Gluten Free Thanksgiving!

(Posted on the Endless Possibilities Blog on 11/27/08)

This was my first time eating gluten free at Thanksgiving. I ate without any issues or getting sick. My mom made this spinach and shrimp item that I liked last year with rice flour instead of wheat flour. I ate turkey, yams, mashed potatoes ( real ones, not flakes) and cranberry sauce. Each item had its own serving spoon and I watched everything carefully so I would not fall victim to cross contamination. I even had some special items to make sure that I could eat like everyone else:

Gluten Free Gravy:
This gravy was only 15 calories for 1/4 cup! It was really good and tasted like the regular gravy that contains wheat in it, at least what I remembered it to taste like.
DESSERT TIME:
Ice cream (which I can have but I didnt think a picture was needed) was served, pecan pie and pumpkin pie (both on the no list) and gluten free cookies and my wannabe eclair cake.

The cookies:
The Eclair Cake with recipe and how to pictures:

I got the recipe from here.

WHAT YOU NEED:
2 small boxes of Jell-O instant French Vanilla pudding (must be French Vanilla)
8 oz pkg of Cool Whip, thawed
1 container of milk chocolate frosting
2 boxes of GF Vanilla cookies or you can use Gluten Free graham crackers


How To Make:
Mix pudding according to the package directions. Let it set up in fridge. Mix in cool whip once it has set up.


Layer vanilla cookies in the bottom of a pan. I used a tiny pan but the link has the recommended pan size.



Top with ½ of pudding/cool whip mixture. Layer vanilla cookies over pudding. Top with the remaining pudding/cool whip mixture. Top with vanilla cookies. Let this set up for a few hours or overnight.

Then frost cookies with milk chocolate frosting (USE Pillsbury and not Betty Crocker...that brand contains wheat). This tastes the best if you make it the night before.


REVIEW:
I thought it was good but it tasted more like a Boston Cream Pie to me than an eclair. It is still something I would make again. Having it sit overnight is a total must because the cookies dissolve into the perfect consistency. What I miss about the experience is that you cant pick it up and bite into it like an eclair. It is still good though and everyone that tried it liked it. No one could tell the difference that it was a gluten free dessert.