True Comfort Food ~ Gluten-Free Shepherd's Pie

It is very cool today in Sacramento, after having a full weekend of triple digit weather again; I don't know about you, but 84 degrees feels like heaven.  So now I can finally truly utilize my oven.  I am able to heat up the kitchen (guilt-free) as well as the rest of the house.  I was feeling like making a chicken pot pie today, but my 12 year old daughter, Autumn requested shepherd's pie instead.  I love to cook for my family and so I will always try to honor their requests whenever possible.  As for the chicken pot pie, it will have to wait until later in the week.

Shepherd's Pie is another one of our go to comfort foods.  It's great because it is realitively inexpensive, you can dress it up if you'd like, and it is not all that time consuming once all of the pieces of your shepherd's pie are created.  Again it is a nice meal, all in one dish, and I can place it in the oven while I work on homework with Autumn.  Now don't forget, I always have to add a little Puerto Rican spin on this, but it is guaranteed to satisfy all those who consume it.  All of the layers of the shepherd's pie can be made on different days and then put together at the last minute. 

The first layer is bread stuffing.  Since I don't have the benefit of Stove Top Stuffing (since it is not gluten-free), no offense but given the choice I still would not use it; I had to create my own stuffing.  It really is not all that difficult.  I took a loaf of store bought gluten-free bread and added all of the fine details to it to make it a stuffing.  It is all in the seasonings and flavor.  So I added lots of fresh crushed garlic and a large onion to a saute pan with olive oil.  Saute until translucent and add your celery and fresh herbs.  Add chicken broth and butter and bake.

The meat and veggie mixture is the next layer.  All this, is ground meat, onion, garlic, carrots, and peas.  You could use any veggies that you have on hand.  We love to use root veggies like parsnips that are so yummy and have a nice peppery flavor up against the sweet flavor of the carrots. 

A pot of homemade mashed potatoes, place it in the oven to bake for about 30 minutes and WA-LA!  You have Shepherd's Pie.

Shepherd's Pie

1lb. ground meat

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 head of garlic, minced

Fresh thyme to taste (2 to 3 sprigs)

Fresh sage to taste ( 4 to 6 leaves)

Fresh parsley, minced, to taste ( 1 tablespoon)

salt and pepper to taste

4 carrots, finely chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 lb. petite peas

olive oil

2 cups broth
2 tablespoons butter

gluten-free bread stuffing (see recipe)

mashed potatoes (see recipe)

gluten-free gravy (see recipe)

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil.  Once they are translucent, then add your ground meat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Once the meat is cooked add in the chopped carrots.  Saute until carrots are slightly tender.  Add in chopped celery and continue to saute for a few minutes.  Add in frozen peas.  Add in 2 cups of broth.  Stir and bring to a high simmer. 
For Gravy:  While meat and veggie mixture are simmering make a slurry (1 tablespoon of conrstarch completely dissolved in 1 cup of water).  Once the meat and veggie mixture have reached a high simmer slowly add in the slurry and stir.  This will thicken up your sauce to make it a nice thin gravy.  Put this mixture to the side.

For Mashed Potatoes: 

6 potatoes

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup warmed milk

salt and pepper to taste

Peel 6 large potatoes, and chop into bite sized chunks.  Place all chopped potatoes in salted water so that they won't turn red or brown.  Put large pot of water on the stove to boil.  Once water is boiling add the potatoes.  Allow to slow boil for about 20 minutes or potato chunks are fork tender.  Drain and mash.  Add 4 tablesppons of butter, salt and pepper to taste, and about 1/4 cup if warmed milk.  Stir to combine and put to the side.

