Food Food & More Food

Okay gang- sorry I stepped away from the computer for a few days. Now for catch up. Over the weekend we cooked lots of new things. Including but no limited to: Pizza with gluten free crust; Doughnuts; Pork-n-Beans with Butternut Squash Ragu. I am still enjoying working my way through Silvana's cookbook on gluten free & dairy free meals. It still blows me away just how good her recipe's are.

I used her pizza crust recipe and then made the pizza our way. Everyone enjoyed it. Trevor raved about how good the pizza crust was, which always make this momma proud. The crust is not what you would be used to from delivery, but more like a brick oven flat bread crust. It was amazing. We will be having it again this weekend. This time with BBQ sauce, chicken and caramelized onions. YUMMM!

Next up was Saturday morning Doughnuts. I used Silvana's Sugar and Spice recipe. Her recipe called for a doughnut pan, which I don't own, so I used a shallow star shaped muffin pan. It worked great. I may invest in the doughnut pans now that I know we will be eating these

again and again. And she has several options. Again supper YUMMMM!

Then Sunday morning I began working on the Pork-n-Beans with Butternut Squash Ragu. These are NOTHING like your pork-n-beans in a can you maybe familiar with. This had loads of deliciousness in it. However, it needed a little something. The next day we added rice to it. This made it more like a gumbo, but it was still good.

House Party & Appetizers

We had our first neighborhood get together the other night. It was so nice to have several neighbors over for food and fellowship. We hope to do it more often. I worked hard to pull off an environment that was comfortable and inviting { you would have to ask the neighbors if I was successful...haha}.

I decided to do 3 starter dishes and 1 dessert. This way you could make your own plate and walk around the house and mingle, rather than a full blown meal where we all sit around an awkward table and stare at each other hoping someone will be the talker of the bunch.

The bad news to all of this is :: I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES ::

I just wanted to kick myself. I had a lot to take pictures of and a great table setting as well. BOO BOO BOO!!

Well onto the food. I did snap 1 picture and thankfully Silvana's cookbook has some pictures as well. So, I will have SOMETHING to share...ugh!!! okay okay okay, I'm over it!! Moving on...

We began the evening with starters:

Grilled Sausage-Stuffed Portobellos by Silvana Nardone - These were super easy.

12 ounces Italian sausage

1 glove garlic finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 tsp rosemary

1 large egg

6 tbsp rice cereal crumbs

Salt

4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed

Extra-virgin olive oil

Sloppy Joe-Stuffed Potato Skins by Silvana Nardone - Also very easy

:: NO PICTURE ::

6 russet potatoes

2 Tbsp EVOO

Salt & Pepper

1 bell pepper chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 lb ground beef

3/4 cup tomato sauce

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 scallions, green parts only, finely chopped,

for topping

Corn-Shrimp Fritters With Creamy Salsa Dip by Silvana Nardone - My favorite!!

1 cup corn kernels

1 cup chopped shrimp

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup Silvana's All-Purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley

1/2 cup salsa

1/4 cup mayonnaise

Vegetable oil, for frying

Now onto Dessert:

Rocky Road Rice Crispy Treats by Silvana Nardone - These where so YUMMMY!!

4 cups mini marshmellows

1/2 cup well-stirred almond butter

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

5 cups rice cereal

1/4 cup marshmellow creme

2 tsp boiling water

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

melted for drizzling

:: FOR COPY WRITE REASONS I CANNOT PUT DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING ::

Grilled Ketchup-Glazed Chicken

These drumsticks were delicious. We could have had a few more. The kids liked them too. They pretended to be at Hogworts' dining hall. I made oven-fried french fries as a side.

