Welcome to our Gluten-Free Holiday Celebration. I’m so glad you could visit.
A Gluten-Free Holiday is off to a wonderful start! Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs kicked us off with tips to stay healthy during the holidays and shared some delicious truffles. Then, Shirley at Gluten-Free Easily shared a no-fail pie crust recipe and we linked our Thanksgiving favorites. Last week Alta from Tasty Eats at Home got us thinking about Gifts of Good Taste. She shared her Macadamia Almond Brittle and Pistachio Coconut Macaroons. Hopefully by now you are aware that each week there are tons of great cookbooks given away. Check out below and see which really amazing cookbook authors want to give you their books. Next week visit Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl for Holiday Breakfasts and Brunch.
So far there have been 106 recipes shared with this event! I’d love to see that number hit 150 by Wednesday so please join in and let others know.
Congratulations to last week’s winners:
Winners of Kelli and Peter Bronski’s Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking:
Mommaladybug at mommaladybug.wordpress.com
Genie at glutenfreeandloving.com
Winners of Jules E Dowler Shepherd’s Free For All Cooking:
Valerie at CityLifeEats.com
Priscilla at myswaddlebabies.com
Suzanne at thruthebugsonmywindshield.wordpress.com
Catherine at shiara@gmail.com
JoHanna B at rawkansas.blogspot.com
This week I’m honored to host your Favorite Christmas and Hanukkah Entrees and Side Dishes. Now I realize we just cleaned up from Thanksgiving, but Hanukkah has started and Christmas is only 23 days away. So now is the time to get planning and test cooking those dishes.
I’ve been playing with some new recipes that include favorites for Christmas from England. I’m so excited this year to be hosting a Boxing Day Celebration with some relatives from Lincolnshire. Tony has informed me that the best sausages come from Lincolnshire. Well since he can’t bring them with him, and they’re probably not gluten free, I’m working on my version of the favorite Chipolatas. I did find some resources for gluten free sausages in UK, The Black Farmer which sound great.
I also found a few blogs from the UK for gluten free living: UK Gluten Free, I’m Gluten Free Baby, Free From Gluten, Wheat Free Living, Nonni’s Table or UK Coeliac, and the Coeliac UK site. You have already heard me talk about Straight to Bed Cake Free and Dried but check it out again.
But I digress, so back to the sausages!
This version can be made two ways. You can either start with my PancettaSage Sausage recipe or use the one I’m sharing here. Now most of the recipes I’ve seen for sausage in the UK uses rusk or what we call bread crumbs. Not something I’m that keen on using even if it’s gluten free. So I don’t add that ingredient.
While researching chipolatas I found that for the holidays there are two key things to be added, sage and bacon.
So here is my US/VA version of the UK Chipolatas.
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh ground organic pork
1/2 tsp granulated onion
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp mace
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2-3 TBS rubbed sage
1/2 cup very cold water
Fresh Sage leaves for each sausage link
Slice of bacon for each sausage link
Directions:
If you like to save money buy a Pork Butt and grind it yourself. If you don’t have a meat grinder attachment no problem, you can get ground pork at the market. You can also get the pork butt at the grocery and ask them to rough grind it once for you. One more reason to get to know your butcher.
Mix the remaining ingredients on the list down to the water into the pork. To make sure everything is combined really well after the initial mix, I toss it all into the food processor. Don’t over process it or you’ll have pork soup. If you pulse just enough to work the seasonings into all of the pork.
Now if you happen to get some sausage casings and have that attachment to your mixer than start making your sausage. I don’t have that attachement and prefer to roll my sausages by hand with no casings.
Because I do these by hand they will not look like the traditional long thin chipolatas but they taste great.
These are mild sausages so if you like to taste more of the seasonings double the amounts of seasonings called for in the recipe.
