Gluten-Free Recipes: My GF Wedding

I reposted the blog about My Gluten Free Wedding a few weeks ago in celebration of my 4-year anniversary.  I received requests for the recipes.  So below is my menu and the recipes I used:
(I did all my own cooking.  We had an evening wedding followed immediately by the reception in a local hall.  It was a second marriage for both of us - Not formal, by any means.  We weren't sure what we were doing for food (finger foods or full meal) until a couple weeks before the wedding when I got the bug to start cooking - and with a 7:00 wedding, it could certainly have gone either way.

People ate lots - but we still had a LOT left over.  I never cooked for 100 people before and really wasn't  sure how many would be there.  It could have been fancier - but .... this is what we had:
Items in RED were just purchased and heated / Items in BLUE have recipes below.

Chicken Wings (15 bags bought from Sams Club and slow heated in large roasters)
Ham (30 lbs from local grocery store - requested thinly sliced from butcher at store.  Heated in larger roaster )
Texas Potato Casserole (8 - 3 lb containers, made ahead, frozen and reheated)
Green Beans  (large cans purchased from Sam's club)
Salad / salad dressing  (several bags of premade salad purchased from Sam's Club)
Mini French Bread rolls (Made about 300 ahead and froze, reheating in oven at the hall)
Pickles
Veggie Tray (carrots, broccoli - purchased baby carrots and precut broccoli from Sam's)
Mini Brownie Bits (made over 275 ahead and froze)
Mini Cheese Cakes (made over 250 ahead and froze)
Wedding Cake

 Texas Potato Casserole
*2 lbs Frozen Hash Browns, (the southern style cubes), not shredded.
*Bacon cooked, crumbled to taste
*½ cup mayonnaise 
*½ cup  sour cream
*½ tsp salt
*2 cups shredded cheese (I use colby jack)
*1 small onion, chopped
*1 can GF chicken broth

 Combine all ingredients except potatoes and mix.  Add potatoes and stir.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Cook for 1 hour at 350°F.
Cool, cover and freeze.
(I like to put the chicken broth in a blender with the onion and blend - so much quicker than chopping onions)

 

          Brownie Bites
Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten-free flour blend (I use 2 parts rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca starch)
  
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine (melted)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup hot water
   (or - your favorite GF box mix)
  

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Insert papers into mini cupcake pan. Stir together gf flour blend, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients and hot water.. Mix until just blended. Mixture will be somewhat thick. Add approximately 1 tablespoon to each cup.
Bake approximately 15 minutes (give or take.)

(My friends dusted them with powdered sugar and added strawberries to the platter for a beautiful effect :)

      Mini Cheesecakes
I think this is the recipe I used (?)
2 (8-ounce) packages gf cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
*Cookies and butter for crust
1 (21-ounce) can gf cherry pie filling or other pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of muffin pan.

*Cookie crust - Sorry, I don't have exact recipe.  I used Kinnikinnick K-toos (chocolate and vanilla for variety.)  Blend in food processor and add melted butter a tablespoon at a time until you can press it together - It doesn't take much. I did not add extra sugar.

Press small amount into each cupcake paper lined cup.

Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, 1at a time, beating well after each addition. (I added mini choc. chips to about1/2 of them - some with vanilla crust, some with chocolate.)

Spoon cream cheese mixture over crusts. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely.  Friends of mine heated and assembled food while I was busy getting married.  They added a cherry to the tops of 1/2 the cheesecakes, assembling them on the platters.  Gotta say - They did a FABULOUS job - and I couldn't have done it without them!

MINI FRENCH BREAD ROLLS (I have used Bette Hagman's Easy French Bread recipe from her Gluten Free Gourmet, Revised Edition since I was diagnosed.  I use this recipe for sandwich size rolls, flat bread, mini rolls....
Revised from her recipe:

3/4 cup white rice flour
2/3 cup corn starch
2/3 cup tapioca flour
2 teaspoons potato flour (I omit this)
2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp Egg Replacer
1 tsp salt
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup dry powder milk (or nondairy substitute)

1 T. sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 T. dry yeast granules
1 tsps dough enhancer (I use apple cider vinegar)
2 egg whites
1 1/2 T vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

(I mulitiply this recipe by 5 or 6 in a large plastic container and shake and mix well.  To make a bat ch I then measure 3 cups flour mix to the wet ingredients (using 2 T oil instead of 1 1/2 T.)

