Gluten-free Halloween Party

A simple GF pumpkin muffin with pumpkin cream cheese frosting

If you have ever been in a social situation and can't have the food around the buffet table, whether it's related to allergies, religion or weight loss, it can be quite difficult. What if it was the other way around? Imagine arriving and being able to eat everything! I thought it would be useful to create some ideas for gluten-free occasions (after getting some great advice from Amy Sherman of Cooking with Amy). So here is my first list: Halloween.
 Maybe you are the host and you are getting ready for a ghoulish party. If you need to plan it around one or more gluten-free eaters, you might need some ideas beyond hummus and rice crackers or tortilla chips with guacamole. When you are doing your planning, think about the items that you can't eat when you are gluten-free: bread, crackers, pretzels, pizza, cookies, cakes and cupcakes, doughnuts. Today, there are many options for all of these items. Of course, if you are the one hosting, you will have much more control. That's my plan this year; delegation! And, even if you aren't gluten-free, you can use the ideas below to plan your own party. 

If you are the host and not the one with the sensitivity, make sure you understand the needs of your guests. Someone with Celiac disease looks at gluten as seriously as someone with a peanut allergy. Gluten can be in ketchup and bbq sauce and is almost always in soy sauce unless it's specifically gluten-free.

If you are the gluten-free host and guests want to contribute, keep it simple and ask them to bring the fruit salad, deviled eggs or carrot monster fingers. If you are gluten-intolerant, store-bought, certified gluten-free products like pretzels, cookies or crackers are good options for those who are not familiar with the intricacies of gluten-free. 

I have provided some links to the recipes; for everything else, you should be able to make the appropriate gluten-free substitute. When the cookbook comes out, you will have access to most of these. Enjoy!

• GF Pretzel sticks with pumpkin cream cheese
• Devil eyes (deviled eggs)
• Gluten-free mummy meatloaf with mashed potato ghosts (see pictures above for how-to's)
• Mummy hotdogs (hot dogs wrapped in gf pie crust and baked)
• Worms and bugs (lentil, gf pasta and brown rice pilaf)
• Monster fingers (carrot sticks w cream cheese and slivered almonds)
• Witches fingers with blood (gf chicken tenders with ketchup or BBQ sauce)
• Green goblin Caesar salad with gf croutons
• Trees with cobwebs (broccoli with gf white cheese sauce)
• Graveyard chocolate cake (make your own or try The Pure Pantry's or Pamela's Products mixes)
• GF pumpkin muffins
• Monster eyes (fruit salad balls or grapes)
• "Pumpkin" cake (any gf cake baked in a bundt pan; use two for a big crowd and place on top of eachother)
• Rolled gf sugar cookies in spooky shapes