Thanksgiving Foods to Watch Out For with a Peanut and Nut Allergy

With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I'd give you just a few ideas of where nuts can be lurking (besides in your wine glass):

• Pie Crusts - many of the pie crusts I've see of late in cooking magazines (and online) utilize ground nuts in the crust. This wouldn't be apparent to the naked eye in say, a pumpkin pie, and could send you into a reaction (which is never fun, especially during the holiday celebrations). Always ask about ingredients if you aren't completely sure. And if you still aren't convinced it's safe, then abstain.
  
• Stuffing - watch out for almonds and pecans (and chestnuts) in stuffing.
• Green Beans/Brussels Sprouts - I've been seeing lots of recipes for these greens either garnished with nuts (like hazelnuts and almonds or pine nuts) or in compound butters composed of these nuts in their ground up form.
• Sweet Potatoes - again, this veggie goes hand in hand with brown sugar and - you guessed it - nuts! Look for pecans and/or walnuts as a pairing typically either mixed in or part of a crumble on top.
  
• Cookies - this is a no brainer in some respects, but the holidays are definitely a time for nuts! Marzipan (ground almond/sugar paste) abounds in baked goods as well as walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, and peanut butter.
  
• Extracts - Lastly, keep in mind with ANY baked goods that people use almond extract a lot to replace vanilla. If you are going to take a chance and have a sugar cookie, you just might want to ask about almond extract.

So what did I miss? Readers, comment away!