Gluten-Free Holiday

Chef Brad Spates
Executive chef, Cookology

Holiday disaster and triumph:
Having several members of my family suffering from Celiac disease, family holidays have always been quite tricky.

Being the proud chef that I am, I could never settle on making delicious breads and cakes—chock-full of flour and grains—and some other “stuff” for everyone else. I made it my personal battle to create the most amazing pastry while leaving the flour in the cupboard.

Anyone that knows me will tell you I am not a big gluten-free fan. It’s simple, really. I just feel as if most people or chefs “half do it” when it comes to gluten free. I can’t remember how many times I have heard someone that has Celiac say, “It’s not as good as the real thing but it’s better than nothing.” That just doesn’t sit well with me. I wanted to create pastries that everyone can eat and everyone can agree are delicious.

The first few holidays were a bit rough, though.

The “soft rolls” for Thanksgiving were missing some “soft,” while the almond and sugar tuilles for Christmas were more like ninja death stars. They were so hard; the kids flung them at each other, like a Frisbee, until someone got hurt by one of the sharp edges.

Imagine the embarrassment.

I am a professional pastry chef. I make amazingly delicious food. Yet without flour my powers were almost nonexistent.

It was after that Christmas that I declared war on gluten, and by Easter I had an attack plan in place.

Enter: Dark Chocolate Rum Cake.

The answer to cooking without gluten is simple: Don’t use it. There is a vast array of flour substitutes from rice to quinoa—though many create their own baking hurdles.

So the first thing I did was just take the flour out of the cake. I used a version of a Genoise chocolate cake I had previously made and removed the flour. After a few small tweaks, I have a dense, chocolate torte-like cake that is as good as any you have ever had.

Don’t get me wrong.

This isn’t something that works with any pastry recipe; however, knowing that chocolate tortes are simply more dense chocolate cakes, I knew my chance of success was pretty good. Since then I have mastered the many gluten-free flours and now have a much better understanding of how each one is used.

With some clever thinking, and a mild understanding of classic culinary techniques, it is possible to create amazing pastries without ever touching gluten.

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MAIN
Gluten-Free, Maple-Orange Glazed Grilled Turkey

Serves 6

The key here is to be sure all the ingredients are gluten-free. Things you don’t expect to contain gluten often do. Turkeys are often injected with a brine to increase flavor. That brine typically contains some sort of gluten. Orange juice and maple syrup may contain gluten as well. Scan all ingredient lists to help circumvent any potential contamination.

INGREDIENTS
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T fresh marjoram or 1 tsp dried marjoram, crushed
1/4  tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup orange juice
1 T cornstarch
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp orange peel, finely shredded
1 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-lb boneless turkey roast
2 T butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Stir together the orange juice and cornstarch in a small saucepan; add half of the seasoning mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in maple syrup and orange peel; set aside.

3. Brush the turkey roast with melted butter and rub with remaining seasoning mixture. Insert a meat thermometer near the center of the roast.

4. On a charcoal grill, arrange medium-hot coals around a drip pan. Place the turkey directly on the grill rack over the pan. Cover.

5. Grill for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until thermometer registers 165 degrees deep within the bird; add coals every 30 minutes to maintain heat. Brush with remaining glaze during the last 30 minutes of grilling. Remove meat from grill. Cover with foil; let rest for 15 minutes before carving. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Adjust for indirect cooking. Grill as above.)

6. Bring any remaining glaze to boiling; serve alongside finished turkey.

SIDE
Gluten-Free Turkey Gravy

INGREDIENTS
1/2  cup each chopped onion, celery, carrots
2 2/3  cups *turkey broth
4 T cornstarch
Salt and pepper
Olive oil or melted butter
Juice of one lime or lemon
Roast turkey pan juices and drippings
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Gravy directions
1. Prepare the turkey for roasting.

2. Toss the chopped onion, celery and carrots into the roasting pan.

3. Place turkey on a rack in the pan, brush with oil or butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice of a lime or lemon over the turkey.

4. Roast the turkey according to your preferred recipe.

5. Prepare broth (see corresponding recipe) while the turkey roasts (aim for 2 ½ cups of finished broth).

6. When the turkey is done, move it to a platter to rest while you make the gravy.

7. Pour all the rendered fat and pan juices into a glass measuring cup (preferably a fat separator cup), leaving all the cooked vegetables in the roasting pan. Reserve the brown liquid drippings and discard the fat (or set aside for another use).

8. Add 2 ¼ cups broth back into the roasting pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the vegetables and baked-on bits, and continue cooking, over low heat, for a few minutes.

9. Stir the cornstarch into the reserved, cool ¼ cup broth in a small dish. (This mixture is called a slurry.) . If thicker gravy is desired, add 1 teaspoon additional cornstarch into the reserved ¼ cup cool broth and stir it into the gravy, cooking until thickened, about 1 minute.

10. Pour the slurry into the roasting pan with the hot broth and stir until the gravy is thick and smooth (about 1 minute).

11. Pour the gravy—with or without straining—into a sauce boat. Serve immediately.

*Turkey Broth

INGREDIENTS
4 cups water
1 celery stalk, broken
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion (with peel), chopped
Pinch of parsley
Turkey parts

DIRECTIONS
1. Put the turkey neck, heart and gizzard in a sauce pan along with celery, carrot, parsley and onion (the onion skin gives the broth a golden color).

2. Add about 4 cups of water.

3. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil, and then turn the heat down to low and let simmer for an hour or so.

4. Let the vegetables cool in the liquid, then strain into a glass measuring cup or clean bowl. Set aside.

SIDE
Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs red potatoes, peeled (for added texture, leave potatoes unpeeled) and cut into 1-inch chunks
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup (½ stick) butter
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp white pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Place potatoes and garlic in large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain well in colander; return to saucepan.

3. Add butter and mash the potatoes. Stir in sour cream, salt and white pepper.

DESSERT
Dark Chocolate Rum Cake

INGREDIENTS
1 cup organic light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup organic white cane sugar
3/4 cup very hot strong coffee (or use espresso powder in very hot water)
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons unsweetened organic cocoa powder
8 large organic free-range eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon good quality dark rum

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 10-inch Springform pan by lining the bottom with buttered parchment paper.

2. Break chocolate up into pieces and pour into the bowl of the food processor . Pulse until the chocolate breaks up into small bits. Add the sugar. Pulse until the chocolate and sugar turns into an even, sandy grain.

3. Pour the hot water or coffee slowly into the feed tube as you pulse again. Pulse until the chocolate is melted. (Magic!)

4. Add the butter pieces and cocoa powder; continue pulsing till combined. Add the eggs, vanilla and rum, and process till smooth. The batter will be liquid and creamy.

5. Pour the batter into the lined Springform pan. Wrap the outside of the whole pan with a big piece of foil. Bake at 350 degrees F in the center of the oven, till puffed and cracked and lovely (about 55-65 minutes). Use a wooden toothpick to check the center of the cake (pick should emerge clean, with maybe a crumb).

6. Place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool. The cake WILL deflate. Don’t worry! When cooled a bit, press down on it gently with a spatula to make it even, if you wish. (Or not.)

7. When the cake is completely cooled, cover and chill for 3 hours (or up to 8 hours) until serving. Release the cake from the pan. Slice and serve.

8. Serve slices with drizzled chocolate sauce or a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Add a few fresh berries or mint leaves to the plate, if you like.

(December 2010)