Gluten-free Belgian Waffles

I love waffles... I mean really LOVE waffles.  That crispy crusty exterior... That light, fluffy, slightly chewy interior... Buttermilk, blueberry, butter pecan... With butter, plain and dry, drenched in syrup.  Doesn't matter, I love them all, particularly deep-welled Belgian Waffles.  I used to delight in going to hotels with a breakfast bar and the magical flippy waffle iron - I'd make myself one of those bad boys every morning and savor the chew and crisp of this breakfast staple.

Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and my days of relishing in Belgian waffles came to a screeching halt.  I was forced to eat frozen waffles.  I don't mind frozen waffles... but I certainly don't love them, either.  I was more than a little annoyed.  But I persevered, I ate my frozen gluten-free waffles,  I used them for creative cooking methods  (check out my dressing recipe), I dutifully toasted them and tried to enjoy them.  But I was missing my Belgian waffles.

I received some Amazon gift cards for Christmas this past year, and I couldn't think of anything I really desperately wanted to spend them for... I thought I might save them up for a big purchase, then I thought that I might just use them for some GF essentials from the Amazon grocery market (a great place to shop, by the way!)

Then I remembered my love of deep-welled waffles, and I decided to treat myself to a waffle iron.  I used to have one that was a clamshell-style, and I never liked it because the batter wouldn't spread correctly.  I wanted one of those flippy hotel-style wafflers, but I certainly didn't want to spend a ton of cash for one.  I managed to find this Oster brand Belgian waffle maker for under $30, and it does the job just great!  It heats quickly and evenly,  it browns the waffles really well, it is non-stick (although I give it a light spray of canola oil before each waffle, just to be safe).

I tinkered with a waffle recipe that I found in an old cookbook, and here's the final result - a perfectly fluffy, chewy, crispy waffle, and enough to feed your family on a cold winter morning, or (in my case) to make ahead and freeze for ease of prep later.  This makes 5-6 large round Belgian waffles.

What you'll need: 

4 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour (I use Better Batter brand AP flour - my favorite for GF cooking!)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 egg yolks

1.5 cups buttermilk (or soured whole milk - add 2 tablespoons vinegar to 1.5 cups milk and let sit 3 minutes)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup turbinado or raw cane sugar - the larger the granule, the better!

Directions: 

Preheat your waffle iron per the manufacturer's instructions.

Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks;  add the sugar and continue to whip until you reach stiff peaks.  Set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. set aside.

Beat the egg yolks, buttermilk, and vanilla together and dump into the flour mixture.  stir just until combined  - a few lumps are OK!   Add about 1/4 of the whipped egg whites, beat into the batter to lighten a bit.  add the remaining egg whites in two batches - fold in to the batter to combine without losing too much volume.  Once the batter is completed, stir in the turbinado sugar.  This is an optional ingredient, but it really helps the waffles get a crispy browned crust, so I definitely recommend it! 

Prepare your pre-heated waffle iron by lightly spritzing with some canola oil.  add about 3/4-1 cup of batter (this will be trial and error - depends on the volume of your waffler) and close the lid;  cook to a golden-browned finish.  If you're saving the waffles for later, I recommend removing them directly to a cooling rack to avoid any moisture build-up.  Once cooled, wrap each waffle in waxed paper or plastic wrap and place in a zip-top freezer bag.  Freeze for up to 6 weeks.  

Zucchini Casserole

This is a great recipe to use any kind of squash - zucchini, yellow squash, etc....  I actually used Mexican squash, which is very similar to zucchini in texture and flavor.  Enjoy!

6 cups sliced zucchini squash  (about 3 medium zucchinis; 5-6 smaller Mexican squash)
1 bar cream cheese, softened in microwave
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup grated Romano Cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix the cheeses and spices together, add the tomatoes and zucchini.  Pour into a 2 quart greased casserole dish.

Topping:

1 1/4 cups corn flake crumbs (can also use bread crumbs if you'd like, but I had gluten-free corn flake crumbs on-hand for this)
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted

mix topping all together; sprinkle evenly over top of zucchini mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour; until the squash is softened and the crumb topping browns.

BBQ & This Slaw Go Together Like Bacon & Anything

I am being perfectly honest when I say I am NOT a coleslaw fan.  I tend to avoid the mayonnaise-y creamy slaw on any menu, even if I'm chowing down on some killer BBQ.  Per nearly every BBQ connoisseur I know, these two Southern staples are supposed to go together.  Personally,  I prefer not to defile that smoky goodness with an average coleslaw.  Very rarely will I step outside of my slaw-snobbery comfort zone and try something different... occasionally with favorable results. 

When we were on our annual summer baseball trip, we stopped at this fantastic little BBQ joint in Milwaukee's Third Ward, the Smoke Shack.  This detour was at the recommendation of our tour guide, Mike, from Untapped Tours. (thanks, Mike!!)  The Smoke Shack had a diverse menu, covering everything from Texas BBQ to Carolina sauce, and they had a few items highlighted on the menu as being gluten free (which always catches my eye).

To the best of my memory and ability, I've reverse-engineered a pretty darn close version of the Smoke Shack's Vinegar Slaw... a good thing, too, since it's about 400 miles each way to get another helping otherwise!  

