Dissecting a recipe- or Simple isnt Always so simple..

As I go along I am starting to 'develop' a process of Dissecting and then reassembling recipes. 

Lets start with a SIMPLE & fairly common easy to make lovely little dessert - 

Easy no Bake parfait..  (its quite yummy all on its own!)

https://www.justataste.com/easy-no-bake-cheesecake-parfaits-recipe/

but for our purposes may be bit too complicated 

The required sugar, lemon juice/zest, vanilla (tho i would use best quality)& fruits present no particular  problems.

and the Cream Cheese. now that I know i can make homemade cream cheese i dont see this as a major barrier

we have the choices of Goats Milk Cream Cheese, Coconut Cream cheese & Vegan Cream Cheese (note that this recipe DOES use Cashews) one of our taste testing days will compare the 2 & possibly 3 of them..

http://www.dailyforage-glutenfree.com/2014/09/homemade-dairy-free-coconut-milk-cream-cheese.html

Mind you this is somewhat a more complicated looking recipe.. its unlikely I will want to do this myself.. but its Certainly looking interesting.

https://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/12/how-to-make-soy-free-vegan-cream-cheese/

·        Now to the GRAHAM CRACKERS:

·         

·        I have found One retail product Enjoy Life Handcrafted Crunchy Cookie, Vanilla Honey Graham, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free & Soy Free, 6.3 Ounce (Pack of 6) that claims to be

·        ALWAYS Free-From: gluten, wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish

·        Products made without casein, potato, sesame and sulfites

·        Allergy-Friendly, Verified Non-GMO, Certified Gluten-Free

It Sounds pretty good. Until you realize at at least 160 servings & each box costs just under $15 each- this is definitely not the solution to this problem..

https://www.ama zon.com/Enjoy-Life-Handcrafted-Crunchy-Vanilla/dp/B004SEU95U/ref=sr_1_1_a_it/144-4921256-1655457?ie=UTF8&qid=1491701490&sr=8-1&keywords=wheat%2Bfree%2Bgraham%2Bcrackers&th=1

Here is another retail product that sounds promising.. Pamela's Products Gluten-Free Graham Crackers Honey Description

·        Graham Style Crackers

·        Certified Gluten-Free

·        Egg-Free

·        Kosher

·        Made with Real Honey

·        No Artificial Additives

·        No Hydrogenated Oils or Trans Fats

UNTIL you read the “other ingredients:

Other Ingredients: Rice flour base (brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum), organic non-GMO butter, brown sugar, sorghum flour, gluten-free oat bran, molasses, organic non-GMO honey, gluten-free natural flavors, grainless and aluminum-free baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, potato starch, sodium bicarbonate), baking soda, cinnamon, sea salt.

Allergen Information: contains milk. Both are Allergy products for the some of the guests

So what alternatives are there..

1 suggestion included: .

Cold Cereal

Look no further than breakfast for lots of crunchy options for pie crust. Grind up granola, crispy rice cereal, or cornflakes together= the rice cereal looks hopeful.. I will come back to this in another post..

The last item in the recipe is whipped cream..

At this point in my breakdown I am being reminded that we are going to feed a minimum of 150 guests, and until I know otherwise about the venue I MUST assume refrigeration is not an option until told otherwise. The levels of complication & cost factors have taken this standby appetizer and dropped it to the bottom of my 3^rd level list..

Its probably a no-go.. but it HAS been MOST educational..

1st there is the MILK Problem

For Some its simply a Lactose intolerance… 

for those not familiar with this.

“Lactose intolerance, refers to individuals who are unable to digest lactose (or sugars from dairy products) due to a lactase (an enzyme produced in the small intestine) deficiency…… Although it’s not dangerous, being lactose intolerance can be uncomfortable when dairy products are consumed. The only way to avoid the discomfort is to avoid foods and drinks that contain lactose or by taking lactase digestive supplements.” http://www.activebeat.co/your-health/how-do-i-know-if-im-lactose-intolerant/?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=AB_GGL_US_DESK&cus_widget=&utm_content=search_marketing&utm_term=lactose%20intolerance%20symptoms

Many adults have this issue. Most of us simply choose to not intake most milk base products or simply live with the symptoms. (hey, am not giving up ice cream just yet lol!)

BUT there is the next step. A MILK ALLERGY IS NOT THE SAME THING.

Symptoms of a milk ALLERGY reaction can range from mild, such as hives, to severe, such as anaphylaxis. THIS is why we are being so very careful about our Menu.