Step By Step Pictures on my Facebook page - Click here

I used mini muffin pans for my wedding meal (and now for other large meals as well). Grease muffin tins. 
               Add all dry ingredients from first column above to bowl of heavy duty mixer (such as Kitchen-Aid)  
               Add sugar to water and then stir in yeast.  Set aside to let foam.
               To the dry ingredients, add dough enhancer (vinegar), egg whites, and oil.  When the foam on the yeast is about 1/2 inch, pour into the dry mix.  Beat on high for 3 minutes. 
(My adjustment): From here I added 1 tsp to each mini muffin cup, covered and let for about 45 minutes (when dough almost doubles in size).
               I preheat the oven to 400 degrees after the dough has been rising for about 30 minutes.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes and then turn the oven down to 350 and bake for another 10-15 minutes, when golden brown on top and has a hollow sound when gently tapped on top. 
(I can't remember how many a batch makes - about 4 dozen??

Cool completely and freeze in ziploc bags.  Thaw and pop in the oven for a few minutes before serving.         

The Cake - At one point I was wondering why on earth I took this on too.  But it turned out great!  O.K.. the topper was a bit - big, lol - but it was fine. And I could eat the cake - a pretty big deal.  I made the layers ahead of time and froze them, assembling the night before the wedding -  while my daughter and I also did the flowers. whew!

Chocolate Layers
Ingredients: 1-3/4 c. GF flour   (2 parts rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca flour).  
1/2 t. xanthan gum
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 t. baking soda
1-1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk (optional: add 1 t. vinegar to sour)
1/2 c. oil
2 t. vanilla
1 c. boiling water

 Directions: Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and mix. Beat eggs well, add milk and oil. Mix together both dry and wet ingredients. The batter will be thin. Pour into greased and floured 13" x 9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

FROSTING
Put about 1/2 cup (or so - I don't measure) Crisco in mixing bowl.  Add about 4 cups powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.  Blend with electric mixer, adding a couple T. water  at a time until creamy.  I made 3 or 4 of t his recipe in order to frost both cakes.

Pictures of the white cake on Facebook - click here.  O.K.... gotta make one tomorrow. Doesn't this look SO GOOD!?!!

White Layers
I wanted to use my favorite white cake recipe that I found a few years ago (don't know where it came from) - but it just wasn't cooperating.  I ended up just using a box mix - which was fine.

Here's the White Cake recipe I like a whole lot more though:(very moist and tender)
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups sugar plus ½ cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 cups rice flour mix (I use Bette Hagman’s 2 parts rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca flour, but I’m sure any good blend would work fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Baking spray

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans cake pans with wax paper or parchment paper. Very lightly grease and flour sides of pan with baking spray and approximately 1/2-teaspoon rice flour.

Beat egg whites until foamy in a large clean mixing bowl. Gradually add 1/2-cup sugar and beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in another large bowl of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, blending each one in before adding the next. Add flour, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, milk and vanilla (and almond extract if using); beat at medium speed for 1 minute. Fold in 1/3 of beaten egg whites to lighten batter. Gently fold in remaining egg whites until no stripes remain.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Place in center of oven and bake for about 28 minutes (for 8" rounds) until a toothpick inserted into center comes back clean (about 24 minutes for 9" rounds).

Cool on rack for 7 minutes. Using a small knife, cut around pan sides to loosen layers. Invert layers onto rack. Peel off parchment paper and cool completely before icing. To slice each layer in half (in order to make four layers if you wish) chill layers until very cold.

Recipe can be cut in half to make only one layer.
~~For a 9" x 13" size, lower oven temperature to 350°, and cook for about 30 minutes.