          
Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category
Thursday, March 29th, 2012
I have an ego the size of a small planet right now, so you’ll have to excuse any perceived narcissism in this post*.
So, if you have to go gluten free, you KNOW how hard decent pizza is to come by. The premade store bought ones are more like a weird chewy cracker (that squeaks against the teeth!), than anything that should ever be called “pizza”. Restaurant ones aren’t much better, and cost a fortune.
What I’ve been craving lately has been Jet’s Pizza. I loved their pillowy, crispy-on-the-outside, deep dish crust. Forget the weird gluten free cracker crusts, I wanted something bready and yeasty and awesome.
I finally made the final crossover to the dark side. I was flirting with it for a bit there, playing with some pre mixed “all purpose” gluten free flours… now, I’m .. Darth Vader. YES! (Or just really high on the fact that I Just. Ate. Pizza.)
| If you hadn’t guessed, I developed a proper gluten free pizza crust today. (Well, yesterday by the time I post this!). I abandoned the premixed all purpose flour in favor of looking at the individual properties/ flavors of various gluten free flours, and …daaamn. It looks AND tastes like the real deal. I mean, to the point where hubby pointed out that it’s better than most normal frozen pizzas, and a lot of lower-end, full gluten restaurant pizzas. It’s doughy and yeasty, not a cracker. Soft on the inside, golden and crispy on the outside… it browned well, didn’t squeak against the teeth, and you could pick up a slice and eat it. It held up well, and had no weird mouthfeel OR aftertaste.
If you’ve ever had to suffer through gluten free pizza dough before.. then you know why I am REALLY excited right now!
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Not sure what else to say, partially because I’m super giddy. The use of oat flour was a bit of brilliance, if I do say so myself… it really gives it a hearty, bready taste. The crust has a “rustic” sort of taste to it – more earthy (nutty?) than a plain white crust, but not quite to the point of a whole wheat crust flavor. Might just be my greatest accomplishment to date…
Oh, it was good. I hope you enjoy this as much as I am!
* To be fair, I DID just create a gluten free pizza crust that looks, tastes, and feels like the real thing, so… really, there should be a Nobel with my name on it, right?
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Posted in Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Pizza, Recipes | 10 Comments »
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
Ready for another of my “round food that is at least vaguely Irish themed” recipes from our St. Pi-trick’s Day Party?
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I love Irish Stew. When done properly, it’s such a simple dish, but with a lot of good, “clean” flavor. It’s a hearty meal that really lets the individual flavors take the spotlight: Perfectly cooked carrots and parsnips, at just the right level of tenderness… fresh parsley, good meat. Yum!
As Irish stew may be, well, Irish, there’s nothing “round” about it, aside from the bowl it’s served in. I decided I’d create a meatball, themed around the flavors of Irish stew.
Oh, these were fabulous… and pretty much flew out of the crock pot they were served from! The carrots, parsnips, and parsley added a ton of flavor to the meatballs, the texture was great, and it all came together perfectly. |
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While these were specifically designed to be gluten free (though you’d NEVER know it, to taste them!), feel free to substitute “normal” crackers and flour, if gluten isn’t a concern.
Enjoy!
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Posted in Ethnic, Gluten Free, Irish, Recipes, Snacks and Appetizers | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
Remember how I didn’t find out that I was allergic to gluten until 6 months after I opened a cake business? Well, once again, Murphy’s Law has shown up and reiterated its stronghold on my life. Let me tell you about it…
You see, the plan has always been that once we have a functioning kitchen again, I’d go back on the paleo diet. I’d be feeling great, and losing a bunch of weight. I’ve been looking forward to this for a very, very long time. This is week one!
Of course, that means that a week or so before the start date, I’d realize that YES! I can make gluten free stuff that is awesome, not awful, and that even people not cursed with gluten allergic can love. (The Gluten Free Chai Doughnut Holes were amazing, for instance) You see, none of those fake ^H^H^H^H alternative flours are acceptable on the paleo diet! AUGH! MURPHY! WTF?!
Anyway. Yeah.
