The Dinner Party

One of the most difficult aspects of eating a gluten-free, casein-free, organic diet is maintaining a social life that was once centered around food. In my Italian family, no family gathering or special occasion is complete without ample amounts of starch. As a self-proclaimed foodie, my primary means of exploring the world is through my taste buds. Some of my best memories from my year of weekends in NYC (where my now husband, then boyfriend worked) were of the meals I ate in some of the finest upscale restaurants and dives in the world. Ah, Papaya King! I remember cities by the food I ate. Baltimore’s crab cakes, Philly's cheese steaks, Napoli's pizza, Roma's gelato, Playa del Carmen's tortilla soup...

So, entertaining G/CF (gluten/casein-free) was not going to be easy. My husband and I just bought a home and were excited to have our first dinner guests over. However, my normal standbys were not going to work if I was going to stick to my dietary changes. Lasagna, one of my favorite feed-a-bunch-of-people-cheap meals, was not even a consideration anymore. I ended up making Mexican Shrimp Cocktail (my husband's family recipe) and Chicken Calabrese (my dad's recipe). I used regular ketchup when making the shrimp for my guests, but gluten-free for myself. Word of Advice (WOA): label the one you've made gluten-free. One of my guests accidentally ate my GF cocktail. I ended up eating one that wasn't and paid for it later in the evening.

Chicken Calabrese calls for dusting the chicken with flour, which I omitted, before browning. Not a good idea consistency-wise since the flour thickens the sauce. I've since learned that tapioca flour can be used instead of wheat flour with good results, but I didn't know this the night of my dinner party- unfortunately for my guests who were served dry chicken in a liquidy sauce. Whole-wheat penne was served on the side, just so I wouldn't totally deprive my guests. Cooking it required my husband nearby to taste as I seasoned. I miss my penne but have found some decent brown rice pastas that aren't too bad.  Trader Joe's has a brown rice penne and fusilli that are good, as long as you cook them al dente and rinse them with cold water when they are done cooking. 

Explaining to people why you aren't eating the lovely, crusty French bread your guest has just brought hot from the local bakery isn't easy. While most people are understanding, there are always the few out there who think you're just a neurotic health-nut when you turn down the staff birthday cake in the teacher's lounge, especially if you're eating gluten free and are not actually diagnosed Celiac. I was tested for Celiac, for which I tested negative; however, since I didn't have a biopsy (the gold standard), my doctor said Celiac can't totally be ruled out yet, especially because my system seems to do better eating GF. I could have a gluten sensitivity (for which I have tested positive for in the past), and by omitting gluten from my diet for a while and giving my body a break, eventually I could reintroduce it into my diet and see how I react. Either way, avoiding gluten seems to do my body good; still, unless one has a diagnosed medical condition, eating GF isn't always easily accepted by others who can't fathom why I would impose such torture upon myself.

Eating out is very difficult as cross-contamination can happen easily in a busy kitchen. On two occasions I've eaten salads out, the only "safe" food left on the menu, only to suffer the same G.I. effects as had I eaten a slice of pizza (which makes me just want to go ahead and eat the slice of pizza instead of the boring salad). I could make the very same salads at home and have no negative consequences. Who knows if the cook cut bread on the same board used to chop lettuce or if the vinaigrette had modified food starch as a thickener? Even yesterday when I ate prepared foods from my local health food store (which were not guaranteed GF), I noticed a difference in how I felt, and not for the positive. Sometimes it's hard for me to fathom how such a tiny amount of gluten could have such significant effects. Is this possible? Seriously, it's not fun at all, and can even be dangerous for people with Celiac, where any tiny amount of gluten will do damage to their intestines.

It may be time to start keeping a food diary since today I am feeling as lousy- achy, bloated, tired- as I was before I started this experiment. What may have caused it, I'm not sure. Whatever it was, I could sure use a nap.

Cento Anni!