Now to cook these sausages for the holidays you’ll want to add a couple more items. Take each sausage and place a fresh sage leaf on top and then wrap the whole thing with a slice of bacon. Lay them on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Place into a 400 degree preheated oven and cook until the bacon is crisp which should be enough time for the sausages to cook too. This should take approximately 20 minutes. WARNING: Your house will smell amazing and will draw people from every room.
Now it’s your turn to share your favorite Christmas and Hanukkah Entrees and Side Dishes by using the link at the bottom of this post.
This contest is now closed. Thank you to all who participated. Please head over to Ginger Lemon Girl to see who won!
It’s also your turn to get a gift from one of these authors. They have graciously offered to give you a copy of their cookbook if your comment number is randomly selected. (only shipping in the US for non e-books) How do you get a number? Try this To Do List but don’t delay, it’s over on December 8th!
You can do any or all of the following things just leave a comment for each one:
- Link up your gluten-free entree or side dish recipe via the linky at the bottom of this post and leave a comment telling me what you’ve shared.
- Follow @thewholegang on Twitter and leave a comment here saying that you did.
- Post about this roundup on your blog or Facebook and leave me a comment here telling me you did.
- Subscribe to The W.H.O.L.E Gang in a reader or in email, and leave a comment here telling me you did.
- Subscribe to The W.H.O.L.E. Gang Newsletter and leave me a comment here telling me you did.
- Like The W.H.O.L.E. Gang on Facebook and leave me a comment here telling me you did.
-Friend me on Facebook and leave me a comment here telling me you did.
- If by chance you have already read or purchased a copy of either book, leave an Amazon review for the book and leave a comment here telling me you did.
- Tweet about this roundup using @thewholegang and our event hashtag, #GFHoliday and leave a comment here saying that you did.
Leave a comment each time you do something on this to do list. Don’t leave one comment with a list of things you did, that only gives you one number and one chance! One comment for each way you share this event.
Gifts they are giving:
1 copy of Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back…And How You Can Too
1 copy of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
1 copy of Sweet Freedom: Desserts You’ll Love without Wheat, Eggs, Dairy or Refined Sugar
3 copies of these e-book trios: 1 copy of Sweet Freedom, 1 copy of Desserts without Compromise, 1 copy of Anti-Candida Feast Book
Leave your comments so these authors will know you are serious and would love the gift of their book. The more ways you share the more chances you have in winning.
I hope you all will have a wonderful holiday season.
"Working with Diane has been life changing.
I posted my pumpkin cheesecake (GF/DF), which technically isn't an entree or a side dish, although I have been eating it with my dinner every night
What a fun holiday celebration! Those sausages look so good! Anything wrapped in bacon has gotta be good, right?
Thank you for sharing. I guess that could be an entree. I'd eat it for breakfast too.
Thanks for the mention! What a great idea for Celebration posts; I'll have to go and check out some of the other bloggers.
I can definitely recommend the Black Farmer sausages to those of your readers in the UK – which do come in chipolata form, as well as standard sizes. But most sausages here in the UK contain 'rusk', sadly. The list of ingredients should be very clear on this, and gluten free sausages will almost always say so very clearly.
I'm very impressed you decided to make sausages from scratch. And you're quite right: for Christmas, the sausages should definitely have bacon wrapped round them!
Lucy- Thank you for stopping by. Do you have a recipe you would like to share?
I think Tony will be very, very pleased with your efforts! I'm not sure I could eat a whole chipolata, but I know I'd enjoy the flavors in them. Yum!
Another great giveaway for our Gluten-Free Holiday event!
Shirley
Shirley-these are small sausages. About the size of your finger so I'm sure you could handle them. I took a picture of my pig. I might have to change my profile pic again.
Homemade sausage is by far the best. This recipe takes it up a notch!
Nancy- you know homemade sausage is so dag on easy that I really see no reason not to make it. You'll know every ingredient and it tastes about 100 times better. Any fresh sausage you can think of you probably can make in about 10 minutes. A little longer if you're grinding your own meat.
I would share a link if I had a blog ^__^ But I am subscribed via RSS and would love an e-book!
