Chomp Zone

After a long hiatus of not reading Bon Appetit, I’ve been frantically catching up (going to yoga = not going to the gym = not reading on the elliptical). Anyway, the latest issue is a travel issue. At first I was miffed. Food & Wine this month was also a travel issue, and having picked it up at the airport on my way home from a business meeting, I was all travel fooded out.

But tucked in the pages of Bon Appetit was something that F&W did not have - tsukune - or chicken meatballs. Oh, I don’t know why I waited so long to make these. The original recipe is here, and my version, which to be honest was based solely on what was available to me in grocery stores in Cambridge is below.

While the star of this show is the chicken, I’m going to start with the sauce because this is absolutely essential before you proceed. Here’s what you need -

• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sweet white wine (Riesling works well)
• 1/4 cup gluten free tamari or soy sauce 
• 2 tbsp sake
• 3/4 tsp packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 scallion chopped
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1-1 inch piece of ginger, pealed and sliced

Combine all of the ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let reduce for about 20 minutes until you have a generous half cup. Place a sieve over a small bowl and strain the solids out. Reserve half of the sauce for dipping.

For the chicken meatballs, here’s what you need -

• 1 pound of ground turkey or chicken
• 1 tbsp miso paste (finding gluten free miso is hard. I was not picky about what kind in this instance)
• 4 scallions minced
• 1 tbsp sesame oil, plus more for hands and grill

Take 1/3 of the chicken and cook it until just cooked in a frying pan. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Mince your scallions and add to a bowl with the remaining raw chicken and sesame oil. Add the cooked chicken. Oil your hands and massage the mixture until a sticky mound forms, about five minutes.

Form eight equal balls and roll into 4-inch ovals. Flatten slightly. Heat a grill to medium-high heat.

Place on the grill and cook for about two minutes. Flip over and brush the top part with your sauce. After about two more minutes, flip again and brush the other side. Continue this process until cooked entirely through - about 10 minutes - and until the sauce is gone.

Serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy!

I overheard someone raving about Heartland pasta recently (it’s gluten free). After eating burgers the last two nights, I decided to tone it down with something… non-meaty. I also forgot to buy chicken at the grocery store which foiled my plans of fried chicken. Here’s what you need -

• 2 cups dry pasta
• 1 tbsp butter
• 10 radishes, scrubbed and sliced 
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup snap peas, broken into equal pieces
• 1/2 cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup loosely packed parsley leaves
• Grated Romano, salt, pepper to taste

Boil water for the pasta. Meanwhile, chop the radishes, shallot and peas. In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter and add the shallots. Turn heat to low. Add the radishes and red pepper flakes and stir every few minutes. When the water is boiled, add the pasta. 

Continue to cook the radishes. Grate the lemon over the radishes and set the lemon aside. Add the peas and continue to cook on low heat. Drain the pasta and add to the skillet, along with the artichoke heats. Juice the lemon over the pasta dish, add the parsley and cook on low for a few more minutes.

Serve with cheese, salt and pepper.

First off, I have to apologize for the hiatus. It was unintentional but I do have a fairly decent reason - I was completing my first ever 30-day bikram yoga challenge. What’s this? Oh I just go to bikram yoga once a day, every day for 30 days. For those of you who don’t know, bikram is a hot torture chamber. The room is a minimum of 105 degrees (but we’re looking at usually 112 - 120) with at least 40% humidity. It’s hot.

As I’ve mentioned before, there are a few food items that I desperately miss. One is Joanne Chang’s homemade oreos. If you’ve never had the pleasure of going to Flour bakery, do so immediately. I decided to attempt a gluten free version, and I was not disappointed! Here’s is the original recipe and here’s what you need for mine: 

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour (you may need additional flour if doing gluten free - I used about 2 cups)
• 1/2 tsp xantham gum (omit if you arent using gluten free flours)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

My first recommendation is to measure out ALL ingredients ahead of time. Then proceed.

Melt the butter (microwave works fine) and whisk in the sugar until combined. Melt the chocolate chips (again microwave works fine here, but I prefer to melt chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water). Add chocolate chips and vanilla extract to butter and stir to combine. Add in the egg and whisk until well incorporated.

In another bowl, combine the flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill), xantham gum, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Incorporate into the butter/chocolate mixture and beat with a wooden spoon. The dough should begin to resemble play-dough. If your dough is still very sticky (like mine was with only 1 1/2 cups of flour), continue to add a few tbsp of flour at a time until you get the desired consistency. Let the dough sit at room temperature to firm up.