Ingredients:

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated

1 Gala apple, peeled & cored, grated

1/4 sweet Vidalia onion, grated

1/4 cup raisins (Thompson or golden, doesn't matter), chopped fine

1.5 pounds red cabbage, grated (for reference, I had a 2.6 pound head of cabbage and used about 2/3 of it after coring and peeling the outside leaves)

Combine above ingredients in a large glass bowl; set aside.  

Note - for all of the "grated" or "chopped" items, I used my trusty old food processor...  God love the folks at Cuisinart for making my life a bit easier!! 

Dressing:

1.5 teaspoons celery salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

2/3 cup tarragon vinegar or champagne vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Place all of the dressing ingredients in the bowl of the food processor, cover and pulse to combine.  Toss with the cabbage mixture; allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.   Store leftovers in a glass or plastic bowl in the fridge.  I wouldn't recommend storing in metal bowls, since flavors can be turned with the acid/metal combo. 

Gluten Freedom in... Detroit?

Yesterday the Mr. and I drove up to Detroit for a Tigers Game.  (One of these days I'll tell more tales, but we are on a quest to hit every ballpark in the MLB/MiLB systems... more on this another time).  It was a 4:08 start time, so we had time to kind of meander up there from Columbus, stopping along the way for lunch between my stretches as an amateur race car driver on I-75.  Before we left, I looked up some food options in the Detroit metro area - gluten free, but not necessarily chain-type restaurants if we could avoid them.  I didn't see too many restaurant options (although we had a fantastic late lunch at Maggiano's Little Italy - a great GF option if you're near one);  but what I did find was a wee little bakery out on Five Mile Road west of Detroit.  The place?  Rumi's Passion Bakery.  The goods?  INCREDIBLE. Once we found the place - no small feat since it's kind of buried in a strip mall between some industrial areas and some older homes - we wandered inside... the first thing I noticed was how normal it looked.  Not your typical sprout-eating-cane-juice-sweetening-Birkenstock-wearing-dread-sporting kind of specialty bakery, but it looked like a cute little mom and pop place. Normal. Nothing scary, no ingredients I couldn't pronounce, no vacuum-sealed sawdust-tasting science projects for $12 a piece.  They had fancy decorated birthday cakes in the cooler case..  fresh bread baguettes cooling by the counter...  it all looked so good!!   I wanted one of EVERYTHING!!   I picked up some pita bread (fluffy and not chewy at all); some crusty foccacia rolls (perfectly herbed and salted); some apricot kolacki (Polish cookies that are positively to die for) and some Rosemary and Olive bread that was so good, I forgot it was gluten free!  We polished (haha) off the kolacki before we even got home from the road-trip, and the rest of the items were meticulously packed, labeled and frozen for later use. My only regret in going there is that it's a strictly local bakery.. they don't have online sales, although they do work through a third-party vendor if you want items shipped.  Personally, I think it's worth the drive for the kolaki.  Just saying...

As an aside,  it was a great ball game -  an afternoon game in Detroit on a cloudless warm spring day, so there was a near sell-out crowd.  It was hotter than blue blazes up in the nosebleeds where we were sitting, and I of course forgot to pack the sunscreen... but the good folks at Comerica Park were kind enough to give me two complimentary sunscreen towelettes when I went to the Guest Services booth to ask which souvenir shop sold first aid items in the stadium.  I was SUPER impressed with this, as I've been to many a Reds game and never encountered this kind of hospitality!  Kudos to the folks of the Detroit Tigers organization for running such a fan-friendly ballpark!

Gluten-Free Strawberry Shortcake

5 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1-1/2 cups GF All-purpose flour blend 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (if your flour blend does not already contain this)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced Sugar or sweetener to taste

Whipped cream and milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and slice your strawberries; add your sweetener of choice and set aside.

Cream together sugar and butter; add the sour cream, vanilla, and egg and mix well. Add all of the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet –you’ll make a total of 8 shortcakes.

Bake for 12-14 minutes; I usually turn the pan about halfway through the baking time so these brown evenly. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

When cool enough to handle, place one shortcake in a bowl (you can crumble this up if you’d like) and top with a scoop of the strawberries and some whipped cream. I like to pour a little milk over everything to soften up the shortcake; this is optional, but delicious!

Ripping Off Recipes From The Finest Dining Establishments

The Mr. and I visited a new restaurant last weekend to try their fare...  Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant, located at Easton Town Center in Columbus.  I'd been wanting to try it for a while (it opened in November) but hadn't had a good excuse to go up there... plus, I generally don't like to go to Easton for dinner because of the crowds.  Friday night we were out at a friend's house for karaoke and another friend (host friend's cousin, in fact) who was there had just come from dinner at Cooper's Hawk and was raving about the food... I made my mind up right then and there that I'd be visiting very soon!

Saturday morning I got a late start after some peaceful minutes hours sleeping in... I decided I didn't feel like cooking for lunch, and I didn't want to go to one of our usual haunts - a local Mexican restaurant, or a local Greek restaurant.  I said to the Mr., "get in the car, we're going out!" and I headed north toward Easton.