For Gluten-Free Bread Stuffing:

1 loaf of your favorite gluten-free bread, chopped into cubes

(I used Whole Foods Gluten-Free Prairie Bread)

1 large onion

1/2 head of garlic    

fresh thyme to taste (2 to 3 sprigs)

fresh sage to taste ( 4 to 6 leaves)

fresh parsley, minced, to taste ( 1 tablespoon)

salt and pepper to taste

4 tablespoon butter, melted

1 cup broth

olive oil

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent.  Then add in chopped celery, fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste.  Continue to saute for a few minutes.  Add in the bread cubes and stir to combine.  Stir in melted butter and broth.  Spread out all of the ingredients in a prepared (buttered) 11 x 7 pan and put in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Now that you have all of your layers created it is time to put together your Shepherd's Pie.  Take a prepared 9 x 13 pan and your first layer will be the gluten-free bread stuffing.  Press it down and around the sides of your pan.  Next add your meat, veggie, and gravy mixture on the top of your bread stuffing.  Make sure to leave enough room for your mashed potatoes, about 1/2 to 1 inch.  Like me you may need a larger pan, or you can make two shepherd's pies.  Last add the mashed potaoes, and spread out ove the entire top.  Add a (2 tbsp.) little melted butter to the top and blend in.  Score the top of the mashed potatoes with a fork.  Bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.    

Umm, the ultimate in comfort food, at least for today!  And remember you can make any one of these dishes seperately on different days, freeze and then pull this dish together when you want to.  This does not need to ALL be created on the same day. Who says that casseroles and gluten-free ones no less, have to be lack luster? Not I! Why should you sacrifice flavor, texture, or visual appeal, just becasue this is a gluten-free casserole. I know my family and I don't!! Now you don't have to either!

Harvest Time Equals Baking Time With Pears and Apples

I love this time of year in Sacramento. We get tons pf produce year round but in September it is the best time for apples from Apple Hill, just above Placerville, California, and pears from Courtland, California. Although the weather here has been in the upper 90's and often times triple digits I found that I could not resist when I went to the Farmers Market this weekend. The apples and pears were abundant and all I could think of was baking with them. The aroma of cinnamon, brown sugar together with butter and pears and apples is enough to make me completely wild! I purchased so many pears and apples that I was forced to create two dishes with the majority of them. First I made pear and apple muffins for the next morning's breakfast and then I made pear and apple crisp for tonight's dessert.  Although I will say that both Michael and Autumn could not wait for breakfast the next morning to sample the muffins.  The aroma that wafted through our home was absolutely incredible!!

Gluten-Free Harvest Pear and Apple Spice Muffins

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

3 cups diced pears and apples

3 cups Amy's cake flour mix (see recipe below)

1 cup brown sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1.2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Whick together eggs, milk, and butter until blended completely.  Stir in diced fruit.  Combine remaining ingredients in separate bowl.  Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until blended.  Do not over mix.  Let batter sit for 20 minutes in order for the batter to soak up the pear and apple flavor.  Pour batter between 19 and 20 greased muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown on top.  Serve warm with cinnamon-sugar butter.

PEAR AND APPLE CRISP

FILLING

3 pears, peeled and chopped into bit-size pieces

3 apples, peeled,and chopped into bit-size pieces

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice

4 Tablespoons to 1/4 c. white sugar or turbinado sugar (to taste)

2 Tablespoons to 1/8 c. brown sugar (to taste)

2 Tablespoons (more or less) GF Flour mix - depending on juiciness of the apples

CRISP TOPPING

6 Tablespoons butter, slightly softened

1/2 c. GF quick oats, roughly ground almonds, walnuts, or quinoa flakes

1/4 c. Featherlight flour mix 

2 Tablespoons white sugar (to taste)

2 Tablespoons brown sugar (to taste)

optional: ground cinnamon (1 tsp) and freshly ground nutmeg (1 tsp)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375*F. Peel and chop pears and apples into small pieces.  Put into a medium bowl and sprinkly with lemon juice. Mix. Add sugars, flour and cinnamon. Mix together very well. Pour into medium (for thin) or small (for deep) baking dish. Put softened butter into the same bowl where you mixed the apples. Add oats (or other option), flour and sugars and “squish” together well until crumbly. Pour and crumble over apples in baking dish evenly. Bake for 23-30 minutes. Cool slightly before serving (5-10 minutes).  Serve over all natural GF vanilla ice cream.

