Category Archives: GLUTEN FREE RECIPES

GF OATMEAL COOKIES

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My friend and neighbor Marsha made these cookies to share at our annual homeowners meeting. I had been on the board for 6 years serving as president the last year. And Marsha was on the board for my last year serving as a director-at-large. She is a most delightful woman, with a sterling intellect, logical mind, and a terrific sense of humor. In other words, an absolute delight! And, BTW, a fabulous addition to our homeowners board of directors, as well as being a great baker. And speaking of delightful – these cookies definitely fit that category. They are crisp, light, and full of flavor. You would never guess they were GF.

So if you or someone you know needs to stay away from gluten, then these are the oatmeal cookies for you or them. And a wonderful addition to a dessert table when you have no idea whether or not some of your guests might be gluten intolerant. Your only trouble is going to be keeping your non gluten challenged guests from keeping them all to themselves! A bit of hand slapping might be necessary. Or maybe baking a double batch would be the more politically correct course of action. I’m not sure. I used to have a pretty good idea what was and wasn’t politically correct. But this year’s presidential election has thrown everything I felt defined common decency or political correctness right out the window.  (I know, I promised no more commentary on politics, but I set myself up without any intention of going politically postal on all of you again!)

I’m OK now, but I think I need a cookie. And since I just happen to have baked a batch of these cookies for Mr. C. and the other members of the seven piece jazz group (Seabreeze Jazz Band) that are, as I write, rehearsing in our living room, I’m going to leave you now and grant myself an attitude adjustment. You’re on your own. But if you too need your attitude adjusted, these little darlings just might be the ticket. And no, I’m not going to say anything about tickets, political or otherwise! I’m simply going to stop now while I’m ahead.

Thanks again Marsha for this wonderful recipe.

  • 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 c. GF flour (see note about GF flours below)
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. nutmeg
  • 2 c. GF oats* (some of them aren’t!)

Cream butter and sugar until pale yellow. Add the vanilla. Whisk the flour, soda, salt, and nutmeg together. Add to the butter mixture and beat just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly blended. Mix in the oats. Drop by small ice cream scoop or rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet two inches apart. Flatten slightly with your fingers.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are golden and middle is mostly set. (I found that it helped to turn on the convection option on my oven for the last 3-4 minutes to help brown the center of the cookies.)

Please note: For this recipe, Marsha uses what she calls her “Cookie Flour Blend”. (See recipe below.) It has a sweeter taste overall and is not as dry as other gluten free mixes. For all other cooking she uses GF Cup 4 Cup flour. It is the closest to wheat flour she has ever found. In place of her cookie flour and for easy baking she would have no qualms about using Cup 4 Cup in this or any other cookie recipe. GF flour can usually be found among the other flour varieties, or if not there, the grocery store might have a separate area dedicated to GF products. At least, the GF area is where I found my bag of Cup 4 Cup flour at our local Haggen.

COOKIE FLOUR BLEND (recipe found in a Washington Post article)

Equal parts:

  • mochiko flour
  • sorghum flour
  • tapioca flour
  • cornstarch
  • almond flour

Whisk all together and store in an airtight container. Use in any of your favorite cookie recipes.

*According to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, “oats are technically gluten-free since they aren’t a type of wheat, barley, or rye grain, the three groups of whole grains that naturally contain the protein gluten”.

So pure oats themselves are GF and safe for most people with gluten-intolerance. The problem with oats in gluten-free eating is contamination. Most commercial oats are processed in facilities that also process wheat, barley, and rye. So unless the packaging specifically states “GF”, you might not be safe eating just any old oats if you truly suffer from celiac disease. However, many people with just an intolerance to gluten are fine eating oats that are not specifically rated as being “GF”.

 

 

 

SAUTÉED CHICKEN WITH GRUYÈRE CHEESE, MUSHROOMS, AND WHITE WINE

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This is yet another chicken recipe that is quick and easy to prepare, making it a perfect dinner entrée after a hectic work or play day. And of course, it’s delicious. (Like I would post anything but a delicious recipe!)

