Dairy Free Feasting and Recipes for the Holidays

Oh yes! It's certainly possible to have a wonderful dairy-free holiday feast. For either Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners, or any other fall and winter entertaining, it's relatively easy to put together some outstanding comfort foods, even without using any milk, butter, cream or cheese.

Aside from the comfort of dairy products, which is largely due to their fat content, many of the other aspects of food which we consider comforting are familiar flavors which bring back memories, fat content which makes us feel satisfied, carbohydrates and sugars which give us a little boost and satisfy that good old american sweet tooth :) and rich and savory complexities.

Here are some new recipe ideas followed by tips on how to convert your existing recipes to be dairy free.

Appetizers
Polenta Squares with Tomato Confit and Fennel with Bacon
Filo Mushroom Cups
Crab Cakes
Plum Tomatoes with Garlic Oil and Thyme
Baked Olives
Roasted Red Peppers
Dolmas
Endive Leaves with Crab & Shrimp

Meat or Main Dishes
Free Range Local Turkey with Herbs
Beef Carpaccio with Savory Blackberry Sauce
Broiled Middle Eastern Chicken
CK Lamb Leg of Lamb
Herbed Salmon

Side Dishes
Spicy Roasted Potatoes
Sautéed Cabbage & Pears
Roasted Fennel & Baby Red Potatoes
Beets a la Marian


Converting Your Recipes

I've spent many years figuring out how to be more dairy-free because of my own allergies to the proteins in dairy products. I have written about dairy issues and alternatives here, but I've found the best approach is to learn to eat new foods, rather than convert (substituting ingredients) favorite recipes. However, at the holidays, many people are very connected to the foods they grew up eating, so here are some very simple basics for the standard holiday dishes. Seasoning is important!

Do not used canned products or prepared products unless you've read the labels and KNOW there is no dairy in it. Anything that ends in 'ein' or 'ose' is potentially a dairy derivative. Making your own gravies and sauces is best.

In place of butter that would be melted such as on mashed potatoes or used to sauté, use Olive Oil. If it's to be used to dress a finished product such as a vegetable dish, use an Olive Oil such as Kalamata Extra Virgin and one that you like the taste. If it's to be used in baking such as a shortening for pies or cakes, use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks or Spread. If all you can find is the spread, remove the entire portion from the tub and cut into 4 equal portions. Each will be the equivalent of one stick of butter. This is also good to dress vegetables if you want that buttery flavor rather than the olive oil. Be sure to put it on hot dishes - the flavor is not as good when it's cold.

To replace milk or cream, use Westsoy Soymilk Drink, Plain Lowfat. You will need to thicken it if you're looking for a creamlike consistency. It does not combine with other fats, so custards or gratinees are not as direct. You can thicken it first with flour or besan to create a sauce, but it doesn't adapt well to long cooking in sauces. It can be used as is in baking cakes, pies, cookies and such.


• Other Dairy Free Recipes

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