March 18, 2012
comment 0

Deep Dish Pizza

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.

March 11, 2012
comment 0

Gluten Free Gnocchi

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.

March 11, 2012
comment 0

Funfetti fudge

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.

March 11, 2012
comment 0

Lemon Basil Risotto

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.

February 25, 2012
comment 0

Twice baked sweet potatoes

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.

February 5, 2012
comment 0

Pulled Pork

Shout out to my little bro who pulled this together (no pun intended!). His recipe? A lot of brown sugar, Frank’s hot sauce, 3 lbs of boneless pork something and a dutch oven. Oh, and lots of time.

February 5, 2012
comment 0

One Pot Beef Stew

Although I assume, that many beef stews are one pots. Unless you are making Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon. Which I have a done. And it took five hours. Maybe longer. I cant remember. It was good, but five hours good? I don’t know…

Anyway, we had some leftover steak in the fridge. Not enough to warrant a meal on its own though. So I decided to make beef stew. This recipe is pretty forgivable and you could add or subtract any variety of items.

Here’s what you need –

  • 1 – 2 pounds boneless chuck/steak/stew beef, cut into 1 inch cubed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and cubed
  • 3 medium carrots, scrubbed, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
  • 2 stalks of celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 tbsp of tapioca flour
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 cup red wine

Preheat the oven to 325F. Combine all of the ingredients together in a 3.5 quart (or larger) dutch oven minus the wine. Toss the tapioca and spices to evenly coat the meat and vegetables. Pop into the oven, stirring every hour for three hours. Pour the red wine in at the second stirring (two hours in) and stir to combine.

January 14, 2012
comment 0

Steak & Rosemary Potatoes

This is  more about the potatoes. I didn’t do anything interesting to the steak. I didn’t need to (we splurged on a nice cut). Nice cuts of steak mean salt, pepper, a little olive oil or butter and a hot pan.

Rosemary potatoes on the other hand – need a bit more attention. Here’s what you need –

  • 1 lb of potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/2” pieces
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary (but fresh would taste better, so if you have that, use it)
  • 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a medium skillet on high and add olive oil. Heat for a moment, then add your peeled and chopped potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until the potatoes start to soften. Add rosemary, and stir to incorporate. Cook for another 5 – 6 minutes until potatoes are soft and you can pierce them with a fork. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

January 8, 2012
comment 0

Carrot Cake

My mom’s favorite cake in the whole wide world (or one of them at least) is Alton Brown’s carrot cake (recipe here). So I know you aren’t supposed to alter Alton’s recipes. They are perfected. They are science. But we’ve changed things out due to allergies and diets. Spelt flour for wheat flour. Egg replacers for eggs. You get the picture. Given my new experiment, I needed a lower gluten flour then spelt, and I will be honest, I was a bit nervous. 

But this cake is hands down, one of the best things I have ever made – with or without gluten. Again, recipe below will tell you how to make both versions, and I encourage you to try one of them out!

I also apologize, but I didn’t take a picture before we hacked into the cake. That said, please enjoy a view of what it looked like after four adults and a child were set upon it after dinner.

Here’s what you need –

  • 12 ounces of grated carrots
  • 2 1/2 cups of flour (I used King Arthur’s gluten free all purpose flour + 1 tsp of xantham gum)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 6 ounces vanilla or plain yogurt
  • 6 ounces of canola oil

If you have a food processor, this cake is a breeze. If not, take into consideration that grating carrots can take a long time. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Using the grater attachment for the food processor, finely grate your carrots. Toss the carrots in the bowl with flour and mix to coat.

Add the sugar, eggs and yogurt into the food processor and blend until smooth. With the food processor still running, slowly drizzle in the oil. Combine the sugar mixture with the flour mixture. Pour into a greased 9” inch round cake pan. I cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom given that gluten free baking can be fickle, but this might save you from stress with a gluten cake as well.

Pop your cake into the oven for 45 minutes on 350. Lower the temperature to 325 and bake for an additional 20 – 25 minutes. (Mine took 30)

Let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes then flip out onto a wire rack and cool the rest of the way (approximately 90 minutes).

Top with cream cheese frosting. (Oh you want to know how I made that to? Sorry Alton, but this version is mine).

  • 4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick of butter, softened
  • 4 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extra

Beat the cream cheese and butter for a few minutes on medium speed with an electric mixer / stand mixer. Add the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar in four batches and continue to beat until fluffy.

Happy birthday, Mom!