We got right in at Cooper's Hawk, and I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to see that they have an extensive gluten-free menu (including sandwiches - the Holy Grail of restaurant fare when you can't have 'normal' bread!).  I wasn't feeling a sandwich for lunch, though, so I opted for their Napa Chopped Chicken Salad, which is described on the menu as, "Chopped Iceberg and Spring Mix, Tossed in Our Honey Mustard Vinaigrette with Apples, Goat Cheese, Dried Cherries, Corn, Avocado, Toasted Almonds, Cilantro, Tomatoes, and Rotisserie Chicken."

The service was impeccable, the wine was lovely, the salad was positively delicious, and I of course decided that the entire experience needed to be replicated at home (minus the trip to Easton and the gratuity!)

I switched up some of the ingredients as my memory is not so sharp when I'm tromping through the grocery store like a stark-raving lunatic because I'm hungry... but the results were still pretty fabulous!

California Chopped Chicken Salad

makes 2-3 dinner-sized portions

1 small head sweet gem lettuce, chopped, washed, and drained well
1 small head frisee lettuce, chopped, washed, and drained well
1 small head red oak lettuce, chopped, washed, and drained well
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, washed, and drained well
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen and thawed whole kernel corn (optional - meaning, "if you remember it")
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts or almonds
1/4 cup orange juice
1 small ripe avocado, diced (optional, if they're in season)
1 Gala apple, cored and chopped
1 medium rotisserie chicken breast, chopped fine - about 2/3 - 1 cup of meat
4 ounces of your favorite soft or semi-soft cheese.  I used Feta as that's what I had on-hand.

Toss the avocado and apple in the orange juice to prevent browning;  add all other ingredients and set aside.

Dressing:

1/3 cup of your favorite prepared honey-mustard dressing
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon lime juice

Mix or shake the dressing until well blended;  pour over the salad, toss well to coat, and serve immediately with a glass of your favorite crisp white California wine.

Enjoy!

Semi-Homemade... Yep, I'll Take That!

I was trying to think of some kind of muffins or quick bread to make today, as I was having a neighbor over this evening for coffee and a chat..  I didn't have any gluten-free muffin mixes on-hand, which would have made things loads easier!!  I miss the good old days of taking a packet of mix out of the pantry; adding some milk, and whipping up some (mostly) palatable muffins in just a minute or two.  *sigh*

I decided that I wanted some lemon poppyseed muffins.  I'd been talking with another GF baking enthusiast at work last week about lemon poppy bread, and I figured I'd try my hand at creating a quick and easy recipe.

I took a pre-packaged gluten-free vanilla cake mix from Bobs Red mill  which is roughly the same volume/weight as your typical store-bought cake mix.  (the Betty Crocker GF yellow cake mix is also good, but if my memory serves, it's a smaller package - maybe 14 ounces?)

Add one small (3 ounce) package of instant lemon pudding mix..  As a side note, I learned today that Jell-O/Kraft Foods website neither confirms nor denies the existence of gluten in their products; however they are crystal-clear about their ingredient labeling.  They will disclose the origin of any "starch" by indicating that it is "starch (contains wheat)".. or barley or rye or triticale, if that happens to be the starch base.   Armed with this information, I felt that I could be confident enough to use a Jell-O branded product, since it did not contain any of these disclosures on the label.

Add 1/4 cup of bottled lemon juice, or fresh if you have it.  If you do have some fresh lemons, make sure to grate the zest and use this, too, as this is where all of the 'zing' of lemon lies! When you're grating the zest, make sure you don't get down into the pith - the white layer just under the yellow part.  My preferred method of attack is with a Microplane zester.  Today I didn't have any fresh lemons on-hand, so I used bottled juice, which worked out just fine!

Add 3/4 cup of water; 1/2 cup of vegetable oil; 4 eggs.  Stir this all together until well-blended, and use a 2-ounce scoop to portion the batter out into muffin tins lined with papers.  You'll end up with 24 muffins if you scoop them just about heaping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes.  I have an older oven, so I like to turn/rotate my tins halfway through for even baking.   They're done when the crown of the muffin is just lightly golden-browned.  Remove from the oven, and remove the muffins to a cooling rack as soon as you can.  If you're like me and believe that your fingers are coated in asbestos, feel free to pick them up one at a time while they're still rocket hot... if you're smart, you'll flip the pan onto the cooling rack and then flip the muffins with some tongs!

Store any leftovers (if you have any) in a zip-top bag for up to 4 days.

On the Run (again!)

Today I am once again guest-blogging over at my friend Bonnie's page, The Not-So-Modern Housewife.  Check out my recipe for gluten-free deep-dish pizza, and I guarantee you won't look at wheat pizza dough the same way again!   Happy Friday!!

Project Avocado Tree (and Guacamole!)

A few weeks back I was making some lovely guacamole and I thought to myself, "Self, we should figure out how to grow these yummy little fruits so we don't have to spend our hard earned cash on them any longer."  (Yes, I do occasionally address myself in the third person, and include 'Self' and 'me' as a grouping of people collectively referred to as "we".  Don't be a hater.)

Anyway, I was scheming to make as much guac as possible, with minimal investment.  I figured that I live in Ohio so growing limes is probably out...  ok, we can buy those at the grocery.  Onions have always seemed a little too complicated, plus I've got the chipmunks from hell in my backyard - they especially like tulip bulbs, but really any bulb-like growth is good enough for them to hone their choppers.   I already grow tomatoes, serranos and cilantro in the summertime, so short of digging a salt mine in my basement, I can procure most of the ingredients from my own property when they're in season.