But this is one of those recipes that works best when all the chopping, slicing, mincing, and assembling has been done in advance. In other words, get your act together and have all your ingredients prepped and in place before you start sautéing the chicken. (Hey, why not? You have to do it anyway. So why not get it over with before you actually fire up the burners and curse yourself for not heeding my warning to begin with?) Anyway……

The bones of this recipe come from the Food.com web site. And while I’m giving that site credit, I would like to get on my high horse (with a little help from a tall self-righteous attitude), and say what I really think about all the cooking sites out there in internet land. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! (Bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you?) There isn’t a recipe under the sun that can’t be found either by title or ingredient combination. There isn’t a cooking technique, gadget, or unique ingredient that can’t be ordered on-line and delivered directly to your home. There isn’t an excuse in the world for someone to rely on fast food or packaged, processed products to feed their family when every resource imaginable to provide a healthy and delicious meal is at their fingertips! (That’s the high horse part in case you were wondering!)

So to all of those wonderful sites out in internet land that provide great recipes, cooking techniques, and commentary on every aspect related to culinary endeavor, I salute you. And to the Food network (I’m now back on my high horse again), please bring back more love (good cooks/chefs and their sterling recipes) and less war (cupcake, chopped, etc). I personally want recipes, not entertainment. If I wanted to occupy my time watching and listening to suspense, drama, and a staged production, I would watch the news and read every word written about the candidates and their race to be in next years’ presidential election!

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise, then cut in two (8 pieces in all)
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • nutmeg
  • 3 T. butter
  • 8 medium sized button mushrooms, halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 small or 1 large shallot, finely minced
  • ½ c. dry white wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
  • ½ c. heavy cream
  • ¾ c. finely grated Gruyère cheese (you can use plain Swiss cheese, but a premium Swiss cheese is best)
  • dash paprika

Season one side of each piece of chicken with salt, pepper, and a light sprinkling of nutmeg. Melt the butter in a large, covered fry pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sauté until both sides are slightly browned and the chicken is cooked through. (Do not overcook the chicken.) Remove from pan, tent with aluminum foil, and set aside. Add the mushrooms and shallot to the pan, reduce the heat, and sauté until the mushrooms are starting to brown and the shallot pieces have all but disappeared from sight. Stir in the white wine and simmer until the wine has all but evaporated. Whisk in the cream, Gruyère cheese, and the paprika. Cook for one minute. Adjust seasoning. Stir in the reserved chicken along with any pan juices; remove from heat, cover, and let sit for about 3 minutes.

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Great served over mashed potatoes with a side green veggie or a nice crisp green salad. And of course, some more of that wonderful Pinot Grigio you used in the dish itself!

BRUTTI MA BUONI (UGLY BUT GOOD) ITALIAN HAZELNUT COOKIES

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These cookies are outrageously delicious and BTW – GF! With no added oil, fat, butter, etc. to make us feel guilty. (Of course the nuts themselves contain fat, but it’s mostly good fat, so it doesn’t count. Well at least in my mind it doesn’t count.) Plus ladies and gentlemen, these easy to prepare cookies contain only 5 ingredients! Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin is widely quoted as saying “The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star.” I am absolutely convinced he must have had this cookie in mind when he coined this very well known phrase. Because these cookies are unlike any other cookie I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. They possess a wonderfully crisp exterior with an internal texture that is both soft and chewy. They are slightly reminiscent of macaroons, but that’s as close to a comparison of them to any other cookie as I can come.

While I was researching these cookies I visited several sites. Each recipe was quite different from the others. Some had you using granulated sugar, some had you warm egg whites and granulated sugar before beating the heck out of the mixture, most contained flour, and some even contained chocolate. But what captured my fancy was this recipe from Oreste Molinari. His family bakery in Frascati, Lazio, Italy has been selling these cookies using this recipe since the 1800s. So I figured; if the recipe is good enough for the Molinaris, and they are still in business after all this time, it surely must be good enough for me!

So please do not hesitate to build yourself a batch of these little packages of heaven at your earliest convenience. And to those of you who are gluten intolerant, you owe me. (Your debt will be forgiven if you send me your favorite GF recipe(s) so that I can share it/them with others.)

And to Monsieur Brillat-Savarin (wherever you may presently reside), please accept my thanks for some wonderful quotes related to all things culinary. And because it’s my blog and I have nothing more to say about these cookies, I am going to share a couple of my favorite Brillat-Savarin quotes with you.

