12.23.2015

Now that finals have finished and everyone is back home with their families for the holidays, it’s time to celebrate! This week I’m combining several mini recipes that are perfect for an allergen friendly Holiday party that everyone will love! My party happened to have an ugly Christmas sweater theme!

First on the menu is the classic appetizer pigs in a blanket! Instead of crescent rolls, I used a gluten-free pizza dough for the blanket wrapping. Just roll out the dough into a large square or rectangle and cut individual 2-3 inch triangles. Wrap the dough around the cocktail sausages (I used Boar’s Head) and bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 375 degrees! Simple and done! For some holiday decoration, I arranged the sausages in a circle with a red bell pepper bow to make a wreath! The sauce is a combination of Dijon mustard, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce (man, that’s hard to spell!), and a pinch of salt. The pigs in a blanket were so delicious that most of my friends didn’t even realize they were gluten-free (until now)!

Next on the menu is miniature ham and cheese sandwiches. Since we are all familiar with how expensive gluten-free substitutes are, I made this recipe two different ways. One set of sandwiches were made with Hawaiian rolls and Swiss cheese while the others were made with Gluten Free Nation dinner rolls and Go Veggie vegan mozzarella slices. To bake the sandwiches, cut the rolls in half and line the bottoms on a glass dish. Place a layer of ham on the roll bottoms followed by a layer of cheese and another layer of ham. Place the roll tops on and lightly brush with the sauce used for the pigs in a blanket. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cheese melts and the rolls become toasty. This recipe worked wonderfully for both the alergen friendly option and the normal option (so I’m told)!



As a healthy and fresher choice, I decided to make a cucumber and cherry tomato appetizer that my family has been serving at parties forever. With my new allergies, the recipe had to be modified slightly. First, peel two cucumbers and cut into 1 inch slices. With a Mellon baller (or a small spoon) scoop out the inside of each slice. For the filling, mix together mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, vegan cream cheese (I used Follow your Heart), salt, pepper, and some diced green onion. Fill the cucumber slices with the sauce and top with a slice of cherry tomato!



Now any holiday party would be incomplete without an abundance of dessert choices! First, in line with the sweater theme, I made Christmas sweater cookies (from a kit purchased at Walmart). Using the kit, I made some regular sugar cookies and then decided to add a gluten-free option from the Philsbury chocolate chip dough. It seems that I may have forgotten how to make regular cookies because the sugar cookies turned out slightly crispy while the gluten-free chocolate chip cookies were perfect. I set up a cookie decorating table with red and green vegan frosting and a variety of sprinkles and candies for decoration.



The gluten-free cookies were a much bigger hit than sugar cookies! No one even suspected they were gluten-free! I am definitely proud of how perfectly ugly my sweater cookie turned out!



For dessert #2, I made simple gluten-free vanilla cupcakes from the Betty Crocker mix. With green frosting and tons of sprinkles, I arranged the cupcakes in the shape of a Christmas tree. Super simple and festive!



Last, but certainly not least, in the allergen accommodating foods are the snowflake brownies. This was my first time trying Krusteaz gluten-free double chocolate brownies and let me just say how great they turned out. I specifically filled two brownie pans only halfway so that I would have enough to cut out shapes. The most successful cookie cutter was the metal snowflake (not the plastic gingerbread man). For the finishing touches, I added some frosty tips with white icing. Yum!



For bottled beverages, I went with Angry Orchard hard Apple cider and Daura Damm beer (both naturally made to be gluten-free). The homemade drink of the night was a blood orange punch. To make the punch, I combined 4 bottles of blood orange soda, 120 fluid ounces of freshly squeezed orange juice, and the juice from 4 limes. To make the punch a little more exciting (for those of us who are of age), I had the option of adding rum or champange to the individual glasses. The punch was refreshing and tangy without any alcohol, but I personally enjoyed the extra bubbly taste from the champange.



I love coming home after a long semester and catching up with old friends. Food allergies don’t have to get in the way of having a good time and there are tons of ways to serve food everyone can enjoy! Happy holidays!