I started by carefully removing the pits from two avocados. This is a lot more difficult as it sounds, because I usually go on auto-pilot and give those pits a good whack to get the heel of my chef's knife to stick in there, then I twist the pit out and pop it off from the backside of the blade with a pinch.   If you're not planning to save your pits, you can follow this process.  (I like to think of it as sort of a culinary voodoo doll - highly therapeutic.  LOL)

I set the pits off to the side for later usage as cash cows trees and set to work chopping the avocado into chunks.  Place these in a bowl, and sprinkle with about two tablespoons of lemon or lime juice.  *Note* I am not a purist, and will never require someone to squeeze juice from fresh citrus.  Dollar for dollar, bottled juices are a much better value, even if you purchase an organic brand.  I do recommend that you get a natural juice product, and not the imitation juices that come in a fruit-shaped squeezy bottle in the produce department.  They're cute, but they're not very tasty.  Toss the avocado with the juice of your choice and set this aside.

Finely chop up a bit (maybe a tablespoon or two) of sweet or red onion, whatever you have on hand, and add this to the chunked-up avocado.  Chop a small handful of cilantro and add this to the mix. Add a bit of chopped hot pepper if you desire - this can either be garden-fresh, or a couple of slices of pickled jalapenos from a jar.  Sprinkle in some salt to taste, mash it around a bit with a fork if you want a smoother texture, then you can either stop right here, or you can funk up your guac the way I do - with chopped tomatoes.

To say that I love tomatoes is an understatement.  When I was a child, I steadfastly refused to eat salads, so my mom would prepare me a special salad that consisted of chopped tomatoes and Marzetti's Sweet and Sour dressing.  (I still love my tomatoes served that way!)  I'll eat them chopped, stewed, pureed, mashed, juiced... even plucked fresh from the vine and munched like an apple.  So I always add tomato to my guacamole, but I leave out the tomato seeds since they can get bitter in a hurry.  You can try to seed the tomatoes by quartering and squeezing them, or you can use my method - I call it Being Cheeky.

First I take the bottom off of a tomato (I prefer Romas, for their relative lack of seeds and goo). 

Then I stand the tomato up on that flat bottom, and take my knife down the side to take off a "cheek"

Repeat this process around the entire tomato, and push out the seeds.  You can pitch the core, or use it in another recipe if you need some tomato flesh without the skin. 

Dice the tomato finely, add this to the guacamole, and either refrigerate before serving, or serve right away at room temperature.  I sometimes like to get a little fancy and serve it in the avocado shells like this:

Store your leftover guacamole (what's that?) in a container with a lid in the fridge.  If you press some plastic wrap down on the surface, this will help to prevent browning.  Keeps for up to three days.  

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Part II - The Avocado Tree.  To Be Continued... 

(Even Better Than) Cheddar Bay Biscuits!!!

If you like the biscuits at Red Lobster, try these knock-offs some time... pure buttery deliciousness!   Mind you, they're not low-fat by any means... but that's OK!  Everything in moderation...  (haha - yeah, right...  not with these little garlicky delights!)

Cheddar Biscuit Dough:


2 1/2 cups AP flour   (if you're gluten-free, use Better Batter AP Flour mix - works perfectly without modifications!)

1 T Baking Powder

2 t sugar

1/4 t salt

1/2 t cayenne pepper

1/2 t granulated garlic

1 stick (8 T) butter, softened at room temperature

1 1/4 c sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 c sour cream

1 1/4 c milk


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix all of the dry ingredients, then use a fork or pastry blender to blend the butter in well. Stir in the sour cream and milk just until blended.  spoon into a greased 9x13 baking pan - this will make between 15-18 good-sized biscuits.  Spoon over half of the butter garlic topping (recipe below), then bake for 17-20 minutes or until browned; as soon as you remove these from the oven, spoon over the reserved half of the topping. 

 Butter Garlic Topping:


1 stick salted butter
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried parsley


Combine these 3 ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup; set on medium power for 2 minutes.  stir well before using.

If you're feeling adventurous and want to shoot for complete authenticity, make yourself some shrimp scampi or crab-stuffed lobster tails to go along with the biscuits...  but who am I kidding?  These are perfect to eat as a meal all on their own - just wash down with a Diet Coke and you're set!   Just remember to be careful and don't burn your tongue trying to scarf these down right out of the oven...

Casserole? Yes, I Think I'll Have Some Of That.

Casseroles are the backbone of the American dinner table.  They are side dishes, main dishes, appetizers, and even dessert sometimes (cobblers are created in casserole dishes, are they not?).   The word 'casserole' dates back to late 16th century France, when it was used to describe a cooking vessel.  Classically, a casserole dish has these traits: A large, deep-dish pan used both in the oven or as a serving vessel; often made of glass, Pyrex, or stoneware, but also can be made of iron (cast or enameled).  Casserole also describes the food prepared in such a vessel - usually slow-cooked in the oven; sometimes a side dish, and sometimes the main event.   The most well-known of casseroles have recipes that have been handed down for generations... Shepherd's Pie, Lasagna, Green Bean Casserole.... eh - not quite!  That last one snuck in under the wire and was actually invented in the 1950's by none other than the Campbell's Soup Company.  We'll tackle this Thanksgiving bad boy in another post... with the canned soup and fried onions, it's a gluten-lovers' paradise (and every Celiac's worst nightmare).