“A man who was fond of wine was offered some grapes at dessert after dinner. ‘Much obliged’, said he, pushing the plate aside, ‘I am not accustomed to taking my wine in pills’.”

“Whoever receives friends and does not participate in the preparation of their meal does not deserve to have friends.”

“Cooking is one of the oldest arts and one that has rendered us the most important service in civic life.”

And my favorite quote attributed to Brillat-Savarin, which I feel is as true today as it was in his day (1755-1826). “The pleasure of the table belongs to all ages, to all conditions, to all countries, and to all areas; it mingles with all other pleasures, and remains at last to console us for their departure.”

Bon Appétit

  • 8 oz. roasted unsalted hazelnuts* – roughly 1¾ cups (best way to know for sure is to weigh the nuts)
  • 1½ c. powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 lg. room temperature egg white, lightly beaten
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

*I often use part dry roasted unsalted shelled almonds in these cookies because they are cheaper, more readily available, and considered by some to be slightly more nutritious than hazelnuts (aka filberts). And bottom line, using almonds does not affect the wonderful hazel nutty flavor of the cookies.

Preheat your oven to 400°. Spread the hazelnuts on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes or until the nuts are fragrant and the skins blister. (When I use almonds I toast them right along with the hazelnuts.) Transfer the nuts to a kitchen towel, swaddle them tightly, and let cool to room temperature. Then rub them together while still in the towel to remove the skins. (Don’t worry if all the skin doesn’t peel off. Just get as much off as possible. The rest – well its good roughage! And don’t worry about the light brown skin on the almonds either. Just provides a bit more texture to the cookies.)

In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts with the confectioners’ sugar and salt until finely chopped. Add the egg white and the vanilla and pulse just until the dough is thoroughly combined.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a very small ice cream scoop, (one that will contain about a tablespoon of water) drop the blops (a Chez Carr technical kitchen term) of dough onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet about 1-inch apart. If you don’t have a small ice cream scoop, (and shame on you if you don’t have a couple of these in your kitchen) spoon tablespoon-size mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, again about 1 inch apart.

Bake the cookies in the center of your oven for about 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned all over. Watch carefully, because the bottom of the cookies can get too brown if baked too long. But the longer you bake them, the crispier on the outside they become. Which BTW, is what you want. So at least for the first batch you prepare, pay extra special attention to your oven temperature and the length of time it takes to bake these little darlings to perfection. Then of course – WRITE DOWN YOUR FINDINGS so that next time (and believe me, there will be a next time), you won’t have to tax your brain as much!

Brutti ma Buoni are best the first day, but will last for about 4 days if kept in an airtight container.

 

 

SPINACH AND MUSHROOM WILD RICE PILAF

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Recently I have become totally obsessed with finding healthy side dish recipes. So I can’t begin to tell you how delighted I am to share this recipe with you today. And who better to share my obsession with, than a captive audience sitting in front of a computer screen? (I figure you wouldn’t be visiting my site unless you too weren’t hungry (so to speak) for new and exciting ways to prepare healthy and delicious dishes.)

So, a couple of days ago I was at our local Bartells. (For those of you who live outside the Seattle area, Bartells is a local drug store chain.) And whenever I go to Bartells for legitimate drug store items, such as makeup, I always peruse the middle isle for packaged foods that are featured at a discounted price.

This last visit I found great prices on flavored almonds and Lundberg rice products. So I bought two packages of their wild rice blend.

When I got home I immediately went on line and visited the Lundberg site for recipe ideas. And this recipe literally jumped off the screen and onto a word document before I even knew what hit me. It is gluten free (if you use GF tamari), vegetarian, and full of nutritious ingredients. What can be better than that? Well the fact that it’s absolutely delicious sure doesn’t hurt either!

So however you want to approach this recipe, as a delicious side dish or as a healthy side dish, you’re 100% covered.

So hurry up and read the recipe and get thee to the grocery store if you need ingredients, or straight to the kitchen if you don’t, and build your family a side dish that comes with its own PhD. (P-painless to prepare, h-healthy, D-delicious) And thank you Lundberg for both the lovely wild rice blend and the recipe. (Sorry for the slight modification.)

