Dinner Party

Tonight, I held a dinner party in honor of Ronnie's birthday. The menu included some of his favorite foods: Fried Chicken to be specific. As I don't eat fried chicken, I decided to make the rest of the meal friendly for me. We had, in addition to the fried chicken, baked chicken in a special marinade I make myself, pan grilled whiting, steamed vegetables (green beans and onions with red bell peppers), fresh tomato soup, and a Kentucky butter cake. I have omitted those recipes, namely fried chicken, from the recipe lists as it is the only thing not gluten, corn, soy, casein, and sugar free.


Tomato Mushroom Soup (serves six)

6 tomatoes
1/2 cup sauteed sliced sauteed baby portebella mushrooms
1/2 cup sauteed diced onion
 2 clove minced and sauteed garlic
1/2 teaspoon of each: dried rosemary, thyme, and oregano
3 cups chicken broth (I make my own)
4 tablespoon butter
3 piece gluten free bread
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

 Cut three tomatoes, skins on, into chunks. Toss these into a blender with chicken broth to puree. Dice the remaining three tomatoes and set aside.

In a skillet, melt two tablespoon of butter. Saute onion, garlic, and mushrooms together. Onions should be translucent when done.

Pour puree mixture into a medium saucepan and set on low heat. Add diced tomato, broth, and sauteed vegetables. Add sea salt, oregano, rosemary, and thyme. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in 1/2 of the Parmesan  cheese.

Melt remaining two tablespoons butter in the microwave. Coat the bread with the butter on both sides. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top of the bread. Toast the bread on broil in the oven until golden brown and crusty (about three minutes). Remove the bread and cut into chunks.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with croutons.


 Steamed Green Beans and Onions

3 cups fresh green beans, snapped
12 pearl onions
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
Sea salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoon butter

In a double boiler, steam vegetables until tender. Vegetables should still have a snap but be soft enough to chew easily. Once steamed, place vegetables in a serving bowl. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Add butter and lemon juice. Stir together until well mixed and butter is melted.


Dijon Style Baked Chicken serves 6

6 pieces chicken, thawed
1 cup Dijon marinade (recipe follows)

Pierce chicken with a sharp knife in several places Place chicken in a baking dish.Pour marinade on chicken evenly. Cover with foil and leave in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours. Bake in a 350 F oven for about 1 hour or until done. Your cooking time may vary depending whether or not your chicken has bones.


Dijon Marinade

1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup chopped onion

Pour all ingredients into a blender. Blend on hi until well mixed and smooth. This is similar to making mayonnaise, but you want to avoid creating an emulsion. Your marinade should be thin, like a liquid.  


Pan Grilled Whiting Serves 6

6 whiting fillets
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup sliced baby portebella mushrooms
4 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon Pepper
Sea Salt


Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium/high. Add fillets. Use a spatula to sear the fillets on each side (about  3 minutes per side). Sprinkle each side with sea salt and lemon pepper to taste. When done, place fillets on plates.

Saute onion and mushrooms in olive oil until just tender. Onions should be translucent. Spoon evenly onto each fillet to serve.


Kentucky Butter Cake

3 cups gluten free all-purpose flour

2 cups evaporated cane juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup goat's milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

olive oil, for pan

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, mix flour, evaporated cane juice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Measure out 1 cup goat's milk and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Let this sit for 2 minutes. Add to flour mixture. Add butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly until lumps are gone and butter is evenly distributed throughout. 

Grease a 9x13 cake pan with olive oil. Pour batter into pan and bake for about 60 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cake cool completely.

Glaze

3/4 cup evaporated cane juice

1/3 cup butter

3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a saucepan combine the evaporated cane juice, butter, teaspoons vanilla, and the water. Cook over medium heat, until fully melted and combined, but do not boil.


Pierce holes in cake at regular intervals. Pour the glaze over the cake. Let cool before slicing cake. Cake serves 12.

Tomato Mushroom Soup

When I was last in Disney, I ate at a restaurant called Boma's. It is known for its wonderful soups and wide array of delicious buffet items. Due to my allergies, the chef made a tomato stew for me as none of the day's soups were safe for me. I came home and began working on recreating that soup as the tomato flavor was fabulous. It definitely beat any tomato soup I had ever tasted.

3 tomatoes
1/4 cup sauteed sliced sauteed baby portebella mushrooms
1/4 cup sauteed diced onion
1 clove minced and sauteed garlic
1/4 teaspoon of each: dried rosemary, thyme, and oregano
1 1/2 cup chicken broth (I make my own)
2 tablespoon butter
1 piece gluten free bread
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

Cut two tomatoes, skins on, into chunks. Toss these into a blender with chicken broth to puree. Dice the remaining tomato and set aside.

