Grape Foccacia Bread

Grape Foccacia Bread

Ingredients:

GF pizza dough mix

2 tsp dry rosemary

1 tsp garlic powder

salt & pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

olive oil

grapes, halved (I used about a cup of grapes for 1/4 amount of Bob's Red Mill prepared dough) 

-Prepare the GF pizza dough as instructed, only add in the rosemary and garlic. Let sit overnight for best texture, but not necessary if you want to make it right away. 

-Oil a pizza pan, and push out the dough into a circle, or a rectangle. Push the halved grapes into the dough- I used red and black grapes because it's what I had on hand. 

-Drizzle more olive oil on top, and sprinkle with cheese, salt, and fresh ground black pepper. You can also add more garlic if you wish, or even red pepper flakes. 

-Bake in preheated 450 degree oven, until cheese is melted and crust is brown and crispy. Enjoy as an appetizer, with some wine, or for dinner with a salad on the side. Enjoy! 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Finally. Finally. It has been a very long time since I have made homemade cookies that were good. I'm talking over 2 years. Every GF homemade cookie attempt has fallen flat- sometimes literally. If I remember correctly the last batch I attempted spread into one big cookie on the pan.

Now, I didn't mind that much because there are some excellent GF cookie mixes- Betty Crocker chocolate chip are good, and I've had some delicious sugar cookies (wish I could remember the name). But there is just something about making homemade cookies, and chocolate chip are the best.

Here's what I did- I followed the Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookie recipe on the chocolate chip package. But I tweaked it. And somehow it worked. The cookies were delicious. My husband, who is not a GF eater, said they were "amazing" so yay for that!

Tollhouse/My Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Combo:

2 1/4 cup white rice flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp xantham gum
2 tsp corn starch

2 sticks of butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

-Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk. Then in a large bowl beat the butter and sugars together. Add in the vanilla, and then beat in eggs one at a time, incorporating each well. Gradually beat in flour mix. Finally, stir in chocolate chips.

-Drop by rounded spoonsfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-13 minutes (keep checking frequently) until golden brown. Enjoy them in all their buttery, soft, gooey wonderfulness!

Mini Banana Beignets

Trust me, the picture doesn't do these justice. They are incredible. So incredible, in fact, that I froze half the batter balls in hopes I'd use them up one day for breakfast awhile from now. But I went 24 hours after the first batch half was eaten up and couldn't wait any longer. So I fried some up fresh about 20 minutes ago. They are soft and warm on the inside, with the most incredible crunchy crust on the outside, and rolled in cinnamon sugar.

I modified this recipe from Food Network:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mini-banana-beignets-recipe/index.html

and since I was out of eggs I used applesauce instead. I also subbed vanilla extract instead of banana (because that just sounds gross), and of course I used GF flour. So here it is- my version of banana beignets. You're welcome. :)

-heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a pan/pot for frying

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups white rice flour
-generous pinch of xantham gum
-1/2 tsp salt
-3 tsp baking powder
-generous amount of cinnamon (I didn't measure...I love cinnamon so I just dumped some in)
-1/3 cup granulated sugar
-1 ripe banana, mashed
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 heaping tbsp. of applesauce (or 1 egg)
-1/2 cup of milk (I used 1%)

Mix all dry ingredients with a whisk. In a separate bowl mix the banana, applesauce, milk and extract. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until blended and everything is moist. Roll into balls- this will be sticky. It's okay.

Then make sure your oil is HOT. If you drop the dough balls in before they are ready they will not be good. Wait until the oil reaches approximately 375 degrees- use a thermometer.

Drop the dough balls in but do not crowd the pan/pot- I think my pan was 8 or 10 inches and I did 5 balls at a time. They cook fast so stay put. When they are a rich golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon (I used the same spoon to drop them in so I wouldn't splash my hand with oil) and set on a clean towel or paper towel to soak up some of the excess oil. When they are still warm, while the second batch is frying, roll in a cinnamon sugar mix (1/2 cup granulated sugar to about 2 tsp-ish of cinnamon). Enjoy with a glass of cold milk or coffee!

