In preparation, I had picked up a few necessities at Jungle Jim's International Market and excitedly picked up a gluten-free pumpkin pie. I didn't realize until I was on the 2 hour journey to my parents' that the pie was gluten-free but not ginger-free. These pies definitely more than made up for that disappointment.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin & Butternut Squash Pies
Crust (yields 1 9-inch crust)
1 1/4 c. King Arthur Flour gluten-free multi-purpose flour
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
6 T cold butter
1 duck egg (or large egg)
2 tsp lemon juice (or vinegar)
Pie Filling (yields plenty of filling for 2 pies)
1 small pumpkin (if using canned pumpkin, add 1 c. milk)
1 small butternut squash (this gives a richer orange color without noticeably impacting the pumpkin taste)
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
5 duck eggs (or 6 chicken eggs)
2 cans (1 1/3 c.) evaporated milk
Gluten Free Pie Crust (adapted from King Arthur's website)
- Grease pie plate.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, xanthan gum, and salt.
- Cut butter into pats, then work into the mixture until it's crumbly with some larger, pea-sized chunks remaining.
- Whisk the egg and lemon juice until very foamy. Mix into the dry ingredients. Stir until the mixture holds together, adding 1-3 additional teaspoons cold water if necessary.
- Shape into a ball and chill for one hour (up to overnight).
- Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before rolling.
- Roll out onto a piece of plastic wrap (or a silicone rolling mat or pie bag) that has been heavily sprinkled with flour. Invert the crust into the pie plate.
- Fill and bake per your recipe. It is a crumbly but yummy crust.
- To pre-bake without filling, preheat the oven to 375. Add pie weights and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the weights and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
- Halve the pumpkin and squash, remove seeds, and place in a baking pan in the oven face-down in 1 inch of water. Cook for 1 hour at 400 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, squash, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add eggs and lightly beat into the pumpkin mixture using a fork.
- Add the evaporated milk (and milk if not using fresh pumpkin). Mix well.
- Place two pastry-lined 9-inch pie plates on oven rack and pour in the pumpkin mixture.
- Shield the edges of the pie with foil, because the egg/lemon juice mix makes the pie vulnerable to burned edges.
- Bake in 375 degree oven for 25 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until a knife inserted off-center comes out clean. Cool.
- Cover and chill to serve.
Gluten-Free Noodles
This family recipe from my great grandmother, Lily Rodgers Householder,has been adapted to be gluten-free.
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 T olive oil (approximately)
3 duck eggs, lightly beaten
6 c. chicken broth (approximately)
Desired seasonings
- Pour the flour in a medium-sized bowl, creating a well in the center.
- Add salt to the well. Put the eggs in the well. Stir with a fork until, ideally, it becomes thick to stir. Don't become discouraged if it looks too crumbly to stick together. The initial recipe called for fewer eggs. I added an egg and a touch more olive oil when this happened:
- Knead and form a ball. Allow the dough to rest in a warm place. My warm place: atop the coffee pot.
- Roll out thin (1/8 inch thick) on a cutting board that has been generously sprinkled with flour. Cut into long noodles using a pizza wheel or knife.
- Thoroughly cover the noodles with flour and allow them to rest on a baking sheet to dry somewhat.
- Bring the broth to a boil and season to taste. We rendered broth from one of our own rainbow ranger chickens, but gluten-free broth from the store is perfectly fine as well. I seasoned with poultry seasoning, some salt, and fresh sage then strained into a separate pan.
- Slowly stir in the noodles and the extra flour sprinklings. This will thicken the broth.
- Cook 20 minutes or until the noodles are pliable, stirring frequently. These noodles love to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Move to your desired serving dish and ENJOY!
8 slices Udi's Gluten Free White Sandwich Bread (or your preferred bread)
4 T butter
1 stalk celery, sliced
Poultry seasoning
Sage
Salt
3 c. broth
- Toast and break up the bread. Set aside.
- Melt the butter and add sliced celery.
- Season with poultry seasoning, sage, and salt to taste.
- Pour onto the bread and stir.
- Add broth and continue to season, until the bread is the desired taste.
- Cook at 325 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until the stuffing is browned.
Other sides included in our meal:
- Green olives
- Black olives
- Veggie plate
- Chebe breadsticks from Jungle Jim's
- Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (not GF)
- Chex mix (not GF)
- Mashed potatoes
- Gravy (gluteny and gluten-free versions)
- Gluteny noodles
- Gluteny stuffing
- Cranberry jelly
- Date pudding (gluteny and gluten-free versions)
Our meal included 9 items that were homegrown:
- 1 rainbow ranger chicken (for broth and as a meat choice)
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 pumpkin
- Numerous duck eggs
- Sage
- Green beans
- Corn
- Persimmon (used in our family-recipe date pudding)
- Potatoes
Mom & I had a blast and certainly learned a lot about cooking simultaneously in a shared kitchen and how to avoid the many risks of cross-contamination!
If there's anything in particular you'd like to fix for a gluten-free loved one, I'd be happy to play around in the kitchen until we've got something that works for you - hopefully before the big day!