Casseroles are all about saving time, saving dishes, and feeding your ravenous family with a hearty meal that pleases just about everyone.   Two of my favorite casseroles were, until recently, off-limits as they are not gluten-free in their original incarnations:  Potatoes au Gratin, and Scalloped Corn.   The former is a dinner classic - serve it with any meat dish, and it's found a perfect dancing partner.  Potatoes au Gratin is a versatile and delicious dish that can be made using any cheese you have on hand, any potatoes (Russets, Sweet Potatoes, Yukon Golds) and can be made with any flavor accent in the background - maybe a lovely chicken base or some herbs).

The latter casserole, Scalloped Corn, is what I believe to be more or less my mom's invention.  Most folks know "corn casserole" as the gooey, gluey and (sometimes) gritty incarnation containing sour cream, Jiffy mix, and cream-style corn.  Personally, I've never been a fan of this particular dish - I mean, who combines corn and sour cream?  Do you put sour cream and chives on your corn-on-the-cob?  No?  Didn't think so...     Scalloped corn in my mom's kitchen contains cream-style corn, saltine crackers, eggs, sugar and salt.  Simple? Absolutely.  Here's the catch - gluten-free saltine crackers are both (a) ridiculously expensive, and (b) not readily available in my pantry.... so they were promptly kicked out of the recipe!

Luckily for you, my dear reader, I've found an acceptable substitute that works...  corn flakes!!  Here's some food for thought: You could theoretically have corn flakes in every course of your meal, if you play your cards right...   corn flake-encrusted baked chicken (a la Shake & Bake); corn casserole as a side dish, and corn flake/peanut butter krispy bars for dessert.    If this meal doesn't sound appealing (and glycemic-index coma-inducing...) I don't know what does!

Hope you enjoy my recipes!   Sorry for the lack of pictures... will have to add some the next time I'm cookin'!



Corn Casserole (also known as Scalloped Corn)

1 can (15 ounce) cream-style corn (DelMonte was GF at last check... but always verify before using!!)
1 can (15 ounce) whole-kernel corn, drained
2 large eggs, beaten
1.5 cups GF Corn Flakes (Nature's Path or Erewhon are good choices)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
cooking spray

In zip-top freezer bag,  beat and crush the cornflakes into submission (or into crumbs - your call).
Mix the crumbs with all of the other ingredients in a large bowl.  Prepare your 1-1/2 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray; pour the corn mixture into the dish and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned on top and the center is "set".



Scalloped Potatoes (Potatoes au Gratin)

4-5 medium potatoes, scrubbed clean.  no need to peel unless you are using a tough-skinned sweet potato
4 tablespoons sweet white rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice - cheddar, co-Jack, Gruyere, or Parmesan are all excellent choices
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt (approximate - you'll use this throughout)
4 tablespoons butter, cut into thin pats

In a greased 1-1/2 quart casserole, place a layer of potato slices.  You can use a mandoline, or if you're like me (and prefer to keep your knuckles intact) use a knife and slice these about 1/4 inch thick.
Sprinkle evenly with salt, then sprinkle with about a tablespoon of the sweet white rice flour, then about 1/3 cup of the cheese.  Place a few of the thin pats of butter on top of the cheese - distribute evenly around the dish.  Repeat this (potatoes/salt/flour/cheese/butter) until you run out of everything.
Mix the sour cream and milk in a bowl, add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to this mixture, and black pepper to taste (optional).  Pour this over the potatoes in the dish.  Shake the pan all around lightly until the liquid seems to settle in between the layers..  if needed you may add up to another cup of milk.  You will not want the milk to cover the potato layers completely, but maybe about 3/4 of the way up ought to do nicely.

For turbo potatoes,  use a round casserole dish and cook these in the microwave on high for 10-12 minutes.  Once the potatoes have softened, you can transfer this dish to a pre-heated oven to finish with whatever else you're already baking (corn casserole, perhaps?).   If you have a broiler-safe dish, all the better!   Turn that broiler of yours on low and let those potatoes get nice and bubbly and browned.  If you don't have a broiler-safe dish, no worries...  just bake at 350 for another 20-25 minutes (after the microwave time).  Remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes to allow these to thicken slightly as they cool.

If you're not in a hurry, bake these the old-fashioned way - about 60-70 minutes in a 350 degree oven.   Check for doneness by taking a paring knife and poking one of the potato slices - if it slides off easily, they're done.  If the knife blade stays in, you've got some more baking to do...

Comfort Food

Macaroni and Cheese is one of those things that you love during your childhood... it gets you through the picky-eater phase, then it becomes a staple as you grow... eventually it is a necessity, along with ramen noodles, cup-o-soups, and PB&J as you make your way through early (really broke) adulthood and into the world of the responsible (not-so-broke).  It never really goes away; just morphs over time to suit your ever changing tastes.  I've been to some frou-frou restaurants that have lobster or truffle mac & cheese on the menu... no thanks!  Don't ruin my cheesy goodness with $30/pound "sprinkles" that I'm just going to pick out anyway!