Amy's Gluten-Free Cake Flour

This is simply a slightly altered version of Bette Hagman's Featherlight Rice Mix-with less tapioca, to prevent a bouncy texture when baking cakes.

For 9 cups:

3 cups rice flour

3 cups cornstarch or arrowroot

2 cups potato starch

1 cup tapioca starch

3 tablespoons potato flour

Bette Hagman's Featherlight Rice Mix

1 part white rice flour (or brown)

1 part tapioca flour

1 part cornstarch

Potato flour (not starch), 1 teaspoon for each cup of other flour

For Nine Cups

3 cups white rice flour (or brown) If 3 cups tapioca flour

3 cup cornstarch

3 tablespoons potato flour

Cinnamon Sugar Butter

4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teasppons sugar

Chicken Scallopini

Last night on the spur of the moment I had some chicken breast that I needed to cook up and I had thought that I would make a breaded chicken patty baked in the oven.  So I asked Michael to flatten the chicken breast for me and when I got back he had really taken some of his aggressions from the day out on the chicken breast.  Poor guy, he must have had a very trying day at work!  The chicken breast were now flatter than a pancake so I had to come up with plan B.  I had had the chicken breast soaking in some buttermilk which I had learned helps to tenderize the meat as well as makes it nice and juicy.  So I decided to take the crushed corn flakes, gluten-free ov course, that I was going to use as a breading and spice it up a little.  I added garlic powder, salt, pepper, and some Italian seasoning and finely grated paremsan cheese to it.  I mixed it all up and dipped the chicken into it before placing them on a greased shallow cookie sheet.  Before placing in the oven I drizzled some good quality olive oil on the tops of the mutilated chicken breast to help crisp up the tops.

I use a nice local olive oil by Bariani that I purchase at the Farmer's Market.  Allow the chicken breast to cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, turning half way through the process.  Serve with marinara sauce and some more grated parmesan cheese over the top.  It was very tasty.  So I accidentally happened upon a new recipe to add to our repetoire and everyone in my family was quite pleased!  Who says you can't make mistakes in the kitchen and then come out smelling like roses?  You know the old addage, when someone gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  This is what can happen when you dare to experiment!  So dare away!!

Chicken Scallopini

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups of buttermilk

1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1-2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed dried oregano
2 teaspoons Italian seasonings (parsley, sweet basil, rosemary, thyme, and sage)
1 cup crushed gluten-free corn flakes

Olive oil

1 jar of pre-made spaghetti sauce (Eden Organic)
1 cup Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Take the chicken breast and place each one between two sheets of plastic wrap and flatten with a meat tenderizer or large, heavy skillet.  Place the flattened chicken in a bowl with the buttermilk for 2 hours or the night before.  This helps to tenderize the chicken and helps to make the chicken nice and juicy.

Place corn flakes in a food processor with garlic powder and herbs, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Pulse until corn flakes are crushed.  You can leave it a little more chuncky if you like it that way.  Place corn flakes on a flat plate.

Remove chicken from the buttermilk, and dispose of buttermilk.  Dip the chicken breast into the corn flakes mixture.  make sure all sides are coated.  Place the coated chicken breasts onto a greased jelly roll pan.  Drizzle a little olive oil over the tops of the coated chicken breasts to help crisp up the chicken and to help with browning.  Put in a 425 degree oven and turn once the first side has browned sufficiently about 8 to 10 minutes.  Should not take more than 15 minutes to bake.  Once chicken has been removed from the oven pour a little pre-heated spaghetti sauce over the top and add freshly grated parmesan cheese on the top of the sauce.  Serve with pasta and vegetables.

