Au Gratin Potatoes (GF)

The base of Au Gratin potatoes is a white sauce, so if you need to make them gluten-free, you have to have a substitute for the flour in the sauce.  This is a very yummy recipe that I served with breaded pork chops (homemade Shake and Bake equivalent) because, again, not exactly gluten-free inherently.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of potatoes (6 medium)
• 1 small white or yellow onion
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 2 tbsps butter
• 1 tbsp GF flour (for this you want something substantial, like a fava bean flour, not a featherlight type).
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh grated pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz)
• 1/4 gf bread crumbs (I use Aleias)
• paprika

Instructions

For the potatoes, chop the onion very fine.  You want between 1/4 to 1/2 a cup depending on your preference. Without any onion, the potatoes will be quite bland.

Melt the butter and mix with the olive oil,

Cook the onion on low heat until it starts to soften and become translucent (but not brown).  Stir in the flour to make a bit of a paste, then add the milk and stir until fairly smooth.  Add the cheese and raise the heat, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and starts to thicken, about a minute after boiling.  Stir in the salt and pepper.   (If it doesn’t seem like it’s thickening you can add about a tsp of cornstarch mixed with a tiny bit of warm water, but you shouldn’t need to.

If the potatoes have a good skin, leave it on (because that’s where the nutrients are!) Otherwise peel them, and slice thin – 1/4 inch)(you’re aiming at about 4 cups). If the potatoes are large, you may need to cut them in half again.

Grease or spray a casserole dish (1 1/2-quarts), place in the potatoes and pour the sauce over them. Mix a bit. Top with breadcrumbs and remaining cheese and sprinkle with paprika to taste.

Cook uncovered in a 375 oven for 75 minutes(If you are roasting something at a lower temperature, you can just cook them longer – 100 minutes in a 325 oven, for example). Alternatively, you can cook them for about an hour and then add the crumbs and cheese, and cook for another 15-20 minutes, but I think that’s unnecessarily complicated. Throw them in and forget them. Either way, they’re pretty hard to mess up. They should be bubbly and brown at the edges when they are done.  Check the tenderness of the potatoes with a fork, if you’re not sure.

I served with breaded pork chops (GF, of course), applesauce and carrots.

Pullao Rice with Peas

I was looking for an accompaniment to Cumin and Cashew Chicken, and pulled this from my trusty Curries without Worries cookbook by Sudha Koul. (Out of print, but you can get it used.)  She introduces basic Indian cooking for not so savvy Americans (which I definitely was when I bought it over 20 years ago).  It did call for a lot of spices, many of which I didn’t have on hand. In the interest of speed and the contents of my spice rack, I adapted a number of ingredients to use ground rather than whole spices (cinnamon, cumin, the ginger, etc.)

Ingredients

• 1 small to medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsps olive
  oil
• 2 tbsps butter or ghee
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger or 1 tsp fresh finely chopped ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or a cinnamon stick)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin or cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves or you can use 3 whole cloves
• 1/4 tsp cardamon or 2 cardamon pods, crushed
• 12 ounces peas (I used frozen).  You can also add another cup or so of veggies like cauliflower or potato. They should be crunchy and cut fairly small.  All I had on hand was peas, so that’s all I used this time.
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 cup chicken stock (if you want vegetarian than just use water)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• You can also add a pinch of saffron, soaked in 5 tbsps of water.

Instructions

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy saucepan on high for a minute until melted, then add the onion, ginger and turmeric and fry for another minute, stirring constantly.  Add the remaining spices except the salt, stirring them into the mixture for a few seconds. Add your vegetables and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the dry rice and stir fry again for a few moments to really mix the spices onto the rice.

Add the stock, water and salt to the mixture and stir until boiling. Reduce the heat to low, add the saffron  if you have it, cover and cook for 15 minutes. The vegetables will start to float but don’t stir unless absolutely necessary as it breaks the rice grains and makes them lumpy. (which is why you want a heavier pot and low heat). Toss with a fork just before serving. Taste and add any additional salt to taste.