  • ¾ c. dried mushrooms* (shiitake, chanterelle, porcini) cut or broken into small pieces
  • 1 c. very hot water
  • 1 c. combination wild and whole grain brown rice (or Lundberg Wild Blend)
  • 1¾ c. vegetable broth (I use Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base)
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 med. onion, finely chopped
  • 2 c. fresh button mushrooms, halved and thinly sliced (about 8 medium mushrooms)
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 6 oz. spinach, stems removed and rough chopped
  • 1 T. gluten-free tamari soy sauce
  • 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ c. sliced green onions or chives, garnish

*if you don’t have dried mushrooms, use another 2 cups of fresh button mushrooms

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl. Add the hot water and set aside. Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, bring the broth and rice to a boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to a low simmer, and cook for 45 minutes. Remove from heat (with lid on) and let steam for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook until softened; stir in garlic and cook 1 minute more. Drain the re-hydrated mushrooms and add to the pan along with the spinach; cook until spinach just starting to wilt. Stir in the tamari, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

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Gently fold mushroom-spinach mixture into cooked rice and garnish with green onions or chives.

ASIAN CHICKEN NOODLE BOWL

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Yesterday it was kind of dreary outside. So I decided before the warm weather sets in (like that’s going to happen any time soon in the Puget Sound area), I would build some soup. But I wasn’t in the mood for a bean soup, or a creamy soup. I wanted more of a broth and vegetables kind of soup. I also had a few veggies that needed to be used, so I went on line to see what I could find.

What I found was a recipe from Kathleen Daelemans that looked delicious. I modified Kathleen’s recipe to better work for our tastes, and which not coincidentally included some of the veggies that were screaming at me from their refrigerator bin. I then added some other ingredients like tofu, spinach, and basil that I thought would work well in a noodle bowl. The recipe below is the result.

Now having just told you that Kathleen’s recipe looked delicious, I should explain why I made so many changes. First of all – that’s what I do! And if truth be told, I simply can’t help myself. That’s because I know what Mr. C and I like. And the knowing part just comes from eating together for so long and from experimenting with many, many dishes over the years. And because, first and foremost, most recipes for soups, stews, and the like are simply guidelines; wide open to be modified to suit your own tastes or to include ingredients you happen to have on hand. And my recipe below is no different from Kathleen’s recipe in that regard.

The amount of garlic or ginger, for example, can easily be changed. You happen to have carrots on hand; they can certainly be added. You hate pea pods; leave them out!

I guess what I am saying is that half the fun of cooking for me, and I suspect for you too, is the experimentation aspect. And you have to know, that if I can’t help myself from changing perfectly good recipes to suit my personal tastes, then I can’t expect you not to do the same.

So use my recipes following every ingredient and amount to the letter, or change any of my recipes to your heart’s content. Just do yourself a favor when you are making changes. Write the changes down as you go along. I can’t tell you how mad you are going to be at yourself if you create the perfect “whatever”, and then can’t repeat yourself because you have forgotten what you changed. And no, even if you think you are going to remember what you did, 3 months from now you aren’t going to remember. OK, if you’re only 23 you might remember. But if you are over 60, the chances are really slim. Heck, you might not even remember what day of the month it is, much less what changes you made to the original recipe. You really want to take that chance? I doubt that seriously. So simply have a pencil handy while you are building the dish and take notes as you go along. Someday you’ll thank me, I know you will. (I’m not going to hold my breath you realize. But I know some day I will hear from you with effusive words of thanks. It’s simply inevitable.)

  • 4 T. tamari (rich, naturally fermented soy sauce)
  • 2 T. shaohsing (Chinese rice wine) or mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine)
  • 2 tsp. sesame oil, divided
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 T. minced fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 2 T. rice vinegar
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp. Sriracha, plus more for the table
  • 8 c. chicken broth
  • 5-6 button mushrooms, halved and then thinly sliced
  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, cut crosswise into thin strips
  • 4 c. chopped Napa cabbage
  • 1 c. chopped fresh spinach
  • 6-oz. rice noodles, cooked according to the package directions
  • ½ block firm or extra-firm tofu, cubed
  • ½ c. thinly sliced pea pods
  • ¼ – ½ c. chopped fresh basil or cilantro leaves
  • 6 green onions, thinly sliced on the bias
  • 1 lime, cut in wedges, opt.