Arroz Con Pollo ~ Rice with Chicken ~ Estilo Puertoriqueno ~ Puerto Rican Style

This was my first attempt at making arroz con pollo.  As it was one of my mother's signature dishes and no matter where she would go people would request that she make this dish for them, I was a bit intimidated.  This is what lead to my fear of making this dish.  I think that since my mother's rendition of this dish was so phenominal, that the dish would prove to be too difficult, and that I would some how let her down because mine would not live up to her high standards.  Plus, would it taste as good as my mother's?  When I thought about my mother though, I remembered that she had to begin somewhere, and that by the time I came around she had had the benefit of cooking for over 20 years.  Therefore, when I finally cut myself some slack the dish began to flow for me.  Some of the techniques that I had watched my mother do quickly came back to me and that made it so much easier to create this dish.  I actually felt like her hands were guiding me through the dish and in the end the finished product while not 100% my mom's version, it was very delicious!  My husband, Michael and my daughter, Autumn absolutely loved it.  While there is room for improvement I am quite pleased with the fact that I finally attempted this family heirloom recipe.  We were blessed with some avocadoes that came straight from from my aunt's (Titi Fifa) farm
in Puerto Rico.  She had sent my father a care package of avocadoes and he shared two of them with us.  it was the perfect addition to our meal.  The avocadoes were creamy just like eating butter, yet they were quite sweet.  And they had that tropical island scent to them.  As I made the arroz con pollo I felt like I needed something to go over the rice adn so I whipped up a small pot of gandules guizado (stewed pigeon peas).  For the recipe see my post from Christmas 2008. 

Arroz Con Pollo
Sofrieto Ingredients:

1 tbsp achiote
1 head of garlic, minced
1 cup oil
1 onion, chopped
½ can tomato sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ cup stew tomatoes
3 agiesas dulces (leave out if you can't find these)
3 cups long grain rice
cilantro
1 lb. chicken parts
green bell pepper, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
olives, 15 to 20
capers, 1 tablespoon

Directions:
Heat oil on medium heat. Cook the Sofrieto for 3 minutes. Add tomato sauce and stew tomatoes. Put in washed pieces of chicken. Add cilantro. Add olives and capers a little tomato sauce on top. Put on low heat and cover. Cook for 15 min. Uncover, turn meat, stir and cover. Cook for another 10 min.
Wash rice, add rice. Stir up with other ingredients. Put on achiote for colo. Stir fry rice on med heat. Add hot water to an inch above rice. Salt to taste. Cover and cook high heat to boil. In 5 min when the water disappears, turn rice and turn heat to low. Cook on low for another 15 min. Clean off top of pot.

Who Needs the State Fair?

Well even if we did go to the State Fair, as Celiacs, we could not purchase any of their fried foods, which as far as the State Fair goes, is one of the biggest reasons people attend.  No matter where you are at the fair you can smell the aroma of corn dogs, French firies, and a whole wide assortment of fried veggies.  I swear that they pipe the aroma in just to tempt you.  Normally we do not fry any of our food, but there is just something about going to the fair that makes you crave it.  It's in the air, and so much a part of the fair experience.  So this year when my daughter cried because she wanted fried corn dogs, I decided I was going to give it a shot.  For me, just knowing that I can recreate a recipe if I want to or need to is enough to stop me from feeling helpless and hopeless when it comes to our lifelong gluten-free diet.  This is just another step in empowering myself and my daughter.

So I set off to make the perfect homemade corn dog.  Unfortuantely I feel as though I have not found the best recipe yet, but this is all part of the exploration and experimentation process.  I gather up recipes and mix and match them together until I find the right balance for me.

While making the corn dog batter was not too difficult it proved to be quite a challenge to get it to stick onto the hot dog itself.  I tried many tricks that I had seen from other corn dog recipes (putting the corn dog batter into a long cylinder, making sure the hot dogs were dried off, keeping the batter cold and the oil hot, etc.) but try as we might none seemed to work.  If you ask me it was too much labor for a simple corn dog.  The recipe I did use, once on the hot dog and fried was very yummy hot off the frier.  For now I think we are cured from the craving of homemade corn dogs for awhile.  Until the next craving comes around I will continue my quest for  the best corn dog batter recipe.  If anyone has any ideas please let me know.  We also fried up some hush puppies with leftover batter, which are a Southern treat that I had experienced while in Tennessee.