Grilled Ketchup-Glazed Chicken

Taste: 4

Difficulty: 2

Grilled Ketchup-Glazed Chicken by Silvana Nardone

Serves 4 Prep Time 5 minutes (plus marinating) Cook Time 35 minutes

1 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp EVOO

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/4 cup light packed brown sugar

2 tsp chili powder

Salt

8 chicken drumsticks

Asparagus Risotto & Yummy Cornbread

One of the main reasons I wanted Silvana Nardone's cookbook, was because she was a baker. She owned a bakery in Brooklyn, NY, "When I bake there's a comfort in the smell that fills the sweet, moist air-one of the reasons I once owned a bakery. I like everything about dessert-cookies and ice cream, cakes and pies." I knew that if I was gonna conquer the gluten and dairy free world, I would need her help.

So far she has NOT let me down.

Asparagus Risottto Casserole:

Taste:

Keva- 4

Trevor-3

Micah-4

Isaac-1

Difficulty: 2

Asparagus Risotto Casserole by Silvana Nardone

2 Tbsp evoo

1/2 chopped onion

2 gloves chopped garlic

2 cups Arborio rice

Salt & pepper

1/2 cup white wine (milk or water can be substituted)

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (i used chicken)

1 cup water

1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut

into 1 inch pieces

1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon*

Thoughts:

This was more of a side dish than a main dish. Next time I make this, I will make it with chicken or fish, something light. This dish is light and fresh.

I used the leftovers in two ways: I took some of the asparagus and put it in an omelet for the boys for breakfast; then heated the rest, put it in a thermos and sent it to school w/Micah.

Now on to the baking I was bragging about. This cornbread is the first baking I have done from Silvana's cookbook. I have used the her flour blend, but not in baking. I have been eager to try and tonight was the night.

Cornbread. I made cornbread, for Thanksgiving for Micah's dressing. I used a pre-packaged cornbread mix. It was NOT good. The consistency, the taste, the texture, it was ALL wrong. Tonight as I delved into making it again, I could tell right from the start, that this was gonna be good. The consistency, the smell the came from the oven, everything was adding up to....YUMMM! And it was!! I am excited to share this with you.

I used a mini loaf pan.

Cornbread:

Taste: 5's all around

Difficulty: 3

Double Corn Cornbread by Silvana Nardone

1 cup rice milk

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 cup cornmeal, preferably medium grind

1 cup Silvana's all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup corn kernels (I omitted this)

Enchiladas

Okay so this meal proved to be quite a challenge. And while yes I like challenges, this one was one of those that caused high tension in the kitchen. Lots of, "please leave the kitchen," "no you cannot help with this one buddy," "I need you out from under my feet or this is gonna drop on your head and burn you," "OUT NOW!!!"

Black bean, corn and yellow rice enchiladas

with guacamole and red chile sauce

Taste: Trevor - 3

Keva - 3

Micah - 3

Isaac - 3

Difficulty: 4

If you would like to take on the pretty good meal for a lot of work

let me know and I'll send the recipe.

Meatloaf Sandwiches

We have been trying for some time now to have two of our sweet college students over for dinner. Dustin & Jessie were finally able to come over on Thursday. It was so nice to visit with them for several hours. When they arrived I was still in the throws of making dinner. Which by the way is very unlike me. I usually have dinner ready 10 minutes before people arrive, leaving me anxious because the food is getting cold. Well, not this night. As they can attest, the kitchen was abuzz with commotion.

I was in the last stages of making meatloaf sandwiches and beginning stages of, caramel corn chocolate-pecan bark. I quickly handed over the job of bark to Dustin & Jessie, they did a great job making a mess and enjoyed the fun of "not knowing what in the world I'm doing."

Before I pulled the meatloaf out of the oven Dustin saw that the sandwiches would be eaten on savory waffles. At this time he proceeds to tell me, "I told Jessie on the way over here, 'If its not good, we can stop at Taco Bell on the way home.'" Thanks for the vote of confidence Dustin.

However there was know need to stop at Taco Bell, instead, this is what he said, "These taste like Red Robin!" They were quite good and we will be eating them again and again.