Transfer the dough to the fridge and let chill for an hour. Preheat the oven for 325 F and line cooking sheets with parchment paper. Roll approximately 1/2 tbsp of dough in the palms of your hand and flatten. Arrange cookies 1 1/2 inches away from each other. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly on the cookie sheets, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack. If you are using gluten free flours, these cookies are super fragile until they cool entirely.

While cooling, prepare the filling. You need -

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 2/3 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk
• pinch of salt

Beat the butter on medium speed using a hand mixer or a KitchenAid mixer. Add in the powdered sugar and continue to beat until combined. Meanwhile, add in the vanilla, milk and salt. Transfer into a large piping bag, or if you prefer, you can use a butter knife to spread.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, frost the bottom of one, and place another on top.

Cory made dinner tonight - maple pork tenderloin, rice and broccoli!

One of the things I miss most being gluten free is PIZZA. Luckily, we no longer live in close vicinity to good pizza, but this doesn’t change the fact that I crave cheesey goodness. Yes you can order a GF pie, but first you have to find a restaurant that actually does this. And since that is no where near my residence, I either have to eat it there or bring it back and risk it getting cold.

As I mentioned, I have found a wealth of recipes on Pinterest. Recipes that I could certainly Google but sometimes I don’t even know they exist. Like a gluten free deep dish pizza. This recipe was adapted by Gluten Free on a Shoestring (which is an amazing blog! The blogger gives you a recipe to make GF cinnamon toast crunch!!) from a recipe from Uno’s pizza. So my gluten friends, click here to learn more about the crust making process.

Here’s what you need for the crust:

• 2 cups of Bob’s Red Mill all purpose GF flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Xantham gum
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 tbsp instant yeast (I only had 1/2 tbsp and it worked out fine)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp canola oil
• 3/4 cup warm water (100 F)
• 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil for drizzling
• 8 or 9” cake pan

In a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients. Measure out your warm water and add the canola oil. In a steady stream, slowly add to the dry ingredients while the food processor is on. NOTE - you may not need all of the oil/water mixture. I used about 3/4 of it. The dough will form into a ball. If it’s too sticky, add more flour.

Place dough ball into another bowl and drizzle olive oil on it. Place somewhere warm and let rise for 60 minutes. It should double its size (mine did not - and it was fine!).

Preheat your oven to 425. Place dough on a piece of waxed paper and flatten a bit. Cover with another piece of waxed paper and pop in the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes until firm. Roll out into a circle to fit your cake pan. Grease cake pan with canola oil and gently flip the dough into it. Press down into the bottom and work your way up the sides. You may need to tear pieces to repair holes or build up the crust. This is okay - the crust is pretty sturdy.

To actually assemble the pizza, you can use any array of toppings. I bought fresh mozzarella which I cut into 1/4” slabs, fresh basil, homemade meat sauce and frozen peppers.

Start by laying down the cheese, then layer in your “toppings” (in my case the basil and peppers). Finish by spreading sauce over the top. I then grated some Asiago cheese on top. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the tip foil and bake for another 10. Let cool for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

It’s been three months since I cracked down hardcore on my gluten consumption. First of all, my knees feel amazing. The swelling went away, and whether this is a direct result of my diet or a milder winter, I’ll take it. Secondly, I FEEL better. I have to be more creative, really think about what I want to eat, and my friends have been really great in supporting my crazy food finding habits (who knew that Not Your Average Joe’s has a GF menu! So does Meyers & Chang, and a slew of other restaurants).

Of course, the one thing I miss terribly is homemade pasta. I just bought a pasta machine and hadn’t truly broken it in. Furthermore, I love, love, love making homemade ravioli. I recently joined Pinterest to see what all the hub-bub was about and let me tell you, if you’re a recipe hoarder, it’s the most amazing tool ever. Of course, please, please, please if you post someone’s recipe give them credit! Link back to their blog! I would hope that the same would be done for me.

So what gem did I find? Oh yes, a gluten free pasta recipe (a few in fact!) and something I could make more immediately - gnocchi. Those pillowy, yummy pieces of pasta and potato. Best day ever. If you want to make a gluten version, just replace the flour. Recipe was adapted from The Whole Gang.