Salmon Salad Sandwiches

Here it is, my go-to recipe for leftover salmon. Actually, the time before last when we made salmon we just made this right away instead of waiting for leftovers. It is seriously so good, and light and tasty! I don't have a picture but I'll try to add one in future.

-Leftover or freshly grilled Wild salmon (my preference), you could cook bake it or poach it as well- when we cook it we just use olive oil and season with salt & black pepper
-Light sour cream
-1 lemon
-salt & pepper
-avocado
-GF buns or bread
-greens of choice- I like baby arugula the best
-tomato, sliced

-Wait until the salmon is semi-cooled from cooking, or pull out your already cool salmon from fridge. Flake it into a large bowl. Now here is a situation where it really depends on the amount of salmon you have- last time we made this we had a huge salmon fillet (I think that's what you call it) but sometimes we have a lot less. You will have to add the sour cream a little at a time to get a good consistency. Think tuna salad. But this is salmon. And no mayo. To that add a squeeze of lemon juice, and some fresh zest if you wish. Dump in a fair amount of capers, no juice. They will add a salty taste so you can always add more. Season with extra salt if needed, and black pepper.

-In a separate bowl mash up the amount of avocado you want- I generally will use half an avocado per serving. And using a fork, blend it up until soft. You can also season that as well if you wish.

-You can grill or toast your buns or bread, or leave them soft. Spread one side with the mashed avocado. And I just thought if you wanted you could add some soft cream cheese to the other side- that would be delicious and I'm definitely going to try that next time! Pile on the salmon salad, top with greens and tomato slices. More pepper if you'd like.

This is so good that last time we made this I ate 2 sandwiches for dinner, and 2 for lunch the next day. Granted, GF bread (the kind I buy- Udi's) is super tiny so I don't feel guilty about that, but it was delicious and I couldn't get enough.

Enjoy!

Cajun Salmon Alfredo Pasta

Last night the hubs and I made the Salmon in Checca Sauce (see my Grilled Salmon blog post) and I had leftover salmon today. Now, I have a go-to recipe for leftover salmon which I'll post next, but today I tried something new. This is not a fancy, schmancy must do everything on the recipe sort of recipe, so go with your own tastes. But it basically comes down to:

1 small onion, finely diced (I used a sweet, yellow onion)
1/3 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup finely diced roasted red pepper, or fresh bell pepper
1/2 cup Artichoke bruschetta (or you could do canned/jarred artichokes. The bruschetta mix has olive oil, seasoning, and little peppers in it which I really like)
Heavy cream, or half-n-half, about a half to one cup
2 tbsp. butter
salt, black pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, cayenne pepper, paprika, or you could just use Cajun seasoning
grated or finely shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup leftover, flaked salmon

and you will need some GF pasta- I used fettuccini noodles.

-Begin by cooking the onions on medium-high heat in oil- I used olive oil. Let them sizzle up and become fragrant, and then add garlic. After a minute or two add in the peppers, and if using fresh peppers wait a few minutes to let them soften. If not, add in your already soft roasted peppers and the artichokes right away. Turn down heat and add your cream, butter and seasonings to taste. I added quite a bit of cayenne and mine had a nice kick to it, but go with what you like- you can always add more spice!

-While the sauce is thickening on low, boil your pasta. You will want your sauce finished before the noodles so you can add it right away. I always add a liberal amount of salt to my pasta water as well as some olive oil to prevent sticking.

-When pasta is almost done, add your salmon chunks to the sauce and a very generous amount of parmesan cheese. I'm not kidding when I say I am a cheese addict, and this dish is in no way low-calorie. I added a lot of cheese. Probably a cup or more. Most likely more.