When I figured out that I was going to have to eat GF for good, I was worried.  Really worried that I would have to give up my favorite mac & cheese.  It is fortified with all of the good things in life... whole grain pasta, lots of cheese, sour cream, and just a pinch of love.  Fortunately, I was able to find a gluten-free alternative to whole-grain pasta.  So many of the GF pastas on the market have a very short window of opportunity for consuming... they go from al dente to school paste in a nano-second.  The only pasta I've found that I can put my stamp of approval on is corn-based pasta, specifically the pastas from Sam Mills.  Pasta d'Oro is my now go-to product for any of my favorite pasta-based dishes.  This product can usually be found in the organic/natural food section at many Kroger stores, but it also can be purchased in bulk on Amazon.com.  I like the rigatoni and fusilli shapes the best, but the penne rigate and lasagna corte are pretty fantastic, too!

Because I love you, my friends, I am happy to share my recipe for one of the best baked mac & cheese dishes I've ever encountered.  It's an adaptation on the mac & cheese served at Hoggy's Barn and Grille in New Albany, Ohio.  Their side dishes are all pretty incredible, but the mac & cheese is totally out of this world!!

GF Mac & Cheese

1 pound GF pasta, cooked al dente (please salt your cooking water!); drain and set aside to cool
20-24 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese (more if you're a cheese lover, less if you're ambivalent)
2 cups sour cream
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

fold all ingredients together until well combined.  Transfer to a greased 9x13 casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  This can be served as a side dish, or as a meal all on its own!

On The Run!!!

This week I have the honor of guest blogging on my friend Bonnie's page, The Not So Modern Housewife.  Bonnie and I have known each other since we were in grade school, and she's always had a fantastic can-do attitude which I've envied tremendously!  She and I were both proud members of our high school's FFA chapter, selling fruit and fresh-pressed cider (yum!) every fall , and attending state competitions and conventions together.  Bonnie is also an accomplished culinarian, currently studying Baking and Pastry at the Art Institute of Tampa. She also serves in the Air National Guard, teaching chemical warfare defense (how cool is that???)  Bonnie resides in Florida with her husband Matt, son Henry, and a menagerie of animals on their family homestead.

Catch up with my cooking adventures over on Bonnie's page this week... and stay tuned here with the Mad Hatter for more recipes, home-improvement mayhem and laughs!

Banana Almond Muffins

Just a short little blurb today...  getting stuff together for a weekend trip so I'll be rushing around the house gathering things and tossing it all in my car! :-)

Of all of the fruit-based breads, Banana Bread is my hands-down favorite...of course, it doesn't hurt that it lends itself very well to gluten-free recipe conversion.  I just made some delicious banana almond muffins, so I had to share the recipe!

Banana Nut Bread Muffins

1 stick margarine or butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar**
2 eggs
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 medium to large ripe bananas, mashed well
2 cups Bob's Red Mill GF AP Flour (or your favorite AP flour mix)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional - if your AP flour doesn't already contain it)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sliced toasted almonds

**NOTE - I used demerara sugar this time around, which is coarser crystals.  This probably contributed to the awesome texture of the muffins!


Beat the sugar and butter together. Add the bananas, vanilla and eggs and mix very well.  Add all of your dry ingredients (including almonds) and beat for about a minute until thoroughly combined. Spoon batter into muffin tins prepared with liner papers.  Bake at 350 degrees - for mini-muffins you'll want to go for about 12-14 minutes;  regular sized muffins 18-21 minutes.  I recommend rotating pans about halfway through baking for even results.  Remove from pans immediately after these come out of the oven and cool on wire racks.  Store in an airtight container or zipper bag.

The Perfect (Gluten Free) Holiday Dressing

Jingle bells, light displays, snow flurries... and family get-togethers centered over smorgasbords of epic proportion.  Ah, it's the holidays... and as a gluten-avoider, this is a perfect time to get a jump-start on our New Year's Resolution diet!

This can be a rough time of year for all of us newly-minted gluten-intolerant folks - the ones who are still lamenting the loss of such conveniences as Hamburger Helper, boxed mac and cheese, and of course, Stovetop Stuffing.  Stovetop used to be a fixture in my household - I would use it for casserole bases, meatloaf, meatballs, etc...  You give me Stovetop, canned soup and ketchup, I give you twelve different main dishes that will knock the socks off of any picky eaters!  I should have bought stock in Stovetop, I'll tell ya...

For Thanksgiving this year I was craving a "real" bread dressing - not something that's cornbread or rice-based.   Something with a crispy top crust, a chewy and somewhat dense middle, and something not bogged down with tons of veggies, nuts, sausage, fruits and other fillers to make it feel like it had some substance.  I didn't want to have to bake my own GF bread, either - entirely too much trouble when I've already got the rest of the Turkey Day menu to make!   Commercially prepared GF breads were out, too -  They're fine for toasting for sandwiches, but the second that moisture hits them they usually crumble into a wet pile of sawdust - yummy, huh?  

What, then, did I decide to use for this seemingly impossible feat?   

Waffles.

That's right - Waffles.  Those unsung heroes of the breakfast table... those multi-tasking bread-like discs of crispy, chewy, buttery delight.  My local grocery (Giant Eagle) happened to be clearance-ing out Van's Wheat-Free Waffles, so I treated this as a Sign of the Stuffing Prophecy.