CORN DOG BATTER

2/3 cup cornmeal
1 cup Featherlight flour mix
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tbsp. sugar
1 1/4  c. buttermilk
2 1/2 c. water
2 eggs

In large mixing bowl mix all dry ingredients. Add buttermilk and water. Beat in eggs and mix well. If batter gets stiff add small amount of water. Roll prepared hot dog in batter and fry in deep hot oil until browned.
To prepare corn dog, use wieners right out of the package; insert stick and coat wiener by rolling it in the batter. Hold on to stick. Leftover batter may be kept a few days in the refrigerator. Can be made into cornbread by adding a little more liquid or drop spoonfuls into hot oil for hush puppies.

Julia Child's Coq au Vin

About a month ago, I had the pleasure of seeing a fantastic movie entitled "Julie and Julia".  This movie was based on the lives of JuliaChild and a blogger, Julie Powell, that took on the project of making EVERY recipe from the Julia Child's cook book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", 565 recipes in 365 days.  Who-o-o!  Even I need to take a day off now and again.  The movie was very witty, insightful, and for a fellow foodie, extremely inspirational.  I dare to say that it was absolutely yummy!  The two women made me proud to be a foodie, and validated my own journey with food.  Who better to understand a foodie then another foodie?  It also gave me a much better picture of who Julia Child really was and why she became such an important American icon.  She was well traveled, intelligent, charming, and oh so funny.  She had a great outlook not only on cooking but on life itself, and I admire her perserverance.  Fellow Blogger, Julie Powell was also funny and showed great perseverance as well.  I myself look at the many dishes that Julie tried to create from the cook book and would not have even bothered.  But she was on a mission.  As for aspics, enough horrible things cannot be said about them.  I am pretty confident that I would have skipped that chapter all together, but not Julie.

Growing up I remember Julia Child as this hugely tall lady who performed a cooking show on t.v.  She seemed to me to have a strangely pitched voice, but appeared to have a great sense of humor, especially in the kitchen.  I loved Dan Akeroids imitation of her on Saturday Night Live, but that was about the extent of my knowledge of Julia Child.  My mother never used cook books, and she rarely if ever watched cooking shows on t.v.  The t.v. was reserved for her novellas (soap operas), and who could teach a pro (my mom) what she needed to know about cooking Puerto Rican food anyway?

 

I must tell you that in order to view this movie, please make sure that you do it on a full tummy.  If nothing else, it is sure to make you crave French Food, or at the very least, food in general.  After viewing the movie I had this strong desire to go home immediately and start cooking and baking.  Unfortunately it was about 10:00 p.m. in the evening and it was hotter than hot here in Sacramento so this was completely out of the question.  Oh dreadt!  What to do, what to do?!  I had to wait.  Unfortunately, patience is certainly not one of my virtues.

While I admit that I knew Julia Child had wrtitten cook books, I had never seen any of them.  Nevertheless, ever since I saw the movie I have wanted to delve into Julia Child's first cook book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", but can't seem to find a copy on the shelves at the library and I am on a waiting list and am about 100th in line for my request of said book.  My strict policy is that I never purchase a cook book unless I have viewed it from the library first or gotten personal receommendations of it from family or friends.  No sense in purchasing a cook book one will never use.  God forbid! 

The two recipes from the movie that stood out for me were:  Coq au Vin, and the other is Boeuf Burginguon.  At the time it was too hot in Sacramento to even consider making those dishes, so I decided to wait until the weather cooled off a bit.  Today is quite pleasant and I am settling in to my fall stews, soups, and roasting.  Nothing says cozy and home than the succulent aromas of a nice roast, roasting in the oven or a stew or soup simmering on the stove.  Those are the fond memories that I have of my childhood home, and I want to recreate that for my family.