I served it with Cumin and Cashew Chicken. Hubby loved it.  Thumbs up.

White Wine & Sherry Pasta Sauce

I often make a quick pasta sauce by throwing together shallots, garlic, a few spices and some white wine. I use fresh herbs when I can, but often use dried as well.  It usually cooks for only as long as it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta. Other ingredients go in as I have time, inclination or can find in the fridge.  This typically includes things such as sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and chopped spinach. (I’m a stealth vegetable eater.  I don’t like many vegetables so I try to sneak them into sauces and such to up my intake.)  This version include fresh herbs from the garden, mushrooms and tomatoes, as well as the addition of sherry.  I sometimes add diced chicken and sub chicken stock for the white wine. This makes enough for one or two.

Ingredients

• 1/2-1 shallot or (or 2 tsps dried)
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 3-5 sun-dried tomatoes
• 3-4 small button or baby bella mushrooms
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/2 cup white wine
• Herbs (I used fresh oregano, basil and rosemary, about 1 tablespoon each of chopped oregano and basil and a spring of rosemary).  If you are using dried, frankly I usually eyeball it.  4-5 good shakes of Italian herbs, plus an extra shake or two of basil, oregano and rosemary).
• 2-3 tbsps butter
• 1-2 tbsps Parmesan cheese (to mix in; you’ll want extra to top the sauce when it’s done).
• 1/2-1 c  pasta per serving (Hubby eats gluten-free – his favorite is Tinkyada – the shells are pictured above. I go with regular since it’s so much cheaper than GF pasta and we eat a lot of pasta).

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to directions.

While the pasta is cooking (start when you put the water on), peel and finely chop the garlic and onion. Saute them in olive oil on low heat.  Dice and add the sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms).  If you are using dried herbs, add them now. Cook, stirring occasionally until the shallot is translucent, and the mushrooms have browned.

Adding butter to the reduced sauce

Add the wine and sherry and simmer to reduce and burn off the alcohol.

If you are adding spinach or fresh herbs, add them once the sauce is reduced a bit. (Otherwise they lose a lot of their color). It will generally cook down to the right level in the time it takes to boil water and cook pasta. If you get distracted and it gets a bit dry, just add some more wine or sherry.

Just before serving, add 2-3 pats of butter and stir to melt in. This thickens the sauce (without gluten!).  Once the butter is melted, add the Parmesan cheese and do the same thing. You can add a bit more butter if it seems too thin.

Serve over pasta, with additional Parmesan as a garnish.

Enjoy!  (The joy of using the sherry is that it gives the sauce a deeper flavor and you can go with either red or white wine depending on your mood.)

What will you try adding?

Canyon Bakehouse Hamburger Buns Review

Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Hamburger Buns are a new product at one of my local grocery stores (Stop&Shop/Giant).  You can also buy them direct from Canyon.  Hubby is a big fan of the taste and texture of these over a bunch of other buns we have tried. They are light-brown, unsurprising given that Brown Rice Flour is the top ingredient (also features Tapioca, Sorghum, Millet and Potato), have a texture close to that of wheat bread, and more taste than a lot of gluten-free products.

They are certified GF. They are also dairy, nut and soy free as well, if those are issues for you (but do contain eggs).

The only downside seems to be that they can get a bit squished in the freezing process (or more likely transfer), so it was hard to cut one or two of them and use them for an actual hamburger because the bottom was mangled up.  But a definite thumbs up. They are now a repeat buy.

Dry-Rubbed Pulled Pork and Barbecue Sauce

I love love love pulled pork, but don’t have a real BBQ pit in the yard.  Instead, I take a shortcut of popping my pork in a crockpot, which still gets you a slow-cooked, braised pork without a lot of mess.

Dry Rub ingredients

• 1/4 c. brown sugar, loosely packed
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt

Mix the ingredients together.  Trim off most of the excess fat from a pork shoulder roast (I used a Boston butt that was just over 4 lbs).  Place the rub on the top of the roast and sides, then flip over and place the rest on bottom of the roast. Ideally it is best to place the rub on the roast the night before you cook it.

