3 days ahead of time, placed in a sealed proofing container and placed in the refrigerator for its first rise.

Biscuit Dough: The biscuit dough can be made ahead of time, wrapped tightly and refriger-ated for a week, or frozen for longer storage. If frozen, defrost overnight in the refrigerator before using. When making biscuits, the dough can be prepared all the way through shaping into rounds, then frozen in a single layer on a baking sheet. Pile them in a freezer-safe bag and return them to the freezer. Bake from frozen as directed.

Sugar Cookie Cups: The sugar cookie cups can be made ahead of time, but they must be stored in a hard-sided, sealed container in well-defined layers, not wrapped in a zip-top bag, or they’ll crack. They can be stored at room temperature for about 5 days, or frozen for longer storage, then defrosted at room temperature before being filled and served.

Easy Palmiers: When using biscuit dough to make palmiers, the dough can be rolled and shaped into a large, undivided 14-inch by 4-inch rectangle, then wrapped tightly and frozen up to 2 weeks ahead of time. Slice and bake right from frozen. Baked cookies will stay fresh for about 3 days if stored in a sealed glass container at room temperature.

EASTER/CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY MENU >> flour calculator

Thanksgiving Menu

>> Page numbers refer to recipes in Gluten free Small Bites.Slow Cooker Turkey Breast (see recipe below); Maple-Glazed Spiral Ham (from Easter/Christmas Menu)Stuffing: Miniature Corn Muffin Bites (page 74) (see recipe below to make into sausage and corn muffin stuffing)Cranberry sauce (see recipe below)Starch: Miniature Mac and Cheese Cups (page 91)—made as bigger bite. Vegetables: Spinach Dip (page 75); Stuffed Mushrooms (page 70)—made as bigger bite.Desserts: Apple Hand Pies (page 171)—made as hand pies or as bigger bite; One-Bite Apple Fritters (page 170)

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast Recipe

• 2 dried bay leaves

• 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes (or 1

teaspoon onion powder)

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric (op-

tional)

• 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) chicken or

turkey stock

• One 5 to 6 pound whole boneless

turkey breast (skin on, if possible)

• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and

quartered

Yield: 6 servings

In the center of a 6-quart slow cooker, place the bay leaves. In a medium-size bowl, place the onion flakes, garlic powder, parsley, thyme, salt and turmeric, and mix to combine. Add the chicken or turkey stock, and whisk to combine well. Place the turkey breast (skin-side down) on top of the bay leaves, scatter the onion on top, and pour the herbs and stock over the top of the meat.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for about 6 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 160°F. Slice and serve immediately.

THANKSGIVING MENU >> flour calculator

Sausage and Corn Muffin Stuffing Recipe

• 1 pound gluten free sweet Italian sau-

sage, casings removed and crumbled

• 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter

• 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced

• 3 ribs celery, diced

• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

• 1 cup dried cranberries

• 1 recipe Miniature Corn Muffin Bites

(page 74), crumbled

• 1 egg (50 g, weighed out of shell) at

room temperature, beaten

• 2 1/2 to 3 cups chicken stock

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch by 12-inch baking dish and set it aside.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, cook the crumbled sausage until cooked through and browned (about 7 minutes), breaking up the sausage as it cooks. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and discard all but about 1 tablespoon of its rendered fat. Add the butter to the pan and melt it over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the celery is softened (about 6 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat, add the poultry seasoning, cooked sausage and dried cranberries, and mix to combine.

In a large bowl, place the crumbled corn muffins, add the sausage and onions mixture, and mix to combine. Add the beaten egg and 2 1/2 cups of the stock, and mix to combine. If the mixture seems at all dry, add the remaining stock to moisten. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish, and spread into an even layer.

Place the baking dish in the center of the preheated oven, cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes or until the egg is set. Uncover the dish and continue to bake for about another 10 minutes or until the stuffing is browned. Serve immediately.

THANKSGIVING MENU >> flour calculator

Cranberry Sauce Recipe

• One 12-ounce package fresh or frozen

cranberries

• 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) water

• 2 tablespoons (42 g) honey

• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar, or

more to taste

• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Yield: 2 cups cranberry sauce

Rinse the cranberries and pick out any bruised ber-ries. In a medium-size saucepan, place the remaining cranberries, plus the water, honey, sugar and salt, and mix to combine.

Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, stir-ring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have burst and the mixture is beginning to thicken (about 10 minutes). Transfer the sauce to a heat-safe bowl and allow to cool before serving.

THANKSGIVING MENU >> flour calculator

Thanksgiving Menu Advance Preparation

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast: Must be made in the slow cooker on the day it will be served, 6 hours in advance. There is no make-ahead option.

Stuffing: The corn muffins may be made up to a month ahead of time, wrapped tightly and frozen before being defrosted at room temperature. They may also be made up to a day ahead of time and left out overnight at room temperature to go stale. Stale muffins make for better stuffing. The rest of the stuffing must be made the day-of.

Cranberry sauce: The sauce may be made up to 1 week ahead of time and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Mac and Cheese: The bigger-bite version of the Miniature Mac and Cheese Cups can be pre-pared without baking, then wrapped tightly and frozen. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking the day of. Alternatively, the dish may be parbaked (for about 20 minutes at 300°F), then cooled, wrapped tightly and frozen. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before finishing baking the day-of.

Spinach Dip: The dry ingredients in the dip can be mixed months ahead of time and placed in a sealed container, then stored in a cool, dry place. The dip itself can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days before serving.

Stuffed Mushrooms: The filling, without the goat cheese and egg, can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Apple Pie: The entire pie can be prepared, without baking, wrapped tightly and frozen as filled and shaped. Bake as directed from frozen. You will need to add a few minutes on to the baking time. Alternatively, defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking as directed.

THANKSGIVING MENU >> flour calculator

Bridal Shower Menu

>> Page numbers refer to recipes in Gluten free Small Bites.Miniature Spinach Quiches (page 118)Greek salad (filling from Greek Salad Wraps (page 100))Cheese Puffs (page 28)Coconut Shrimp (page 42)Miniature Vanilla Bean Scones (page 173)Petit Fours (page 182)

Bridal Shower Menu Advance Preparation

Miniature Spinach Quiches: The rich savory pie crust can be made at least a week ahead of time, wrapped tightly and stored in the refrigerator for at least 5 days (or frozen for longer storage, then defrosted in the refrigerator). For additional advance preparation, try rolling out the dough and cutting out 2 1/2-inch rounds from the dough as directed, then dusting them lightly with flour and stacking them. Wrap the stack tightly and refrigerate for a week before proceeding with the recipe as directed. Before attempting to shape the round into the molds or muffin wells, allow them to warm a bit at room temperature so they don’t crack during shaping. The spinach can also be defrosted and wrung out, then stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a few days.

Greek salad: The chicken can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated in a sealed con-tainer for up to 3 days, then reheated in a bit of oil in a warm skillet before assembling the salad and serving. If you’d like to serve the salad without the chicken entirely, try serving it with the Basic Vinaigrette from the Everyday Menus.

Cheese Puffs: The pastry dough may be made ahead of time. Place it in a sealed container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Allow the dough to come to room tempera-ture before piping and baking as directed.

Coconut Shrimp: The coconut chips can be toasted as directed in the recipe up to 5 days ahead of time. If you are making your own panko-style gluten free breadcrumbs, you can do that weeks ahead of time, if desired, wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use. Very little of this recipe can be prepared ahead of time, but it’s so simple you won’t mind at all.

Miniature Vanilla Bean Scones: The pastries can be made and shaped, then frozen raw in a single layer on a baking sheet before being piled in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and returned to the freezer. Bake from frozen as directed (you may need to add a few minutes to the baking time).

Petit Fours: The cake can be baked and filled ahead of time, then wrapped tightly and stored whole for at least 2 months in the freezer. Unwrap and cut out shapes from the cake right from the freezer.

BRIDAL SHOWER MENU >> flour calculator

Super Bowl Menu

>> Page numbers refer to recipes in Gluten free Small Bites.Spinach Dip (page 75)Pizza Bites (page 87)Arancini (page 21)Vegetable Spring Rolls (page 108) Pupusas (page 130)Peanut Butter Cookie Chips (page 152)Chocolate Chip Cookie Chips (page 155)

Super Bowl Menu Advance Preparation

Spinach Dip: The dry ingredients in the dip can be mixed months ahead of time and placed in a sealed container, then stored in a cool, dry place. The dip itself can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days before serving.