-When pasta is done, drain it and add the sauce to the pot, stir well. If you like you can season with some fresh herbs but I didn't have any on hand, or some extra cheese.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Yesterday I was craving some rich chocolate peanut butter goodness so I whipped up these little babies. Here's my basic cupcake/cake recipe:

1 3/4 cup flour (this time I used 1 1/4 c. oat flour, and 1/2 cup tapioca flour because I was out of white rice flour)
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) of butter, cut into several pieces, softened

-Preheat oven to 350, then mix the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla together, set aside

-Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. To that add the chunks of butter, one at a time, and mix with a mixer until it forms crumbs.

-Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter to that (I used 1/4 cup but next time I'd do more). Then add the buttermilk and mix it in, half at a time to the flour/pb mixture. It'll look somewhat curd-y by now, but that's fine.

-Pour into cupcake pan, lined with cupcake liners. I used Texas sized, and bake for about 10-25 minutes, depending on the size of the cupcake pan.

Frosting:

I don't follow a real recipe, but my frosting for these is a rich chocolate consisting of:

-softened salted butter
-vanilla
-powdered sugar
-cocoa
-milk

I start with the butter and add about a stick or less, then dump in plenty of powdered sugar and as much cocoa as you like (if you like it richer/less sweet add more cocoa) and thin out as needed with milk and vanilla.

-Wait for cupcakes to cool and spread or pipe on. Now, of course, I'm having an issue with blogger right now and I can't upload my photo- but imagine a plump golden cupcake topped with a rich brown swirly frosting! Enjoy :)

Technology, and Pizza Crust

Sometimes I hate technology. And sometimes I think it hates me. I haven't blogged since November. The morning of Thanksgiving I woke up to my computer showing a blue screen...and nothing else. Nothing I did would fix it. So it went to the shop. Long story short- needed new harddrive, new harddrive went bad, replaced new harddrive, missing all my files, back in the shop. Three times in the shop since Thanksgiving. Thankfully, now it seems to be better.

Coming back from my little hiatus, I wanted to share a thing or two about pizza crust. I am a big fan of pizza. Big fan. My husband and I have a tradition, that we've only broken a few times in the last 8, almost 9 years. We have homemade pizza every Friday night. My husband has two awesome (or so I've been told) dough recipes he makes, or I make for him, but I have struggled since going GF to find a really fantastic pizza crust/dough.

First I tried making my own, which always seemed to turn out very biscuit-y. Then I tried Udi's crust, and while they are fine, and I do still use them occasionally, I don't "love" them. Then I tried the Bisquick GF pancake mix, which has a dough recipe, and that turns out pretty nicely, and the last time I made pizza I used Bob's Red Mill mix- and it was probably my favorite. Now it's my second favorite, because I've discovered

French Meadow Bakery pizza crust!

http://www.frenchmeadow.com/products/gluten-free/gluten-free-pizza-crust-2-pack

I had a date day with hubby and we went to a great little pizza place, which offered GF pizza at a 3.00 extra charge. It was totally worth it. When my pizza came out, topped with onions, peppers, and olives, it actually looked good. When I picked it up I noticed it wasn't too much like a biscuit, or a cracker. It held together nicely. It was soft, with crisp edges, and no funky aftertaste. I purchased two crusts from the pizzeria and then was delighted to find them in my grocery store last weekend. I had seen them before, on the bottom shelf of the GF freezer section, but I never purchased them before. I haven't made any for myself at home, but I expect them to taste just as wonderful as the pizza place's.

So, if you're looking for a great pizza crust- give these a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Sugar Topping

I love blueberries. So much. Blueberry muffins rank high among my top sweet, simple treats. I bought some frozen organic blueberries and decided to attempt some GF blueberry muffins. I pulled out my old red and white checked Better Homes New Cook Book (you know the one) which is from, I'm guessing, the 70's or 80's. I wouldn't be me if I didn't vary the recipe, of course ;) So I swapped out the oil for butter, upped the berries and lemon zest, and added vanilla and a lemon sugar topping. The result was perfect. Everything I want in a blueberry muffin:

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all purpose gf flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup white rice flour
1 tsp xantham gum
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon zest

-Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix:

1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup melted, cooled butter
1 tsp vanilla

-Add the milk mixture to the flour, stirring till just combined. Then fold in 1 cup of blueberries (I stirred mine with a bit of flour first to prevent them from sinking) and pour into muffin pan (I used cupcake liners). Finally in a small bowl, mix together:

3 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp lemon zest- more or less depending on how sweet you like it.