The next morning place the roast in a large crockpot.  Pour 1/4 cup white or apple cider vinegar and 1/2 of dry ginger ale into the crock pot.  Cook on high for one hour and then turn down to low and cook for at least 4-5 more hours, depending on the size of the meat.  Because it is in a crock pot, and tends to be fairly fatty cut of meat, you can let it go a fair amount before it will become dry.

The meat is done when it flakes off when touched with a fork.

Remove the meat from the crock pot and let rest for 20 minutes.  Then pull the meat into shreds with two forks.

You can serve on a GF bun or with mac and cheese, cole slaw or other traditional BBQ accompaniments, including, of course, BBQ sauce.

Pulled Pork BBQ with Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese

As an experiment.  I made a Memphis style, whereas last time I made a mustard sauce.  It was good, but not quite what I wanted. If you’re buying, Pork Barrel makes a nice smoky BBQ that’s GF, or I also like Sweet Baby Ray’s.

Memphis Style BBQ Sauce

BBQ and other sauces can often be “stealth” sources of gluten, so if you make your own, you can be assured it’s gluten-free.  Plus this is delicious.

This makes about 3 cups, more than enough for your average pulled pork shoulder and some extra besides.  It will keep for several weeks in the fridge or longer if you bottle it and store it properly.

This is adapted from Steven Raichlen’s Barbecue! Bible Sauces Rubs and Marinades book.  It’s a great book that gives you background on the way the ingredients in BBQ sauces and rubs work.  I highly recommend it.

With the meat, this sauce has just about the right amount of kick, and will mellow out a bit as it cools than when you first put it together.

Wet Ingredients

• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 c. Pepsi or other cola
• 2 tbsp yellow or brown mustard
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (1 average lemon should do it)
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce (Note that teriyaki and soy sauce can be a hidden source of gluten, so make sure yours is GF by checking the allergen/ingredient list or make sure it’s labeled GF. (Kikoman now makes a GF Teriyaki and La Choy has a GF soy sauce).
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (ditto as above for the teriyaki on the stealth gluten)
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Dry Ingredients

• 1/4 c. brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried onion or shallot
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp celery seed
• 1/8 tsp salt (optional)

Note: I did not add much salt as almost all of the sauce ingredients already have a fair amount of sodium by their nature.

Wet

Dry

Directions:

Ancient Le Creuset to the rescue

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Place the wet ingredients in a stainless steel or enamel pan (I used my Le Creuset saucepan that I inherited from my mother-in-law, who got it as a wedding gift so it’s older than I am.  It has a lovely pour spout that is very convenient for pouring the sauce after cooking.)  Bring the liquid ingredients to a boil over medium high heat.  Stir for a minute or so and then add the dry ingredients and mix.  Simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes until the sauce thickens up and is reduced by a quarter or so.   Let cool, pour into containers for serving and storage. It will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks at least. 

I served it with pulled pork. You can dip or just throw some on and mix it up.  Super yum!

Hiatus

So, where was I?

There are two reasons for the delay. 

One, I worked 65 hours a week for most of the past six months.   I didn’t entirely have time to do my laundry or sleep.  Who has time to blog? 

Two, Hubby finally got officially tested for gluten sensitivity.  Not surprisingly, he doesn’t have celiac disease.  We already pretty much knew that, given his penchant for cheating on his gluten-free diet with relatively few severe effects.  Trace amounts of gluten don’t really bother him.  He just can’t eat a plate of semolina pasta. 

Once he got the official diagnosis, he went a little crazy cheating on his diet, since he was less worried about long-term effects.  He could only cheat so much, of course, without consequences.  But he definitely succumbed to a few meatball subs. 

He does still have a gluten-senstivity, though, just not one as easily diagnosed, so we’re still testing products and plugging along with a GF life. 

We’re back!