Pizza Bites: These bites can be made ahead, frozen in a single layer on a baking sheet and then wrapped tightly in freezer-safe wrap and frozen until ready to use. Defrost at room tem-perature, in the microwave on 60% power, or in a 250°F oven until warmed throughout.

Arancini: These can be shaped and filled ahead of time, but not breaded, and then frozen in a single layer on a baking sheet. Pile the frozen rice balls into a freezer-safe bag and place in the freezer until ready to use. Defrost at room temperature before breading and frying.

Vegetable Spring Rolls: The vegetables can be sliced and shredded, then stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator up to a day ahead of time and can be marinated up to an hour ahead of time. Any longer and they become too wilted and lose their snap. The assembled spring rolls can be stored up to a day in a sealed container separated by plastic wrap or parchment paper in the refrigerator.

Pupusas: These can be made and cooked ahead of time, then wrapped individually with freezer-safe wrap and frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature and reheat in the microwave or, after blotting dry, in a hot dry skillet for about 30 seconds on each side.

Peanut Butter Cookie Chips & Chocolate Chip Cookie Chips: To maintain crispness, store the prepared cookies in a sealed glass (not plastic!) container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They can be frozen for longer storage, but be sure not to pack them too tightly or they will break during storage.

SUPER BOWL MENU >> flour calculator

Chicken Pot Pie (page 143)—made as bigger bite

Garden salad with basic vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Dessert: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Tuffles (page 157)

Prep: Prepare gluten free breadcrumbs, if making. Slice veg-etables for slaw. Consider roasting potatoes today for tomorrow. Make flour tortillas for cheesesteak wraps and quesadillas, wrap tightly and freeze.

Baked Fish Sticks (page 59)

Cole Slaw from Crispy Chicken and Slaw Wraps (page 104)

Simple roasted po-tatoes (see recipe below)—or frozen French Fries

Prep: Swedish meatball mixture can be made tonight for shaping tomorrow. Store in tightly sealed bowl in refrigerator.

Swedish Meatballs (page 56)

Gluten free rotini pasta, tossed with sauce from meat-balls

Steamed sugar snap peas

Prep: Make Thin Crust Pizza Dough (page 214) for Garlic Pizza Bread-sticks on Friday.

Miniature Mac and Cheese Cups (page 91)—made as bigger bite

Steamed broccoli or served on a bed of blanched baby spinach

Prep: Defrost frozen tortillas for tomorrow. Slice vegetables, includ-ing sweet peppers, seal tightly and refrigerate.

Cheesesteak wraps (page 99)

Add sliced and seeded sweet peppers to the pan when cooking the onions and mush-rooms. Cook until crisp-tender.

Prep: Make vinai-grette.

Garlic Pizza Breadsticks (page 84)—made as bigger bite

Garden salad with basic vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Steamed sugar snap peas

Prep: Prepare tortillas for quesa-dillas if you don’t have enough from Thursday night.

Vegetable and Cheese Quesadil-las (page 126)

Serve with cold gluten free beer for adult guests!

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAYSUNDAY

Everyday Menu Planning from Gluten Free Small Bites

One Week of Dinners

>> flour calculator

>> Recipes from Small Bites can be found in the book at the listed page numbers.

Basic Vinaigrette Recipe

• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup white wine (or white balsamic)

vinegar

• 1 teaspoon honey

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper

Yield: 1 cup dressing

Place all of the ingredients in a container with a tight-fitting lid, cover, and shake vigorously to combine. The oil and vinegar will emulsify, but then separate over time. Simply shake again before using. The mixture can be stored in a cool, dark place, but if you refrigerate it the oil will thicken a bit and hold the emulsification better after shaking.

EVERYDAY MENU PLANNING

Simple Oven Roasted Potatoes Recipe

• 1 1/2 pounds red-skinned or Yukon

Gold potatoes, washed and blotted dry

• 2 tablespoons (28 g) extra-virgin olive

oil

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper

Yield: 4 to 5 servings

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed bak-ing sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

Cut the potatoes into about 1/2-inch chunks. In a large bowl, place the chunks of potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat all of the potatoes evenly.

Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking sheet, spread into a single layer and place in the center of the preheated oven. Roast for about 40 minutes stir-ring once (if you can manage it), or until the potatoes are crisp on at least one side and fork tender inside.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately or allow to cool and serve at room temperature.

>> flour calculator

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