Gluten-free Thanksgiving.

A general tip - you're usually better off looking for recipes that were never intended to have gluten-containing components than attempting to create gluten-free copies. For example, make a cornbread stuffing instead of a stuffing with gluten-free white bread, try something like http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/breads/r/paodequeijo.htm instead of paying out the nose for gluten-free rolls, or take a look at some http://whole9life.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-2011/ (which will definitely be gluten-free and are often really tasty in general.)

I would be very surprised to see stuff about Bob's Red Mill being a source of cross contamination - not only do they have a dedicated GF packaging facility but they source from GF farmers. http://www.bobsredmill.com/our-story-on-gluten-free.html's their page on their GF products. I don't work for them - just been aware that they're pretty careful on that front.

nthing restless_nomad. My niece is Celiac, and I've had a couple of years crash course in this. Unless you're making your own bechamel, green bean casserole is not going to work, and a trifle is going to be nearly impossible (or ridiculously expensive) to pull off. Can you roast some brussel sprouts? Or make a green bean salad with a shallot vinaigrette? Basically, any veggie you can roast, grill, or steam will be essentially gluten free. For a dessert, you can still make pie, and Whole Foods is a good source for the gluten free pie crust. Perhaps an obvious point, but do keep an eye open for any cross-contamination. If you can prep ahead of time and keep your dishes away from any surfaces that may have touched gluten, you should be in good shape.

Gilbert, can you give some more information on the issues with Bob's Red Mill? I had the impression that they were pretty reliable for gf stuff (separate production lines, ELISA testing, etc.).

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/13111115669/paleo-turkey-day-menu-ideas has a Thanksgiving roundup. I've just started reading her site, but so far all the recipes I've tried have been great.

I made a not-half-bad gluten-free pie crust with almond flour and coconut flour similar to http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-paleo-pie-crust/ Or http://www.marksdailyapple.com/top-10-ways-to-go-nuts/. Overall, though, my primary approach is to find things that never had gluten in them. Thanksgiving has plenty of foods like that, so go with the things that you and your sister love that don't need substitutes.

Book of Yum just did a whole series of posts on gluten free (vegetarian) Thanksgiving: http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/ Also see posts tagged http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/category/thanksgiving on their site.

Siobhan, the issue w/ Bob's was cross-contamination. If corn is milled in the same mill (or in some cases, even the same building) as wheat, then there's a risk there. Perhaps they have expanded their production facilities to accomodate the gluten-intolerant, but I had always heard that their products were "iffy."

I use some of the GF-labeled Bob's Red Mill mixes, and my husband doesn't seem affected. People diagnosed with Celiac disease are affected by their condition to different degrees — some people can tolerate a certain parts per million (ppm) exposure to gluten, while others cannot tolerate any, at all, and require more stringent manufacturing standards. The key is to read the fine print: If a product is labeled gluten-free, it is still important to check the packaging for caveats, such as: "Manufactured in facilities which process wheat", which raises the risk of cross-contamination.