Last minute gluten free guest - help me with food!

[Sportycustard]

I've just invited someone for NYE who would otherwise be alone. They are gluten intolerant. What party food can no buy or make quickly? I'm not a bad cook so happy to make something. Also have a co op, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, smaĺl M&S food shop and a Waitrose nearby. Could get to Iceland if I needed to, no Sainsbury's for miles though.

I will have about a tonne of cheese, can get some gluten free bread (or crackers...do they exist?). We'll also have olives and I can make some gluten free brownies.

What else can I do. My mind's gone blank?

Alongside other bits I'm doing some chicken marinaded in yoghurt and tikka spices with a coriander salad and a raita dip (basically just fat free yoghurt, finely chopped cucumber and a dollop of mint sauce). This is for a guest on slimming world but would also work for a gluten free guest :)

The co-op frozen party food (3 for £6 I think) is all gluten free, they had spring rolls, tempura prawns, mozzarella sticks, profiteroles etc. Lovely. You can get gluten free pizza, bread, crackers etc. Loads of options.

M&S Made Without Wheat range is amazing, they do crackers, quiche, pasta etc and their bread is lovely. Most Coeliacs (like me) are sick to the stomach with brownies as that’s the only sweet treat we’re ever offered in every single cafe, restaurant- it’s always a bloody chocolate brownie or nothing else. It’s a lovely thought to make them but if possible I’m sure you’d be loved forever if you could buy or rustle up something else. The major supermarkets all do cherry bake wells and cakes etc. M&S made without wheat honeycomb bites, crispy squares and cakes are lovely.

I never expect hosts to cater for me though, I always bring my own food so your friend might bring some too.

Most of Aldi's crisps are fine.
Homous
Salsa
Tortilla chips (plain are fine, check flavoured ones)
Smoked salmon
Rice cakes
Chips
Sundried tomatoes

Gluten free crackers are way nicer than gf bread

You could do potato wedges/new potatoes/mini jackets

Rice salad

Gf pasta salad

Check if they’re coeliac because it blows my mind how much stuff has gluten in it that you really wouldn’t think, especially prebought party food, stuff like veggie/quorn type sausages (dunno if you’re serving these or not) tend to be a wheat fest

Weirdly, aldi and lidl have very good gf sections. They have those Gosh! falafels/pakoras that are all gf and vegan.

Omg @Birthdayhat, I’m going to hunt down a co-op!

I know! I was v excited to have spring rolls especially. I must go and get more just in case they stop them after new year. They had some stuff in the fresh bit too apparently but not in the one I went to.

M & S range is very good.

Nairn's crackers are gluten free, we go through boxes. Avoid GF bread, it's like eating brick.

Nachos are always a winner at parties. And corn tortillas rolled up and cut into inch pieces are good..... cream cheese and smoked salmon; cream cheese with pesto and baby tomatoes with rocket; egg and chives with mayo.

Just practise good kitchen prep if you're making stuff... and mark clearly so people don't contaminate it.

Hey @ShadyLady i feel your dessert pain, i’m vegan as well as gf which means i have THE MOST fun

On boxing day my mum presented me with a gf vegan cheesecake and vegan squirty cream and i actually cried because it was so nice of her

The co op frozen party food is all gf and really good. I'm loving their profiteroles!

Oh there's also a really easy onion Bhaji recipe that would be gluten free and always goes down really well when I make them.

It's just grated sweet potato, thinly sliced red and white onion, an egg and some curry paste (the Asda one is GF). Mix together, shape into balls and bake in the oven. Yum!

oatcakes are usually gluten free (check the packet - some cheaper ones aren't) and waitrose may well have other nice non-wheat crackers (check whether they can tolerate spelt or rye which some posh crackers use instead of wheat). I made some lovely non-wheat canapes with some rye crackers, mixed a posh waitrose pate with some walnuts (to give it crunch) and topped with a slow-roast tomato.

buy a bunch of small potatoes and bung them all in the oven for 40 mins and you have bite-sized mini jacket potatoes. sour cream and chive is a perfect no-effort jacket topping. obviously loads of other toppings also exist.

rice is gluten free. mix a pack of microwave ready-rice with a beaten egg and a spoonful of something strongly tasty (I'd use truffle paste but tapenade would also work) plus a bit of cornflour to make it sticky. pack a spoonful into the bottom of each of the recesses in a bun tin (grease well). possibly grate over a little cheese then bake for long enough for the egg to set. top with something yummy once cooked - perhaps a slither of parma ham or smoked salmon or some marinated artichoke.

Point taken about the brownies! I have an almond and orange cake recipe which only has a bit of flour so I think I can sub that for GF flour.

I make soda bread so going to experiment with GF flour tomorrow and see if it works. I can dash to the shop for a replacement if it's awful.

I've realised that I have some GF sausages in the freezer and some bacon in the fridge so pigs in blankets will be possible.

Will send DH to the co op as well.

A fair bit of M&S party food is gluten free. DD was delighted with mini chicken kievs and mini toad in the holes. A lot of their sausages are gf too.

If keep any packaging especially if they are coeliac. We don't feed DD if we can't see the packaging to make sure, and be weary of cross contamination. Things like butter are a no no if someone using normal bread etc has put the knife back in

It's very easy to get gluten free food in the supermarkets but it's variable. Gluten free oatcakes are good, as are gluten free tortilla chips. Rice based food should be gluten free but check the label for traces of gluten.

For puddings jelly, pavlova, spanish almond and orange cake and chocolate and almond cake are good gluten free recipes. HFW does an interesting chocolate bean cake which is easy and tastyalthough I thought it needed a longer cooking time than the recipe.

We're doing a N African couscous, followed by Eton mess or fruit salad.

@MadameButterface that’s nearly made me cry! How lovely!

Unless it’s specifically Free From Couscous, Couscous is not gluten Free. Non Coeliacs never seem to realise and it’s a shame to go to effort when we can’t eat it.

Gluten free orange and almond cake. The traditional recipe has no wheat but wheat lightens it so lots of variations have flour. Microwave the oranges to make it quicker.

Please be cautious of cross contamination - As a coeliac I often carry around crackers/gf snacks because cheese etc are often on boards and people use the same knife for crackers/butter/cheese especially if the come back for seconds and crumbs etc from bread crackers carried over GF things also if they are cooked on trays with/used for no GF stuff. Maybe purchase a GF things and keep them separate/sealed until your guest arrives especially if you don't know tolerance levels.

I know it may seem rude but I will often not eat GF stuff on the buffet as I can't be sure what cross contamination has occurred

M&S is brilliant for gluten free party stuff.

I have made loads of delias cakes substituting the flour for rice flour and baking powder. I find the mix drier than normal so always make it quite wet with added milk. Non coeliacs can't tell the difference.

Buffets are a nightmare for Coeliacs, keep everything separate and wrapped up, don’t use wooden boards. Make sure cooked food is on clean baking trays and always cooked on the top shelf so no crumbs can drop onto it.

oatcakes are usually gluten free

This isn't correct, unless they say they're gluten free there's always a chance the oats are cross contaminated.

Rye is not gluten free either!

If they are celiac watch preparation and serve separate to stop cross contamination and keep serving spoons separate. If neceassary, do less perfectly rather than more without care.