Mix soy sauce, shaohsing, 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil, garlic, ginger, sugar, rice vinegar, pepper, and Sriracha in a small bowl. Heat the broth in a medium saucepan. Add the soy sauce mixture, the mushrooms, chicken, Napa cabbage, and spinach and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in the cooked noodles, tofu, and sliced pea pods. Scoop soup into large bowls and garnish with basil and green onions. Pass lime wedges and Sriracha at the table as “do it yourself” garnishes.

Please note: to make this a GF dish, use GF tamari

 

FRIED MARINATED TOFU WITH GREEN ONIONS AND SESAME SEEDS

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So I know what you are thinking. Where in the world has Patti been that she hasn’t written a post in almost a month? First of all – sorry about that, but Mr. C. and I have been on the road with our ginormous 19 foot trailer taking in the sites and visiting family from here to Colorado and back. Touring with a trailer is a lovely way to experience our country and believe me, our country is worth seeing. For example, staying in a fairly primitive campground at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado, with snow still on the ground and deer grazing around the trailer is a fantastic experience. Never heard of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park? Well neither had we until I discovered it on line while I was planning our itinerary. Now I can hardly wait to return. Just for grins, visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm. I’m sure you will instantly become as fascinated with this amazing and little known area of Colorado as we were.

And speaking of amazing areas that are not as well known as say Yellowstone and coincidentally not as far away, Steens Mountain and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in SE Oregon are tops on our list of places to be visited with regularity. But enough with the travel guide prose. Let’s get on with the dish of the day.

This marinated tofu dish is absolutely delicious and ever so “in”. With all the press about eating organic, sustainable, local, slow, vegan, vegetarian, etc. etc., this dish comes as close to “realistic” healthy food as I can muster. And I do try to cook healthy, really I do. So give this fried tofu recipe a try. Mr. C tells me for him this tofu dish is analogous with “crack” (crack-cocaine), not that he has ever tried crack you understand, but you get the gist. He LOVES it.

  • ¼ c. soy sauce
  • ¼ c. rice wine vinegar
  • 1 T. chili-garlic sauce or Sambal Oelek and 1 small clove finely minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • pinch kosher salt
  • 1 lb. firm tofu
  • 3 T. corn or peanut oil
  • ¼ c. cornstarch or more + 1 tsp., divided
  • ¼ c. thinly sliced green onions
  • 1 tsp. sesame seeds

Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, sesame oil, and salt in a small container. Remove the tofu from the container and press gently between several sheets of paper towel to remove some of the liquid. Cut into 12 same size pieces and add to the marinade. Let tofu marinate for about 2 hours. When ready to fry add oil to medium sized frying pan and hot over medium high heat. When oil is hot, take each piece of tofu out of the marinade (reserving marinade), blot on a paper towel, dip in the ¼ cup cornstarch (or more as needed) and place in hot oil.  Fry the pieces until they are crispy brown on both sides.

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Meanwhile pour the remaining marinade and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch into a small pan. Whisking the entire time, bring the mixture to a boil and stir until thickened. Remove from heat.

When tofu is crisp and golden brown, remove to a serving plate. Pour sauce over the tofu and sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Please note: Play around with the sauce. If you are a ginger lover, add some ginger. I know I am going to the next time I make this dish.

 

ITALIAN CASSEROLE WITH SAUSAGE, MUSHROOMS, AND SOUR CREAM

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I believe I have told you numerous times that I am lazy. Some people don’t think of me as lazy, but I’ve just got them fooled. For example, take this fake lasagna recipe. It looks and tastes like I have been slaving away in the kitchen for hours. Anyone who has ever prepared true lasagna knows that it takes hours to prepare. There’s the meat sauce, then the cheeses, then those darling lasagna noodles. And if you are really into a truly decadent lasagna, not only is there a red sauce, there’s a béchamel sauce. Now granted, none of these sauces are difficult to assemble. But add up all the time it takes to prepare each step, and you are talking about an all afternoon project. And granted, sometimes I make an honest to goodness, over the top lasagna. But for those times when I don’t want to spend 4 hours playing in the kitchen but still want a rich, creamy and luscious casserole, I make my dear buddy Margo’s recipe. And all kidding aside, it is one of the tastiest Italian casseroles you will ever meet. The sauce and the cheeses work together to cover the egg noodles in a gooey dressing that just melts in your mouth. Serve this with a Caesar salad, a warm crusty baguette or my Soft Breadsticks, and a bottle of your favorite rich red wine, and I promise you all thoughts of lasagna noodles will evaporate as fast as cookies in an office break room! Thanks again Margo for this wonderful recipe.