As I was researching information on this dish I happened upon a bit of history on it.  I discovered that the word coq literally translated means rooster in French.  So this recipe is rooster in wine?  This dish was originally considered peasant food because the farmers would take a rooster that was too old to do much of anything else on the farm and cook it.  In the old days they would use whatever was on hand, you know the old addage of making due with what you have?  Because the rooster was old, chances are that the meat would be very tough, therefore they would cook it long and slow in wine and herbs to help make it nice and tender, not to mask its flavor.  The red wine in the recipe was used mainly to allow the acids to help break down the old meat of the rooster.  Since I couldn't find a rooster, of course I really didn't try looking, I used some organic free range chicken parts.

I must admit that 3/4 of the way through this recipe I had my doubts that this recipe was worth its lengthy and drawn out effort.  I will say that I felt great admiration for Julia Child because I knew in her day that each of the steps she requires in the recipe were an absolute must, as they did not have the advantage of frozen pearl onions (already peeled), There was no air conditioning, or microwaves, etc.  She laboriously worked at each dish she created and her only reward was her husband's fond remarks.  Making this dish helped me to feel one with Julia, even if just for a moment. 

Once we tasted that tender, succulent and heady flavor I knew it was worth every step.  From the braised onions to the sauteed mushrooms.  Fortunately I did not have to kill the rooster or even have to cut a whole chicken into parts.  The sauce was thick, and rich, and the chicken just melted in your mouth.  Even my husband who is not much of an onion person loved the braised pearl onions.  The mushrooms were absolutely perfect!  The meat, the mushrooms, the onions and the sauce just skated across the entire surface of our tongues teasing each and every taste buds and delighting them!!  The coq au vin went very nicely served over Tinkyada fettucine noodles.  Traditionally it is served over egg wide noodles and I am as of yet still on the search for the perfect tasting and textured gluten-free egg wide noodles.  I also slightly altered this recipe to make it gluten-free by using the Featherlight flour mix in place of the all purpose flour called for in the recipe.  Mixing it with the butter to make a paste worked out exquisitely.  No lumps in this sauce!  I also had the benefit of using a store bought chicken broth, rather than having had to make it from scratch.  And I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that as a Puerto Rican I had to add more garlic to this recipe, a whole lot more.  But you can be the judge of how much garlic you want to go into this dish!  As always have fun and let your creativity guide you.

Julia Child's Coq au Vin

From the kitchen of Julia Child
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Moderate
Cook Time: 30-60 min
Legendary chef Julia Child appeared on "Good Morning America" on May 11, 1995, with her Ragout of Chicken and Coq au Vin recipes.
Coq au Vin is chicken in red wine with small braised onions, mushrooms, and lardons of pork - an elaboration on the far more elementary preceding ragout, coq au vin involves more hand work since you have lardons of bacon to prepare for the special flavor they give to the sauce. Then there is the traditional garnish of small braised onions and sautéed mushrooms. This combination makes a wonderfully satisfying dish, and a fine one for company.

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup lardons (4 ounces -- 1-by-1/4-inch strips of blanched slab bacon or salt pork - see Special Note below)
• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds frying chicken parts
• 2 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. olive oil (or good cooking oil)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 or 2 large cloves of garlic, pureed
• 1 imported bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp or so thyme
• 1 large ripe red unpeeled tomato, chopped, (or 1/3 cup canned Italian plum tomatoes)
• 3 cups young red wine (Zinfandel, Macon or Chianti type)
• 1 cup chicken stock (or more)
• Beurre manie, for the sauce (1 1/2 tbs. each Featherlight flour mix softened butter blended to a paste)
• Fresh parsley sprigs (or chopped parsley)
• 1/3 cup good brandy (optional)
• 12 to 16 small brown-braised white onions
• 3 cups fresh mushrooms, trimmed, quartered and sautéed

Cooking Directions

Before browning the chicken, sauté the blanched bacon or salt pork and remove to a side dish, leaving the fat in the pan. Brown the chicken in the pork fat, adding a little olive oil, if needed. Flame the chicken with the brandy, if you wish -- it does give its own special flavor, besides being fun to do. After browning the chicken, uncover pan, pour in the cognac. Flambé by igniting with a lighted match. Let flame a minute, swirling pan by its handle to burn off alcohol; extinguish with pan cover. Then proceed to simmer the chicken in the wine, stock, tomatoes and seasoning as directed in the master recipe.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the Brown-Braised Onions and the Mushrooms.