As of last week, my backyard garden was still managing to produce some sage and thyme sprigs (despite a few heavy freezes),  so I thought these were the perfect herbs to include in my stuffing recipe!  You are welcome to use any herbs you like, or dried versions of any of the herbs in the recipe.  I'm not an herb snob - if you have quality dehydrated herbs, they can still pack a solid punch of flavor if they're steeped properly.

Give this a try - I hope you'll agree that it's a hearty and authentic-tasting twist on your traditional holiday dressing recipe! If you're not a gluten-avoider, I think this recipe would still be great to make with some Eggo Waffles - just that crispy-chewy texture is enough to make most folks' hearts melt (and their cholesterol skyrocket).  Just beware of the Blueberry or Cinnamon waffles... I don't think these would quite do the recipe justice.

Gluten Free Waffle Dressing

2 boxes (12 waffles)  Van's Wheat-Free/Gluten-Free Totally Natural Waffles
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage (about 8-10 leaves)
1 teaspoon (2-3 medium sprigs) minced fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes)
pinch of dried savory leaves
pinch of granulated garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup GF chicken stock


Toast the waffles to a deep golden brown (1-1/2 cycles in the toaster ought to do it nicely).  Remove these to a cooling rack and set aside.

In a large saute pan, heat the butter.  Saute the onions and celery for a few minutes or until translucent. Add the herbs, then remove from heat and stir in the stock and spices.  Allow this to cool for about 10 minutes.

While you're waiting for the stock mixture to cool, chop your toasted waffles into 1/2 inch cubes and prepare a medium casserole dish with non-stick spray or butter.

Beat the eggs into the stock mixture, then toss all of this with the cubed waffles and allow this to soak for just a minute or two.  If it feels dry, add some more stock.  You might have to use closer to 1-1/2 cups; but you'll have to decide this when you are preparing it since individual tastes and texture preferences vary.
Transfer the mixture to your prepared casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until the top is crusty.  Serve with gravy, if desired.

Breakfast Casseroles Rock

Tomorrow we're having a potluck at work, which generally is a minefield of culinary disasters when we're talking gluten avoidance.   I have the good fortune to work with some really awesome people who understand my food *quirk* and seem to humor me at times, bringing fresh veggies, cheese cubes, chips and salsa, and other GF yummies for our team potlucks.  My personal contribution to our potlucks (better known as "Eat Days" in our office) used to be any number of homemade baked goods - fresh breads, cinnamon rolls, etc... or even the occasional breakfast casserole made with brioche or baguette.  No more, my friends.  Now I have to think about my dear friend Gluten and his buddies Stomach Cramp and Fatigue.  Bah.  And so I've re-formulated my breakfast casserole recipes, and I think I've hit upon a successful and delicious option that will please gluten-avoiders and gluten-eaters alike - a Western omelet for a crowd.

Western Omelet Breakfast Casserole

1 bag (20 ounces) refrigerated shredded potatoes
2 bell peppers - any color - diced
1 medium to large sweet onion, diced
8-10 ounces cooked ham, diced  (turkey ham works well here, too)
8-10 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
1 dozen eggs
1-1/2 cups 2% or whole milk
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

In a greased 9x13 casserole, spread the potatoes in an even layer, then set aside.
in a large skillet, saute the peppers and onions in butter until softened - about 6-8 minutes.  Spread evenly over the potatoes in the casserole dish.
Saute the diced ham for a few minutes - just to pick up some of the brown crumblies on the bottom of the pan.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, salt, and peppers.  Pour over the contents of the casserole dish, then sprinkle all of this with the shredded cheddar.

Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour, or until the eggs are "set".   Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15-20 minutes before serving.  Serve with salsa or Tabasco sauce, if desired.

Bread!!!

Anyone who has attempted to make gluten-free bread knows that there's usually one of two results:  crumbly-sawdust bread, OR gummy brick-like loaves that stick in your gut.  There's hardly ever an in-between, and surely no substitute for our favorite little culinary devil, wheat gluten.  I used to be a Wonder bread fan - couple of fresh, stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth slices, slap on some ketchup and a slice of garlic bologna, and you've got a meal fit for a queen.   *Sigh*  I miss those days sometimes...

Last night I decided that I wanted some rolls with dinner, so I whipped up some cheesy bread puffs, which turned out quite lovely.  They fit most of the criteria for "good" bread - lightweight, chewy, delicious... and I hope you'll agree!

Cheese Bread Puffs (better known as pao de queijo, or Brazilian Cheese Bread)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with some parchment paper.

1/4 cup oilve oil
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

bring to a boil in a medium saucepan, then remove from heat and stir in:

1 cup tapioca flour

This mixture will be lumpy and kind-of gross looking... never fear!

Quickly beat in 1/2 cup shredded cheese (Parmesan or Cheddar) and one large beaten egg.  Continue beating and this will make a gummy, stretchy dough.


Scoop by the tablespoonful onto the parchment paper - 8-10 "blobs" ought to do it.  If you want to get fancy you can dip your fingertips in water and smooth off the tops - just to get rid of the high peaks.

Bake for 16-20 minutes.   You can turn on the broiler for the last 2 minutes of baking if you want a little bit of crisp to the tops, but this is totally optional.   Serve these blazing hot and enjoy!!