-Sprinkle on top of each muffin. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until golden and a knife comes out clean. Enjoy!

                                 

Quinoa

I first heard of quinoa about a year ago, maybe. I kept seeing it crop up on pinterest, and noticed it in the grocery store but I had no clue how to cook with it. I've since fallen in love with it, as much as you can fall in love with a grain, and enjoy cooking it once a week. One of my favorite recipes involves just cooking it in vegetable broth (make sure it's gluten free) and then mixing in GF teryaki sauce and mixed veggies for an Asian inspired meal. But most interesting, is that as a non-meat eater I found out that cooked quinoa has an almost meat-like texture. Cook it, then add in taco seasoning and use it as a taco filling, or on taco pizza. Add it to chili. Try it in meatloaf. Have fun with it!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Let me preface this by saying I am not a big fan of pumpkin. I hate pumpkin pie with the fire of a thousand suns. Pumpkin mousse, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin lattes- no thank you. Though to be fair, I think it's more of a texture thing than a taste thing. I remember fondly my friend Sarah's mom who used to make these yummy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. I wanted to make something reminiscent of that and then I remembered my Mother-in-laws pumpkin cinnamon rolls. Hers, aren't gluten-free, but they did inspire me to create a GF version. So, to be honest, the texture is not exactly like a regular cinmamon roll. It's more of a dense texture, then the doughy/pillow-y regular kind so I might have to experiment with adding some baking powder or something to help it rise (yeast and gluten free just seems difficult sometimes). But, to be just as honest, the flavor on these is the best I've ever had. I think the extra butter and addition of vanilla helped ;) So here, it is, pumpkin cinnamon rolls. I intend to keep working at it, but for my 1st try, I'm very happy with these results:



Dough:

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups gluten free flour (I used 1/2 coconut flour, 1/4 corn flour- not meal, and 1 1/2 white rice)
2 tsp xantham gum
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

2/3 cup vanilla almond milk, warmed slightly
1 egg
2 tbsp melted, cooled butter (I use salted sweet cream butter)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry bowl and mix well until you have a dough. Shape it into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area for 1 hour until it "doubles" in size, though honestly mine did not double in size. I really think the gluten free flour just doesn't like yeast, or vice-versa.

Meanwhile make the filling:

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp butter melted, plus set aside an additional 2 tbsp of soft butter

Mix the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and 2 tbs butter in a small bowl- it will form kind of a paste. Once the dough has sat for an hour, roll it out. I used plastic wrap to help it from sticking to the counter, with a liberal sprinkling of white rice flour. Roll it out as well as you can, using your fingers to piece together parts if it cracks. Then spread the remaining 2 tbsp of soft butter on the dough. Then take a spatula or spoon, spread the sugar paste on top. Roll the dough into a log, carefully, using the plastic wrap to roll it. You then will cut the rolls, however big you like and place flat, in a lightly oiled or buttered pan. You can let them sit to "rise" some more, but I didn't. I put them in a preheated 350 degree oven and baked for about 35-40 minutes. You will start smelling the rolls and they will smell incredible, I promise.

Finally, the frosting:

1 package of cream cheese
powdered sugar
almond milk
salt

 

The only part I keep track of is the 1 package of cream cheese. I use between 2-3 cups or so of powdered sugar, but please go by your own taste. If you want the frosting tangier, use less sugar. If you want it more sweet, more sugar. A pinch of salt will up the flavor and if it gets to thick you can thin it out a little with the almond milk. Spread over the cinnamon rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. Enjoy them warm, and I highly reccomend a cold glass of chocolate or white milk to go with them. The warm sugar and cinnamon mixture just oozes out of these, and is full of so much flavor. It perfectly compliments the cream cheese frosting. Delicious!