Brown-Braised Onions:

12 to 24 small white onions, peeled (or double the amount if you want to use tiny frozen peeled raw onions)*

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt to taste

* If neither frozen nor fresh pearl onions are available, substitute one large onion cut into 1/2-inch pieces. (Do not use jarred pearl onions, which will turn mushy and disintegrate into the sauce.)
If peeling your own pearl onions drop onions into boiling water, bring water back to the boil, and let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and drain. Cool onions in ice water. Shave off the two ends (root and stem ends) of each onion, peel carefully, and pierce a deep cross in the root end with a small knife (to keep onions whole during cooking).

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil, add parboiled onions, and toss for several minutes until lightly browned (this will be a patchy brown). Add water to halfway up onions and add 1/4 to1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover pan and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes or until onions are tender when pierce with a knife.

NOTE: Onions may be cooked in advance, set aside, then reheated when needed. Season to taste just before serving.

Mushrooms:
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small, sliced or quartered if large

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Prepare mushrooms. In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat butter and olive oil; when bubbling hot, toss in mushrooms and saute over high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

NOTE: Mushrooms may be cooked in advance, set aside, then reheated when needed. Season to taste just before serving.

Finishing the dish. Strain, degrease, and finish the sauce, also as described. Strew the braised onions and sautéed mushrooms over the chicken, baste with the sauce, and simmer a few minutes, basting, to rewarm the chicken and to blend flavors.

Special note: To blanch bacon or salt pork: When you use bacon or salt pork in cooking, you want to remove its salt as well as its smoky flavor, which would permeate the rest of the food. To do so, you blanch it -- meaning, you drop it into a saucepan of cold water to cover it by 2 to 3 inches, bring it to the boil, and simmer 5 to 8 minutes; the drain, refresh in cold water, and pat dry in paper towels.

Women and Celiac Disease

Women and Celiac Disease

Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan

Here in California I think we get spoiled with the variety and the amount of vegetables that are available year round.  When my family and I traveled this summer across the U.S. we found that vegetables were not so prevelant everywhere else.  Salads were some times just a bowl of icebeg lettuce with one slice of cucumer and two cherry tomotoes on top.  Not very appealing, or tasty.  What we craved the most while on our trip, were the beautiful, colorful and fresh vegetables that abound in California.  My family loves vegetables.  Not just some vegetables but all vegetables.  I know that unfortunately our lives often can get so hectic.  It can get to the point that all we can think of is getting that meal on the table without any regard to what goes into it, what it's nutritional value is, or how it looks and tastes.  Slop!  We sometimes get stuck into a routine and forget to create new and exciting vegetable dishes to tease our palettes.  But you know me, I am ever seeking for new recipes.  I don't care where I get them, just as long as they keep coming.  There is this new cooking show on the Food Network called "10 Dollar Meals with Melissa d'Arabian".  I like her show because she is extremly accessible.  She is always giving tips on how to create wonderfully tasty, and eye catching meals without having to break the bank.  This concept really hits home for us, because that is our exact philosophy.  Who wants to eat the same old dried up veggies or worse yet soggie, no color, lifeless vegetables?  Certainly not a vegetable out of a can.  Yuck!!  Not us, that's for sure.

This vegetable dish is extremely easy, yet looks fancy; fine dining if you will.  Plus, roasting the broccoli does not mean it will lose anything in color, flavor, or texture.  Did I mention it only takes a few minutes to prep this dish and it costs less than a dollar for a family of four to serve?  And yet again a dish I can throw into the oven while the rest of dinner is being prepared and I am working on homework with my daughter.  This would be a nice dish to serve for a huge family gathering or party.  Simple yet elegant.  FYI, this concept of roasting vegetables can be adhered to many vegetables.  As a Puerto Rican I would be remiss if I did not add a little, if not alot of fresh minced garlic, and you could always add some fresh minced herbs, or marinade the veggies in a nice salad dressing before you roast them.  Remember to be creative and there is no wrong way to do this!