  • 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb. bulk Italian Sausage (or half ground beef and half Italian sausage)
  • 10-12 medium mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 jar (or 2 ½ c.) marinara sauce (I use Paul Newman’s Marinara Sauce – I told you I was lazy!)
  • 8-oz. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 pint sour cream (2 cups)
  • ½ c. grated Parmesan cheese
  • 8 green onions, chopped
  • 1 lb. grated Mozzarella cheese
  • 12-oz. (4 c. uncooked) thick egg noodles, cooked al dente (I use Country Pasta – Homemade Style Egg Pasta I buy in the 64-oz. package from Costco) OR rice pasta for a wonderful GF casserole
  • 2 T. minced fresh parsley

Heat olive oil in a large fry pan. Add the sausage and sauté until very brown, breaking up the pieces as it cooks. Add the mushrooms and cook until tender. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute or until the garlic releases its aroma. Pour in the marinara sauce and let gently burble for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile combine the room temperature cream cheese, sour cream, Parmesan, green onions, and mozzarella cheese. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Scoop about a half cup of the marinara sauce mixture into the bottom of the pan. Layer with half of the cooked noodles, half of the marinara sauce, and half of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

(As you can see from the picture, there is no fresh parsley sprinkled on top. Oh I had the parsley all chopped and happily residing in my refrigerator. But in all my last minute frantic efforts to get the meal out for yesterday’s pre JazzVox concert lunch, the parsley was forgotten. Of course the lack of a parsley garnish didn’t stop anyone from eating the casserole, but I sure felt like a dummy when I realized what I had done. Not the first time I have left off that final touch, and considering that I am only getting older and less likely to remember even the most mundane of tasks, I’m sure it won’t be the last. I could mention the salad I forgot to serve for our New Year’s Eve late night buffet, but why bother you with even more evidence that I’m not playing with my full set of Cutco knives, circa 1964, any longer!)

SPICY CHICKEN CHOW MEIN WITH SOFT NOODLES

Mr. C and I recently attended a birthday party for our good friend Dave. Dave (I never use last names, but he knows who he is) was turning 60. Poor old guy! And among the guests were our good friends Larry and Clay.

Clay and I started talking about food, (what a surprise!) and he asked me if I had a good chow mein recipe. (He and Larry love to go out for Chinese food, but sometimes they just want to stay home, but still be able to enjoy one of their favorites.) I told Clay my cooking repertoire was sorely lacking in the Asian food department. But I told him I would look into chow mein and see what I could find.

Turns out recipes on the internet for chow mein are as abundant as recipes for spaghetti and meatballs. And since I have been concentrating lately on Italian cuisine, I thought I would try a recipe for chow mein from a chef who has some Italian ancestry. (Why a chef with Italian heritage you ask? All I can say is that it made sense at the time! Maybe it was the noodle part.) Anyway, I made a few changes to Guy Fieri’s recipe for Hong Kong Style Noodles with Chicken. And because Mr. C and I enjoyed it so much, I decided to post the recipe right in the middle of my series on Italian cuisine. (Again, it must be the noodle part. That’s the only thing that makes even a semblance of sense to me!) But regardless, this is truly a wonderful recipe and I wanted to share it with you as soon as possible.

To my thinking, the chili garlic sauce in the marinade gives the chicken just the right amount of spiciness. Enough to get your attention, but not enough to beat up your taste buds. (I don’t really appreciate having my mouth set on fire, but if you do, by all means add more chili sauce or even some crushed red pepper flakes.)

If you are a true devotee of Chinese food, you know that some chow mein recipes have a high fat content. I have reduced the amount of fat in this recipe to the lowest amount I feel is reasonable. Another thing you should know is that the “planned-overs” were just as good as the chow mein fresh off the flame. (You just can’t ask for more than that!)