Meatloaf Sandwiches on Savory Waffle Bread by Silvana Nardone

Serves 4 Prep Time 25 minutes Cook time 1 hour 16 minutes

Taste: 5's all around

Difficulty: 3

Meatloaf Sandwiches on Savory Waffle Bread

meatloaf

1 small onion

1 grated carrot

1 glove garlic grated

2 lbs ground beef

3/4 cups ketchup

2 lrg eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup rice cereal crumbs

1 Tbsp parsley

1 Tbsp oregano

salt and pepper

waffle bread

2 cups Silvana's Pancake Mix

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups rice milk

Italian seasoning

Sliced tomatoes, for serving

Iceberg lettuce, for serving

Challenge

I like a challenge. I love to cook. I love my family. What do those have in common?

Well a month + ago Trevor and I decided we would put our oldest son Micah on a gluten free and dairy free diet (one way to determine if his intolerant). This became a huge challenge for me, but because of those 3 things, it was one I was willing to take on. What began as something to help Micah, we found very quickly we too liked the results of the diet, when we per-took.

I have stumbled along this last month trying varies flour mixes, milks substitutes, pancake mixes, etc. One night while in Barnes & Noble I found a cookbook, Cooking For Isaiah, Gluten Free & Dairy Free by Silvana Nardone. After I sat for an hour reading it. I fell in love with this woman. She has a heart for her son and making him dishes that taste the same as what we are used to. I trusted her recipes. I began to beg my husband for this book for Christmas. Whelp I got it!!!

While we were gone over Christmas break, I was itching to get home and start cooking. I decided I wanted to go through the cookbook Julie & Julia (reference to the movie) style.

My first order of business was to make Silvana's All-Purpose Flour. This will be from here on out the flour I use for all things containing flour.

Silvana's All-Purpose Flour

6 cups Bob's Red Mill white rice flour

3 cups Shiloh Farm's tapioca flour

1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill potato starch

1 Tbsp salt

2 Tbsp Bob's Red Mill xanthum gum

Whisk together.

And I made the cute containers as well...well all but one.

Join me if you like on a journey through cooking.

Many of you may have heard me say, "I don't like to bake, but I love to cook." Yes, there is a difference. Baking calls for very precise measurements and actually following the directions of the recipe. With cooking, you can go more by your taste buds and add and take away as you wish, there's more freedom in cooking.

However, since our family has been gluten free I have had to bake more. I have found that I love it. In the past a can of baking powder would last me two years, then I would throw it away half full. On the other hand I buy herbs and spices monthly, because I use them daily. Now I am buying things like, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa way more often. Its been quite a shift, but one I think we are all enjoying...maybe a little to much, haha.

Banana Bread: This banana bread was very good and very moist. It had a hint of cinnamon in every bite, yummm.

Taste: 5

Difficulty: 2

Mom's Banana Bread by Silvana Nardone

Makes 1 loaf Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 50 minutes

1 1/4 cups Silvana's All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups mashed bananas

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Last night I made Pumpkin Dumplings with Bacon and Asparagus. Because I am working my way through a cookbook I knew there may be things we would normally never eat, but that I want us to be adventurous and try. This was one of those things.

It actually was good, much like gnocchi, but much bigger. The size is where I would go differently if I were to ever make this again. Also, it taste just like a dumpling/noodle, not pumpkin puree. It had no taste of pumpkin, which I was kinda relieved by.

Pumpkin Dumplings with Bacon and Radicchio:

(I used asparagus, because Target didn't have radicchio)

Taste: 3

Difficulty: 2

I wish my bowl wasn't the same color as the dumplings,

but hopefully you can get an idea of what they look like.

Pumpkin Dumplings with Bacon and Radicchio by Silvana Nardone

Serves 4 Prep Time 25 mins Cook Time 20 mins

1 can pumpkin puree

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup Silvana's All-Purpose Flour

Salt

4 ounces (6 slices) thick-sliced bacon, chopped

1 medium onion chopped

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 small head radicchio sliced into 1/4 inch strips

2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat parsley