ROASTED BROCCOLI WITH PARMESAN
Recipe courtesy Melissa d'Arabian
Show: Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d'Arabian Episode: Supper for a Song
4 servings
Ingredients
• 1 head broccoli
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel the outer layer of the broccoli stalks. Cut the broccoli lengthwise keeping the stalk and broccoli florets intact. (The long broccoli spears should resemble trees.) Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to coat and roast until nicely caramelized, about 15 minutes. Turn broccoli over and sprinkle with grated the Parmesan. Cook until the Parmesan melts, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and serve immediately.

Click on this link to see this recipe on the Food Network:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/roasted-broccoli-with-parmesan-recipe2/index.html

Scalloped Potatoes

Being Celiac we have to become really creative with our dishes.  Not to mention the fact, that both my daughter and I absolutely hate monotony.  We crave variety.  So I not only work diligently on my main courses, but strive for amazing side dishes to boot.  For our needs, I must keep in mind budget friendly items, as well as being inventive, creative, while still being tasty and with a spectacular texture.  Sounds like a great deal of work, but not really.  Because I know what my family likes and I love to cook.  I also love to experiment with recipes which helps to break up the monotony.  Today I am putting a bit of a spin on an old classic and I am making it gluten-free.  Today's side dish is Scalloped Potatoes.  My family loves potatoes and they love cheese.  Combine those two together and you have a masterpiece.  This is a simple recipe that takes a few minutes to prep and then I can put it in the oven while I am helping Autumn with her home work, or prepping the rest of the meal.  We love to make this dish when we are going to a potluck, and for family dinners around Christmas or Easter.  Everyone raves about these potatoes and are so impressed with them.  If they only knew.... For those of you who make scalloped potatoes from a box mix, you will notice that it may cut your time down in half, but it also considerably cuts your nutritional value.  You increase your sodium and you are essentially eating styrafoam like potato slices.  Trust me, I know.  I used to make these very same boxed potatoes and not think twice about it.  After having to go gluten-free,  boxed potatoes and boxed rice were one of the first things on the chopping block.  But I am very glad for the change!  It is so interesting what we condition ourselves to eat.  When we made the change we opened up not only our taste buds, but our whole world to the endless possibilities and we are so grateful for the more delicious and nutritious foods that we now create.  Take the little extra time to make them from scratch and you will be well rewarded.  The texture and flavor is to die for.  The potatoes are tender, creamy, and cheesy with a hint of crispness on the edges.  And always remember that when you make a homemade dish you are the one in control of how much fat, sodium, sugar, etc. that goes into your recipe. 

For substitutions you can replace the milk in this dish with chicken broth, or vegetable stock, or any milk, butter and cheese substitute you normally use.  You can slice the potaotes by hand but I love using my handy-dandy mandoline.  On the mandoline, potato slices are sliced evenly so your potaotes cook more rapidly.  I go for the thinner slice on this recipe to cut down on the bake time.  You can heat the milk on the stove or in a glass measuring cup in your microwave.  Last but not least, leftovers of these potatoes are fantastic.  My husband and my daughter love to take them in their lunch boxes even though they receive jealous glares from those eating the same old mundane sandwich day after day.

 
Scalloped Potatoes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
•4 cups thinly sliced potatoes, about 6 to 8 medium potatoes
•4 tablespoons Featherlight flour mix
•1 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
•6 tablespoons butter
•3 cups scalded milk
•1 cup shredded cheese
Preparation:

In a buttered 2-quart baking dish, place a layer of about 1/3 of the potatoes. In a cup or small bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper. Sprinkle about half of the flour mixture over the potatoes; repeat with another layer of potatoes and the flour mixture and top with remaining potato slices. Dot with butter then pour hot milk over potatoes. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle cheese over the top. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until scalloped potatoes are tender and cheese has melted. Scalloped potatoes serves 6 to 8.

School Orientation

School Orientation