So next time you get a hankering for a relatively simple to prepare, economical, and tasty alternative to going out for “the real thing”, give this recipe a try.   个饱 Gè bǎo

  • 6 T. soy sauce, divided (low sodium is fine, as is Tamari or GF Tamari)
  • 2 T. minced fresh ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 T. chili garlic sauce (use less if you don’t like spicy chow mein)
  • 4 T. cornstarch, divided
  • 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut 1/4-inch slices (or pork, shrimp, or beef)
  • 3 T. vegetable oil, divided
  • 3 T. hoisin sauce
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
  • 1 small carrot cut into 1/4-inch sticks
  • 2 stalks celery, cut into ½-inch bias-cut chunks
  • ½ medium sized onion, sliced 1/8-inch
  • 1 red pepper cut into 1/4-inch strips
  • 2 c. sliced mushrooms (I like part button and part shiitake)
  • 4 oz. snow peas, 1/2-inch bias cut strips
  • 8 oz. mung bean sprouts
  • 8-10 ounces chow mein noodles, cooked al dente (follow instructions on the package)
  • 1/2 c. bias cut green onions, garnish

In a re-sealable plastic bag add 3 tablespoons of the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, chili garlic paste, and 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch; mush together thoroughly. Add the chicken and marinate for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the hoisin sauce, sesame oil, chicken stock, remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and the remaining 3 tablespoons of soy sauce in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

In a large sauté pan or wok (I use a very large non-stick pan because less oil is required), heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil to almost the smoking point and add chicken, separating each piece after you get all of the chicken in the pan. Cook chicken until just browned on both sides. (Do not overcook.) Remove to a small bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and add the carrot and celery. Sauté for 2 minutes then add the onion, red pepper, and mushrooms and sauté for 2 more minutes. Finally add the snow peas, and bean sprouts. Stir in the chicken broth mixture and let burble until sauce thickens. Stir in the cooked chicken and cooked noodles. Adjust seasoning. Serve immediately sprinkled with green onions.

Note: If you prefer rice to noodles, just prepare the sauce and serve over steamed rice. For gluten free – use GF Tamari and serve over steamed rice.

 

PHO (VIETNAMESE RICE NOODLE SOUP)

As some of you know, homemade soup is one of my top 10 favorite foods. And pho (pronounced more like fuh than foe) is one of my favorite soups. (And, its gluten free!)

I almost always order it when I go to a Thai or pan Asian restaurant because I so love the broth. And to actually make the broth the way they do in these really good restaurants takes hours and hours, and even then some days it’s just better than others! So when I discovered this recipe, and for the love of all things noodle I can’t remember where or when, or even how much I mangled the original recipe, I was delighted. So as far as I’m concerned, this broth is pretty darn acceptable for not starting with bones and cooking then for hours and hours, etc. etc. And the rest of the soup is a snap. You just add cooked rice noodles to your hot broth and a few uncooked ingredients (well except for the fried tofu, which is totally optional but absolutely divine) and sit back and think pleasant thoughts. Pretend you are sitting on the veranda of a fabulous water front café at Halong Bay (Bay of descending dragons) watching the sun sparkle on the water as you eat your big old bowl of pho. Just thinking about warm beaches and shimmering water in Vietnam makes me want to hop on a jet. But unfortunately the only hopping I should be doing right now is in the kitchen. I still have more food preparation to do today for the pre-concert JazzVox dinner here tomorrow night! Yikes! If you’ll excuse me, my Italian Cream Cake is calling to me that it is feeling a little naked. Cream cheese frosting sprinkled with toasted coconut and pecans coming right up!

  • 6 c. water
  • 1-2 tsp. beef base
  • 1 T. won ton instant soup mix (You can purchase won ton instant soup mix (like Dragonfly brand) at any decent Asian food store)
  • 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 T. finely diced fresh ginger
  • 2-3 oz. pho noodles (rice)
  • 1/3 block firm or extra-firm tofu, opt.** (see recipe and preparation instructions below)
  • ¼ lb. very thinly sliced beef*
  • ½-1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined and thinly sliced
  • 1 c. fresh bean sprouts
  • 1 T. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
  • several Thai basil leaves
  • 4 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • ½ fresh lime, cut into 4 wedges
  • Sriracha sauce
  • hoisin sauce

Combine water, beef stock, won ton soup mix, onion, and ginger in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile soak the noodles in water for 15 minutes. Bring a pot of water to a boil. When the broth is ready, remove the noodles from the soaking water and cook for about 3-4 minutes in the boiling water. When done, place the noodles in the bottom of two large soup bowls. Add the tofu, raw meat, jalapeno, bean sprouts, and cilantro. Fill the bowls with stock, and garnish with basil leaves, green onions, and 2 lime wedges each. Pass Sriracha and hoisin sauce as “do it yourself” garnishes. (Instead of beef, you can add pre-cooked shrimp, chicken, or pork.)