So… I’ll work around it. I’ve finally succumbed to the (hundreds of!) suggestions that I write a gluten free cookbook. I’ll pick away at it and make liberal use of human guinea pigs, both of the regular and gluten free varieties. I mean, hell.. I wrote both The Spirited Baker and Evil Cake Overlord while serving my gluten free sentence! Also, a bite or two of non-paleo food here and there won’t totally screw me up, the way a bite or two of gluten would!
In the meantime, check out my recipe for gluten free jalapeno poppers!
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The thing with an impending diet start date is that it brings on severe cravings for food that is very much NOT diet food. With the jalapeno poppers, I decided that if I’m going to design a gluten free recipe, I may as well start from the ground up and completely customize the poppers.
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of deep fried foods, so I decided to make them a baked variety. From there, I looked at the various other ways I’d make jalapeno poppers more “my” style. I prefer softer peppers, so I blanched them before stuffing them.
I love jalapenos with tequila, lime juice, and cilantro… so I incorporated those flavors. (For non-alcoholic poppers, substitute milk in the egg mixture). I chose to mix Colby and Jack cheeses as the perfect compliment t rthe rest of the flavors…
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Oh, it was goooood. Even my husband – who has no issues with gluten – happily snarfed a plateful of these.
Enjoy!
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Posted in Gluten Free, Guy Food, Recipes, Snacks and Appetizers, Spirited Baking | No Comments »
Friday, March 23rd, 2012
Ok, so “best ever” is a pretty big claim to make, but I feel pretty secure in making the statement.
As an Irish Canadian, I’ve eaten my fair share of Shepherd’s (Cottage, to be more accurate) Pie. As a chef, I’ve tinkered with the recipe many, many times. I’ve done a “Thanksgiving Leftovers” version. I’ve made a cottage pie with moose meat, partridgeberries, and wine. Boeuf bourguignon hybrid pie, cottage pie with caribou meat… yeah, you could call me a connoisseur!
So, when I say that this is the best ever – know that there’s a lot of experience behind the claim!
First, a quick distinction: The vast majority of what people call “Shepherd’s Pie” is actually “Cottage Pie”. Cottage pie that uses lamb for the meat is “shepherd’s pie”. Sheep, shepherd… you know. This recipe was developed to be a shepherd’s pie, but was changed to a cottage pie at the last minute. After a morning of shopping for ingredients, I chose convenience over nomenclature 
Anyway, that little bit of pedantry aside…
I created this cottage pie for our recent “St Pi-trick’s Day” party. As every food had to be Irish themed and round, I sized this recipe around a 12″ round cake pan, big enough to serve our party. Should you want to be a bit more traditional with it, and make it up in two 9 x 13″ pans.
In keeping with the Irish theme, I didn’t make this “American Style” – you’ll notice there is no creamed corn, and no cheese. Instead of the more common choices of corn and frozen peas, I decided to go more “Irish Canadian” with it, using carrots, parsnips, and turnips – a very popular set of veggies on the East Coast of Canada, which is heavily Irish. For many/most people out that way, those root vegetables are served at least weekly, as part of “Sunday Dinner” – very traditional. If you have a food processor with a grating attachment, getting these veggies ready will be a snap. If you have to grate them by hand – trust me, it’s worth the effort in the end!
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As an additional nod to the Irish-Canadianness of it, you’ll notice the use of savory. Savoury, as we spell it back home, is an extremely popular herb in east coast Canadian kitchens… for good reason. The savoury that grows in the hills of Newfoundland is the best savory I’ve ever had. It’s commonly used in soups, on poultry, in stuffing/dressing, on pork… yum. If you’re a foodie and have a chance to get your hands on some Mt. Scio brand savoury… send me some, too!
While shepherd’s pie really isn’t anything elegant to look at, no matter what the ingredients, this one has an elegant taste to it. The use of the root vegetables in combination with these seasonings provides an awesome merge of flavors… truly, I think I’ve come up with the ideal cottage pie here!
Enjoy!
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Posted in Budget Meals, Canadian, Ethnic, Gluten Free, Irish, Main Dishes, Recipes | No Comments »
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