In a skillet, melt one tablespoon of butter. Saute onion, garlic, and mushrooms together. Onions should be translucent when done.

Pour puree mixture into a medium saucepan and set on low heat. Add diced tomato and sauteed vegetables. Add sea salt, oregano, rosemary, and thyme. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in 1/2 of the Parmesan  cheese.

Melt remaining tablespoon butter in the microwave. Coat the bread with the butter on both sides. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top of the bread. Toast the bread on broil in the oven until golden brown and crusty (about three minutes). Remove the bread and cut into chunks.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with croutons.Makes 2-4 servings depending on appetite. 

Apple Strawberry Struesel Muffins

One of the things I miss are muffins. I have been working on recipes to replace this once favorite breakfast with an alternative that offered up the same amount of flavor without all the allergens I have. Here's what I came up with:

2 cups GF flour mixture of your choice
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup evaporated cane juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon of each: black walnut extract and almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2-3 cups freshly chopped fruit (I like apples and strawberries together)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, sea salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all extracts, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cane juice, eggs and butter until smooth.

Chop fruit into diced sized pieces. Stir into the large bowl with the butter mixture. Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until all ingredients are moist. Be careful not to over mix.

Line a muffin pan with liners. Fill the liners no more than 2/3 full. Set aside.

Struesel topping: 

1/2 cup GF flour mixture
3/4 cup evaporated cane juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Mix all ingredients together until crumbly in texture. Spoon this evenly over the muffins in the tins.

Bake muffins for 20 minutes in a 400F oven. Muffins are done when toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Pan Grilled Salmon

Salmon is one if my favorite fish to prepare. It's simple and versatile in its presentation. It is unassuming, yet can make a meal special just by its presence. And, after a recent trip to Disney in which some of the chefs prepared it for me and told me how they were seasoning it, I have discovered my favorite way to have it: pan seared. This cooking method creates a succulent dish that is quick and easy with a burst of unexpected flavor.

2 salmon fillets (thawed)
2 tablespoons pure olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup sliced baby portebella mushrooms
Lemon Pepper to taste
Sea Salt to taste


Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium/high. Add fillets. Use a spatula to sear the fillets on each side (about  3 minutes per side). Sprinkle each side with sea salt and lemon pepper to taste. When done, place fillets on plates.

Saute onion and mushrooms in olive oil until just tender. Onions should be translucent. Spoon half of this on top of each fillet and serve.

This goes great with a blueberry salad in a lemon vinaigrette.  

Coconut Smoothies.

  These smoothies are great for a quick meal on the go. To make a lower calorie and lighter smoothie, substitute almond milk for the coconut milk. Almond milk will make a thinner smoothie, but with less calories. Coconut smoothies have the consistency of a thick shake


.

•  
• 1 14 oz Coconut Milk
• 1 cup Fresh or frozen fruit
• 2 cups Ice

1. Crush 2 cups ice in a blender. Add 1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit of your choice. Blend until well mixed. Add one can of coconut milk and blend again until all ingredients are mixed. Makes 3 smoothies. 

Spanish Quinoa

 Here's a tasty side dish that will spice up any meal. Made from quinoa, this dish is great for those with celiac and other food allergies.

1/2 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons Butter
3/4 cup fresh salsa (recipe follows)
Sea Salt to taste

Bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and reduce heat to medium for about 12 minutes or until all water is absorbed by the quinoa. Stir in butter and salsa. Top with sea salt to taste. Makes 2 cups.


Fresh Salsa

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green chilies (I use jalapeno)
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice
fresh ground pepper to taste  

Mix all ingredients together. Makes about 1 1/2 cups salsa.

Basic All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Mix

So many dishes use flour for a base. From bread to thickened gravies, you can bet it contains flour. Because of celiac, I can't handle the normal flours available on the shelves at my local grocers. So, I realized that I could make a multitude of flour mixtures to suit my needs using safe flours. (I like pancakes, french toast, and bread, too.)

Here's a basic flour mixture to use in  your recipes as you wish. This can be substituted cup for cup in any recipe using wheat based flours. You can use a variety of flours to make this, so this recipe is not set in stone Also, feel free to make large batches, which can be kept in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to bake.

2 cups sorghum flour
2 1/2 cups potato starch
1 1/2 cups rice flour (sweet or regular, brown or white)
1 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup amaranth flour
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons xanthum gum

Mix all ingredients in a large plastic bag. Use as you would any wheat based all purpose flour. This flour does cause some taste change in baked goods, but the flavor is not overpowering. Experiment to see how you like to use it. I've used it in breads and cakes with great results.