Here’s what you need:

• 4 medium potatoes
• 1/2 cup of gluten free flour mix (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill but I’ve had much success with King Arthur as well)
• 1 tbsp of xantham gum (omit if you’re making these with regular gluten flour)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt

If you have the time, feel free to bake the potatoes in the oven (see Whole Gang recipe for instructions). I however, lack time after work, and popped those bad boys in the microwave. Follow instructions of your microwave. Once baked, remove and let cool so that you can handle. Scoop the innards into a large mixing bowl. I lack a potato ricer, so I used a hand mixer to fluff them up a bit. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix BY HAND gently until incorporated.

Make sure you have a clear work space and sprinkle some gluten free flour down to prevent sticking. I also put a piece of parchment paper down to help. Divide the dough in four and roll each into a long tube. It should measure about 1 1/2 feet when all said and done. Possibly longer if you grabbed more dough. Using a sharp knife, cut 1-inch sections off. Repeat with all the dough. If you wish to get real fancy, you can use a fork to indent the dough. But, I found this to be unnecessary since it doesn’t add to the flavor.

Boil a large pot of water and add in the gnocchi. Cook for approximately 5 minutes. Strain and serve.

It was recently James’ birthday and his favorite dessert of all time is funfetti cake. Given the gluten free diet, and the fact that we have always had trouble finishing a box of the cake in years previous, I decided to make it with a twist - in fudge form!

I found an awesome recipe on Pursuit of Hippieness, which I catered to my own needs. Here’s what you need:

• 1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• 3 1/2 cups of white chocolate chips
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup of rainbow sprinkles

Prepare a 9 x 13 pan by lining it with tin foil. Spray lightly with canoli oil/Pam.

Melt the white chocolate and milk together either in the microwave or over a pan of boiling water on the stove. The microwave, which is the easier route, is suspectible to burnage, so be careful! You don’t want thick and unusable fudge batter. All microwaves are different, so my recommendation is to put it at half power for two minutes, stopping every thirty seconds to stir. Then go from there.

Once all ingredients are melted, add the vanilla and almond and stir until incorporated. Add the sprinkles and quickly mix in as you don’t want them to melt.

Pour into prepared pan and smooth over. Let set for a few hours (the fridge will speed this process up) before cutting in.

Fresh basil. There is nothing that even compares. After pining over the recipe for more than a year, I decided to finally embark on a lemon basil risotto. Here’s what you need -

• 1 lemon rind, grated
• 1 cup of basil, shredded by hand
• 1 1/2 cups of risotto rice
• 5 cups of chicken broth
• 2 chicken breasts, baked and cubed
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

In a medium to large saucepan, heat your chicken broth until its simmering. Reduce the heat. Meanwhile, chop your onion, grate your lemon rind and tear you basil. Add olive oil to a large saucepan and heat for a minute. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the risotto rice and stir until well coated.

Adding a cup of broth at a time, stir the risotto until all of the broth has been absorbed. You can tell by dragging the spoon or spatula across the bottom and the line it makes won’t be filled in as soon as you move your spoon. Do so until all of the broth has been absorbed. Add the wine and cook for another minute or so.

Add in the lemon rind and basil. Stir to incorporate. If you’re adding chicken, now is the time to do so (recommend that you make the chicken breast in advance).

Serve with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and pepper.

I can’t take credit for this one - check out the recipe here - thanks Baby Cakes!

Ugh. I know. I’m a horrible blogger at the moment. But I promise, I have recipes.

Recently I decided to make twice baked sweet potatoes. The original recipe I came across was Asian inspired with miso paste and sesame seeds. But I love baked potatoes for butter and sour cream and bacon. And I would not do it any injustice.

Here’s what you need -

• 3 -4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp of rosemary, crushed fine
• 1 egg
• salt & pepper to taste
• 4 strips of bacon, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400. Place tin foil on a baking sheet and arrange potatoes on it. Pop in and cook for 40 - 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325. Cut potatoes in half. With four halves, scoop the baked potato out leaving about 1/4 - 1/2 inch of potato against the skin. Remove all of the potato from the other halves. Beat with a mixer until smooth. Add the butter, rosemary and egg and beat.

If you want to be fancy, you can put the potato mix into a piping bag. I had difficulty with this and ended up just plopping it into the skins. Place back into the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

When there’s 5 minutes left of cooking time, cook your chopped bacon in a frying pan according to package instructions. Sprinkle bacon on top of finished potatoes and serve.