I personally have NO interest in anyone having to practice their CPR skills at the wedding!!

In researching this problem, I have found that there are ‘other’ milks available. Many of them are surprisingly familiar.. Soy, Rice, Almond, Goat, Sheep & Coconut and there are probably others. While None of them taste precisely the same as cows milk, they do very well for substituting in MOST instances.

We will be experimenting Primarily with Coconut, Rice & Goats milk.. (sheeps milk is more difficult to find/afford)

Why only them you ask?? Because there are those pesky Soy & Nut allergies we have to contend with…

Among the number of Finger food/Appetizers that I am finding, (simple & fresh being the criteria) are a surprisingly large number of them include cream cheese. Recipes from the 50’s-70’s cocktail party genre have oodles of them. 

This week I discovered that I can Actually make Goats Milk Cream Cheese in my own kitchen!! Not only that but one can make home kitchen Mozzerella from Goats milk.. this opens up a number of possibilities. Even pizza!!

I found several articles /blogs here that are seriously helpful on the subject

http://www.everything-goat-milk.com/how-to-make-goat-cheese.html

http://www.cheesemaking.com/Chevre.html

IF I can do this successfully – it opens up a number of recipes for the buffet. Such as the classic cream cheese log or herbed cream cheese stuffed dates. And even Turkey roll ups (tho we still have to solve the wheat allergy on THAT recipe)

http://www.errenskitchen.com/garlic-herb-cream-cheese-log

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdfKSmDItD4

UPDATE: turns out there is a coconut sensitivity as well.. so far tho the Goats milk seems to be a definitely good choice.. 

the RESEARCH

THE RESEARCH BEGINS:

For the first couple of weeks of my general research has been on Pinterest. Is there anyone who has Not gotten lost in That particular black hole??

Way too much fun but HARD to stay focused.. 

I started with Appetizers and hors d’oeuvres & found WONDERFUL RECIPES.. seems so easy… haha.

THEN I READ the INGREDIENTS… ooops. And realized that NOT ONLY was this going to be a tad more complicated than I at first realized, but that I was actually rather excited but the CHALLENGE..

CAN I COME UP WITH AN EDIBLE & ENJOYABLE MENU to feed EVERYONE?

So that’s it in a nutshell.

I have started a notebook of interesting/easy recipes. And as we go on, we will be doing taste testing on original recipes and tweeking those that must be Adapted & re-taste testing. I will be adding notes, not only from myself, but the bride & groom & the guinea pigs… err friends/tasters on their reactions & preferences and thoughts, which I will be Sharing here on the blog..

As we build the wedding reception menu, I plan on sharing links and photos of where I find good recipes that we are using/adapting as will as links & photos of other dietary/allergy information I come across.

I also will share how we tweek the recipes

I realize mine is not the ONLY way to to create this Menu but I hope it will be of interest & help to others

SO COME ALONG FOR THIS CRAZY RIDE and join in on the fun. The wedding is in January so with any luck this will be doable.

The CHALLENGE

HOW  THIS ALL STARTED: & THE CHALLENGE

Who is doing this project

Friends of the bride trying to navigate the Interesting issues with Weddings and Food Allergies and how to make it all work.

In the beginning:

Not too very long ago my daughters friend got engaged. A Truly wonderful thing and she asked my daughter to be IN the wedding. Awesome… but then REALITY started setting in. not only is she (the bride) in college but she also works. So does my daughter. But being the friends we want to be for her, we volunteered to be of help in the planning..

Good grief, WHAT were we thinking, hahaha!

Seriously since my dd is to be Matron of Honor, that does actually go with the territory doesn’t it? And I volunteered as the only person available that’s retired & theoretically have time to research things for the bride.

Which Leads us to WHY I have begun this blog..

Many members of  brides family and a number of friends have some pretty heavy duty FOOD allergies & BOY do they run the gamut. From Milk to Soy, Pineapple to Tapioca. Also, pretty much ALL Nuts and MANY grains (wheat/barley/corn)

As she, (the bride) searches for her Venue, she is discovering that the Majority of venue sites, not only Require that you use “Their” catering, but that they cannot generally accommodate the food allergy issues…

I am CERTAIN that other brides are probably encountering the SAME kind of issues in Their wedding planning.

Sooo, What does this all MEAN?? We, (her helpers) are now Trying to create a menu for her Wedding Reception Buffet that WONT cause a number of guests to end up in ER..

A good plan, right !!!!