*To thinly slice beef, place beef in the freezer just until it starts to get hard. Using a very sharp thin bladed knife cut slices as thin as possible against the grain of the meat.

**Optional fried tofu recipe: Slice drained tofu into 1/4-inch slices and coat with 1 tablespoon cornstarch.  Combine 1 tablespoon sesame oil with 1 teaspoon chili oil in a medium frying pan. Bring oil to medium heat and fry the tofu until both sides are a nice golden brown. Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel. When cool cut into bite size pieces.

 

FLOURLESS ORANGE CHOCOLATE CAKE (GÂTEAU AU CHOCOLAT)

As promised, this is another one of my favorite gluten free recipes. I make this cake every time I want an easy and absolutely decadent dessert. And I have yet to make it without someone (usually one of the guys) following me around like a puppy begging for more. They’ll usually even clean the bottom of the pan and the cake plate for me just to be able to scrape off the last few morsels. (I love it when someone else does the cleanup.) So if you want an easy and gluten free dessert, give this little darling a try. You will not be disappointed.

Speaking of disappointed, I know there are those of you out there that begin or end each day by reading my blog. (Don’t be ashamed, we all have our guilty little secrets.) So it is with mixed feelings that I tell you that this is the time of year I begin enjoying outdoor adventures and travel time with Mr. C. (Mixed feelings because I love to travel and spend quality time with Mr. C. and family, and I love to write on a daily basis. Sometimes they are just mutually exclusive.)

In other words, during late spring, summer and early fall, I won’t be writing up sparkling introductions and fantastic recipes for your edification as frequently as I have been these past 4 months. But don’t panic! Sit down, take a deep breath and get yourself under control! (And by-the-way, the old paper bag trick to stop simple hyperventilation actually does work!) Instead of almost daily, I will be posting entries when time and WiFi permit. (Sometimes we take our trailer way off grid. And when we go to Italy this fall, you can bet your best bottle of Chianti that I won’t be thinking about the blog at all!)

But come late fall and winter, when you too are back from vacations and have more time to read and digest (literally and figuratively) more recipes, we will once again begin our daily double routine. Me behind the computer, you in front!

But for now, I wish each and every one of you a happy late spring and a fantastic summer. And special thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I love writing it and hope it brings you cooking inspiration and every once in awhile a little chuckle to brighten your day. Now, where did I leave the keys to the trailer?

  • 1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 c. butter
  • ¼ c. + 2 tsp. Cointreau or other orange flavored liqueur
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 7 lg. eggs, room temperature
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 pint whipping cream
  • ¼ c. powdered sugar
  • zest of 1 orange

Combine chocolate chips and butter in a heavy saucepan and heat until chocolate melted. Remove from heat and add the ¼ cup Cointreau and vanilla. Set aside and cool to lukewarm. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar together for about 6 minutes or until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Ribbons should form when beaters are lifted. Slowly pour the melted chocolate mixture into the beaten eggs and pour into a buttered 9-inch spring-form pan that has been fitted with an aluminum foil leakage guard bottom. (I usually cut a circle of aluminum foil about an inch in circumference larger than my pan. Then I place the pan on the foil and fold the foil up the sides to prevent batter leakage. As further protection from run away melted butter escaping to the floor of my oven, I place the whole thing on a rimmed baking sheet.) Place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes (don’t use convection if at all possible) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool for 5 minutes. Gently press down edges of cake with your fingers. Cool completely in pan. Then, run knife down edges to loosen cake. Remove sides of pan and set cake, bottom of pan and all, on cake plate. When ready to serve, whip cream to stiff peaks. Whip in powdered sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons of Cointreau. Dollop whipped cream on each thin slice serving and sprinkle with a tad bit of orange zest.