gluten free garten

super excited!

2010-10-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so quiet here lately. Truth be told, I have been so busy, I haven't had much time for cooking. I am now hoping that is all about to change and just in time for a new cookbook from Ms. Ina! I plan to get it this weekend and hope to have many gluten free recipes to share!

udi's in nashville

2010-06-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Ok Nashville GF folks, this is a big deal! Udi's brand breads have now made their way into the Cool Springs Whole Foods! This is by far the best GF sandwich bread on the market, not to mention their blueberry muffins rule! I have been ordering cases of bread from their headquarters and freezing it, but now it's in my backyard! YAY! A big thank you to the grocery managers at Whole Foods Cool Springs for hearing our cry for better bread! Are you listening Whole Foods Green Hills?

gf review: lindsays sugar cookie dough

2010-05-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to make some star wars sugar cookies as a surprise for Mr. Matty. Unfortunately this dough proved a little too sticky to roll out. Of course I was bummed, but instead I froze the dough and then broke off pieces and baked them. The cookies were small, but the taste of this dough is awesome! If you are looking for a roll out cookie dough this is not for you, but the overall taste of this product is hard to beat!

bbq pizzas

2010-04-29T06:28:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! I am so sorry it has been so long since I have posted! April has flown by and with me not making much of an appearance in my kitchen. The good news is last night we fired up the grill for the first time in a year and I couldn't be more excited to share some of my recipes with you. In the meantime here is a great GF recipe for BBQ pizza which my husband Matty came up with.

These are the GF crusts by the hard to say brand Kinnikinnick. I have tried every pizza crust on the market and this by far is my favorite. We like to leave it in the oven a little longer than the box says which makes the edges even crispier.

Another household staple is the GF Beef Brisket and BBQ sauce from Trader Joe's. Cook the brisket according to package directions and then it's ready to put on your pizza.

Don't be shy with the BBQ sauce here. It's the good stuff!

We love using the Quatro Formaggio cheese from Trader Joes as well, but any shredded mozarella would do fine.

Pile the BBQ on the crust and then bake! Rachael Ray would be jealous because this is a 20 minute meal.

Voila! Dinner is served!

GF friendly fare: Fiddle Cakes

2010-03-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

It has been almost 6 months since I have had a biscuit, and today I can say it was worth the wait! Today I had my first GF biscuit at a new local eatery in Nashville, Fiddle Cakes! This sweet cafe offers not only GF fare but also vegan and organic eats. I also tried a GF cupcake that was super yummy and they even make GF loaves of bread. I am thrilled to have such a great GF friendly place right in my back yard.

image via {traveling vegetarian}

GF friendly fare: Hot Diggity Dogs

2010-02-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

Let's face it, eating gluten-free isn't always the easiest when eating out, so it has been my mission to find GF friendly places here in Nashville. One of my favorite eats is Hot Diggity Dogs, and more specific the "nashville" dog! I was thrilled to find out that their dogs are GF and when you get it fixed like a "california", your dog is piled high on top of a giant lettuce leaf! No bun needed.

super bowl steak and asparagus

2010-02-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

Mr. Matty and I decided that instead of a party this year, we would get some yummy steaks and stay in for the Super Bowl! We chose to use a recipe of Ina's called "Steak House Steaks". (Barefoot Contessa TV)

First we took some salt and pepper and mixed it together on a plate. Ina uses a coffee grinder to grind up pepper so you aren't standing there with a wrist cramp grinding it out of a mill. Tonight we opted for the wrist cramp.

After brushing all sides of the steak with vegetable oil, lightly dab each side into the salt and pepper mixture. Less is more here people....it can get super salt and peppery before you know it.

Now sear each side for about a minute or two depending upon the size of your steak. We don't have a cast iron skillet so after we seared them in this pan we put them on a baking sheet that was already hot in the oven. Check the temp periodically with a meat thermometer and it's perfect at about 125 degrees!

Side dish: Parmesan Roasted Asparagus (Barefoot Contessa Family Style)
First lay out your asparagus onto a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. The best part about this dish is that it calls for the oven to be at the same temperature as your steak which makes it easy for the two dishes to date in the oven.

Let roast for about 10-12 minutes and then sprinkle good parmesan on top. Put back in the oven until cheese is melted.

Dinner Time!

Steakhouse Steak (GF)

See Steakhouse Steak (GF) on Key Ingredient.

