New Year’s Eve Dishes and Appetizers

Celiac Central’s Seasonal Gluten-free Recipes
The official site of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, Celiac Central, is jam packed with information, including gluten-free holiday suggestions and recipes. Many of the delicious recipes found through out the site are contributed by gluten-free food manufacturers like Blue Diamond, Thai Kitchen, French Meadow Bakery, and Rudi’s Gluten-free Bakery just to name a few. These companies also provide support for celiac awareness through generous sponsorships. Check out Celiac Central’s Seasonal Gluten-Free Recipe Box for delicious New Year’s Eve Recipes.

Glutenfreeda: Celebrate New Year’s Eve Gluten-Free
Glutenfreeda Foods is the manufacturer of gluten-free oatmeal, granola, cookies, and frozen wraps. You can read full reviews of Glutenfreeda’s Products here. In addition to tasty gluten-free products, Glutenfreeda also publishes an online magazine. This month’s edition is filled with holiday recipes that would be welcome additions to any gluten-free New Year’s Eve dinner party. While you are there check out an older article with tips on Celebrating New Year’s Eve Gluten-Free.

New Year’s Eve Gluten-Free Libations

What alcoholic drinks are safe and unsafe to consume can be a confusing subject for celiacs. In case you choose to ring in the new year with a toast here are a few clarifications.

Distilled alcoholic beverages including rum, gin, whiskey and vodka are considered gluten-free because gluten does not survive the distillation process. If you rather play it safe and would prefer to avoid alcohol derived from grains then Tequila, White Rum, and Vodka when it is made from potatoes are all safe choices. It is important to be aware of what you are drinking. This is especially true of cocktails which may be made with mixers and other ingredients that are not gluten-free. As always, reading labels and asking questions when someone else is making your drink is an important step in avoiding hidden gluten. Wine and Champagne also make excellent and safe choices when toasting in the New Year since they are made from grapes.

If you prefer beer then you are in luck since there are some great gluten-free options available. Many of them have been reviewed here on Gluten-free Hot Products. Gluten-free beer options include: Redbridge distributed by Anheuser Busch, Bard’s Tale, Green’s Gluten Free Beers and Crispin Hard Cider.

From all of us at Gluten-free Hot Products,
Happy New Years!

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Food:

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) has gathered some great recipes perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day feast. You can find them, along with other seasonal dishes in the NFCA’s Seasonal Gluten-Free Recipe Box on CeliacCentral.org.

Recipes include:

• Corned Beef Cooked in Gluten-Free Beer
• Onion and Quinoa Soup
• Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread

Additional recipes can also be found on About.com. Visit their Celiac Diet Section for a guide on celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day with gluten-free food.

Drink:

A few of the recipes listed above will call for gluten-free beer. A good gluten-free beer may also come in handy if you decide to have a green beer safe for someone on celiac diet. Fortunately, there are some great tasting options available.

Among the growing options of gluten-free beer is Redbridge Beer and Bard’s Tale Beer. I’ve tried both and either will fit into a gluten-free St. Patrick’s Day perfectly. Of course, hard cider is always an option, and one that’s naturally gluten-free.

Whether you stay inside and celebrate with friends or family, or if you go out, have a safe and happy gluten-free St. Patrick’s Day!

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The first few days after being positively diagnosed with celiac disease are often an emotional mourning period for the lost pleasures of one’s favorite foods. Here in Philadelphia, it was a sad and difficult experience. Farewell, fresh-baked soft pretzels. I’ll miss you, delicious pizzaria pizza. Perhaps worst of all for me personally, beer… beloved beer, how could I live without you? Sure, there were a handful of gluten-free beers available back then. They were expensive and nearly impossible to obtain in our area, and the tastes were extreme for the typical beer drinker. So when a friend at a local beverage distributor announced that Anheuser-Busch was developing a mass-market, gluten-free lager brewed with sorghum instead of malt, we were skeptical but also thrilled at the possibilities.

Well, that was four years ago and Anheuser-Busch Redbridge Beer turned out to be a reality; we can easily pick up a case at our local beverage distributor.  The taste, while different than our former favorite beers, is wonderful. For once, I am thankful for celiac disease, because otherwise we wouldn’t have discovered this delicious “alternative” beer.

Everyone’s palate is unique. I, personally, was not fond of mass-market American beers and preferred craft brews or imported lagers and ales with more body and a gentle flavor. I found Redbridge Beer to be a smooth, floral delight, less harsh than other GF brews I’d previously tasted, yet still noticeably hoppy with a satisfying body. The head seems crisper and not as long-lasting as a malt brew. If typical American light beers were your fare, you mayfind Redbridge Beer to be a bit heavy and flavorful for your casual drinking, so instead, try it as an ingredient in beef stew or in a beer batter recipe. One taster remarked that, after having experienced the unique taste of this sorghum lager, his regionally brewed, mainstream lager “tasted like burned water!” We now heartily recommend Redbridge Beer to anyone we meet that’s been recently diagnosed and is still in mourning for their lost brew.

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