Fun Things That Are Naturally Gluten Free

Having a bit of a pity-party this afternoon over a Kit-Kat craving, I thought it would be good to make a list of GF things that may actually be better than a Kit-Kat.  That's right, BETTER.  Here goes...

• fresh strawberries and watermelon in the summertime
• chocolate 
• Apple Butter (on soft, squishy bread.  dammit.)
• Tennessee Sippin' Whiskey - Mr. Jack's is preferred
• French Fries at the fair (when they're fried in potato-only oil...)
• Mexican Coca-Cola (the kind with real cane sugar, not the corn syrup crap)
• Pumpkin Roll with cream cheese frosting (recipe to follow)
• Southern-style banana pudding (made with cornstarch and GF animal crackers)
• Cornmeal Mush with real maple syrup and butter
• Homemade peanut butter fudge
• Payday Candy Bars 

So there's a few things out there that I can have instead of a Kit-Kat.  Guess I'll have to find a way to survive, huh?  

Here's that recipe I mentioned - your non GF friends won't even know the difference, I promise!! 

Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup garfava flour (garbanzo and fava - Bob's Red Mill) 

1/2 cup GF all-purpose flour (also B.R.M.)

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon egg replacer

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup canned pumpkin (not canned pumpkin pie filling)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prep a small jellyroll pan (10 x 15 or thereabouts) with a piece of parchment paper sprayed with non-stick spray.  Make sure the parchment hangs over on the edges of the pan - you'll need it for rolling up the cake later! 

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.  Stir in the lemon juice, vanilla, and pumpkin.

In another bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.  Dump these into the pumpkin mixture and whisk to thoroughly combine.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until center of the cake is set.  Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes, then, using the extra parchment paper you left yourself at the end of the pan, roll up the cake (with the paper) jelly-roll style, starting from the short side.   Let the cake sit like this until it's cooled completely.

In the meantime, make your filling:

1/2 block cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons of milk

beat all of the ingredients together and add more powdered sugar and/or more milk until you get a nice spreadable consistency.

When the cake is cooled, unroll it gently, smear the frosting all over, and re-roll without the paper inside of it.  It still helps to have the paper underneath it as a guide; it's also a great way to wrap it up to put it in the fridge or freezer to chill slightly before serving.  Slice into 8-10 slices, and dust with powdered sugar if you want it pretty for serving.  

Enjoy! 

Breakfast For Dinner

It's the first day of October in Ohio, which means that the temperature automatically plunges 20 degrees for no other reason than it's a new month.   With this in mind, I decided that we needed a nice hearty dinner, but nothing like chili or soup... more like pancakes.  Mmmmmmm Pancakes.  I've always been a pancake junkie, but sadly with my new diet in mind IHOP was totally out of the question.  Even if they offered "gluten free" pancakes, there would be so much cross-contamination on the griddle that it would be a moot point.  IHOP even adds pancake batter to their omelets to make them fluffier, so it's not a great place to attempt a GF dining experience!  So for tonight's dinner, I made sausage patties, turkey bacon, oven roasted hash brown potatoes with onion, and my own version of Bette Hagman's Buttermilk Pancakes from The Gluten Free Gourmet: Living Well Without Wheat, Revised Edition.  Ms. Hagman's recipe is darned near perfect, but I made a few adjustments just to make the texture a bit more to my liking.  Even if you have wheat-eaters in your house, I promise you that they'll not be able to tell the difference!

 

Here's my revised recipe -  this makes a double batch, or about 16-18 4" diameter pancakes. 

Fluffy GF Buttermilk Pancakes 

1-1/2 cups white rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 cup buttermilk powder

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 cup water

4 large eggs

4 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.  Mix the wet ingredients, then add these to the dry ingredients and whisk to blend well.  If the batter is runny, you can add up to another 1/4 cup of white rice flour.  

Heat griddle over medium-high heat and lightly oil.  Pour batter onto hot griddle using 1/4 cup measure or ladle; when bubbles start to form around the edges these are ready to flip.  Cook until golden, then you can stash these in the oven on a cookie tray; cover with a lightly damp towel to keep the moisture in the cakes.   Serve with butter, maple syrup, or your favorite fruit topping.  

These also freeze well, if you have any leftovers - just stack them between sheets of waxed paper and place in a zip-top freezer bag.  Freeze for up to 2 months. 

Right Things You Can Do With The Wrong Chebe Mix

I got it in my head that I would make some Chebe cheese rolls to go with dinner this evening, alas, I had none of the original Chebe mix to work with.  I did, however, have one sad little pouch of Chebe Pizza Crust mix lingering in my pantry for quite some time... in fact I'm certain it was past the expiration date (but not by much).  Out of options and without enough time to make something completely from scratch, I decided to put that little bag to work for me in some delicious garlic cheese knots!

1 Package Chebe Pizza Crust Mix (contains Italian herbs and spices)
2 large eggs
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1/3 cup milk

Beat all ingredients together until a pliable dough forms, adding more milk if necessary. The resulting dough should be thick enough to hold its shape when formed. Divide the dough into 8 even portions, then roll each into a long rope or snake form.  Tie this into a simple knot, then place on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.

Enjoy!!