Parmesan Roasted Asparagus (GF)

See Parmesan Roasted Asparagus (GF) on Key Ingredient.

gluten free favorite: doughnuts

2010-02-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

I am not sure if you GF peeps out there agree with this, but sometime during my initial trials of GF products I just got tired...or should I say jaded? When first diagnosed with celiac it was like my first day of school. I was fearless and eager to try GF products knowing I would find something to replace what I had loved for years. Somewhere around month two I suddenly felt like I was in middle school. The eagerness had worn off and been replaced by boredom and awkward looks. Thankfully it was at that time I developed my first crush, but this time instead of a boy, it was Kinnikinnick vanilla doughnuts. These are definitely a splurge in our house, because they are dangerous! Surprisingly, they taste more gourmet than a non GF doughnut, and I find myself satisfied with less. Thanks to the people of Kinninnick for helping me get past the loss of the flashing "hot" sign.

best brunch bacon

2010-01-31T08:49:00.000-08:00

Or as we call it in our house "bacon candy". This is the absolute best tasting bacon I have ever tried. My only fear is now I will never be able to eat bacon again without syrup on it! My adapted recipe is at the bottom as well as the link to Ina's original.

The first step is to get a good gluten-free bacon. I love the applewood smoked bacon from Trader Joe's. Not only is it GF it has no nitrates or preservatives. If you don't have a Trader Joe's near you, I have also tried the Oscar Mayer center cut bacon that is GF and it's yummy as well. (p.s. my friend Joy wrote and sung the new theme song to Oscar Mayer on their website.)

This is not the time for Mrs. Butterworth's syrup. You want to get a really good bottle of 100% pure maple syrup. You know it's good when there is only 1 ingredient.

Ina says to dip a brush into the syrup and brush it on the bacon. I didn't have one of the fancy paintbrushes, but I did have a Japanese soup spoon, and that seemed to work just as well.

I cook the bacon for about 11 minutes at 350 degrees, drizzle the syrup on the bacon, and then cook for another minute and a half.

Ina suggests putting it on a plate with paper towel, however my bacon stuck to the paper towel and was hard to remove. Plus...it's really yummy when it's still a little sticky. So I just plate it right after I take it out of the oven.

Ready to eat!

Ina's Original Recipe

Maple-Roasted Bacon (GF)

See Maple-Roasted Bacon (GF) on Key Ingredient.

snowed in with shrimp linguine

2010-01-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

After working on this post, I discovered two things.
1) I am so ready for new pots and pans.
2) If I had to choose a body part to photograph it would NOT be my hands.

Nevertheless, here we go! I chose an easy one to start with and one that is easy to make gluten-free! This is one of my favorite comfort food recipes from Ina and it's a total crowd pleaser! You will find my adapted gluten-free recipe below ready for print, as well as the link to Ina's original.

One of the reasons I love this recipe is because of it's few and fresh ingredients! Not pictured are the shrimp, pepper, and a bottle of good olive oil that you will need.

Here is a little fun fact: If you thaw shrimp with cold water instead of hot, they actually thaw and don't cook themselves. I discovered this tip the hard way.

I usually try to buy already peeled and deveined shrimp in the frozen section, but this go round was not so lucky so I did the hard work myself. Note: the hard work didn't make it taste better. I would try and get peeled and deveined if you can.

I am in love with my cutting board from IKEA. I get to chop everything and move it to the side without having to wipe a board and start over. Also, the Rachael Ray "garbage bowl" idea. It really does save a lot of time putting scraps into a bowl to throw away later rather than going back and forth to the trash.

There is something so gratifying about dumping a whole stick of butter into a pan. I like a whole stick of butter and 1 less tablespoon of olive oil rather than what's called for, but that is probably my inner Paula Deen talking. Either way tastes great.

Don't let impatience get the best of you. Keep your pan on medium-low so the garlic doesn't burn. Another tip learned the hard way.

If you don't have a Microplane zester yet, go and get one today! They are the greatest invention and i'm in love with the little catch-all tray!

You are almost ready to mix and serve....can you smell it?

Ok, so brown rice pasta (or any rice pasta) develops a little Elmer's glue type paste on top. Eww.

So I rinse it with hot water to get rid of the Elmer's skin before I drain and toss it with the scampi mixture.

The finished dish!

Ina's original recipe

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi (GF)

This is from the Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook and ...

See Linguine with Shrimp Scampi (GF) on Key Ingredient.