Thank you Arielle. Good luck!
such a lovely giveaway! I entered my gluten free almond thumbprints!
Thank you for sharing Stephanie. So do you eat those thumbprints as an entree or side dish? Personally I'd go for the side dish.
I already follow you on Twitter, my dear.
ps – another great blog from the UK is Naomi Devlin's "Straight into bed CakeFree and Dried". It's lovely.
Diane! You did such a lovely job on this post! Thank you – of course I'd expect nothing less.
I love your dish – anything wrapped in bacon is fabulous. Fully decadent for the holidays.
Hugs!
Amy
Thank you Amy. I'm with you on the bacon. It's even great dipped in chocolate! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I shared the pear harvest salad recipe
Ashlie- thank you for sharing your recipe, blogging about the event and the two facebook follows. I really appreciate it.
I blogged about the event here: http://delshadduo.blogspot.com/2010/11/pear-harve…
I like the Whole Gang on facebook
I friended you on facebook.
Great post, Diane (as usual!). I shared my recipe for Last-Minute Skillet Green Beans, an easy side dish that comes together quickly.
Hallie-thank you for sharing your recipe. Love those quick ones.
Chipolaaaaaataaaaaaaaaaaaas! Those look incredible. Wow. You just made my morning.
Posted on facebook.
Thank you youthful one!
Subscribed to WHOLE gang via email.
Subscribed to WHOLE gang newsletter
I 'like'd WHOLE gang on facebook.
Requested your friendship on facebook.
I 'liked' your facebook page.
I posted the gingerbread recipe from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef.
Thank you for participating but unfortunately you can only link up your own recipes from your own blog. But that gingerbread recipe is a good one for sure.
I linked up my Roasted Brussels Sprouts. Holiday dinners need super simple side dishes that taste good, and this definitely fits the bill. Thanks!
Thank you Emily for sharing your recipe. They look lovely.
I signed up for your newsletter!
Thank you neverensz for the follows and sign ups. I appreciate it.
I friended you on facebook.
I'm following you on twitter.
Those look so good! I never thought to make my own sausage and just not use a casing. Great idea! Did you invent that?
I linked up my new Christmas Lasagna. Lasagna was always our Christmas Eve dinner. This is my updated, a bit healthier version.
xoxo,
Tia
Tia- Thank you for sharing. Always up for a healthier lasagna recipe for sure. Don't thin I invented casing free sausage but thanks for the thought.
I signed up for your email
I friend you on facebook
I like you on facebook
I linked my Gluten Free Sweet Potatoe Casserole. It's a holiday favorite at our home!
Jeanie- thank you for participating with such gusto. It's great! Also thank you for sharing your recipe with us.
I am now following you on Twitter!
I just subscribed to your newsletter.
I just added you as a facebook friend.
I just posted about this contest on Facebook.
awesome! i "liked" your page on Facebook.
i signed up for your email newsletter.
i subscribed to the blog via google reader.
Thank you Alisa for joining in the fun. I hope you will come back and see what everyone is sharing along the way and in the future.
I subscribed in Google Reader!
I love sweet potato casserole!! It's my very favorite!
Jayn I think you're not alone on that one for sure!
I "liked" The WHOLE gang on facebook!
I subscribed to the Whole Gang by email
I subscribed to the newsletter!
I friended you on Facebook
I finally got my post up, Diane! Linked one of our favorite vegetable dishes for the holidays or any special meal.
Shirley
Thank you Shirley. That looks perfect for these cold damp days. I wonder if I could sneak that to my family sometime. They might not know it has butter beans in it.
I subscribed in rss.
Great blog, love the food, the pics and the info. Thanks!
Diane I love seeing what you come up with! Your recipes are always so creative! I linked up my recipe for gluten-free pie crust – veggie pot pie makes a great entree for vegetarians or vegans during the holidays! Thanks!
I just followed @thewholegang on Twitter!
I just left an Amazon review for Gluten Free Girl and the Chef, I already own it!