A Winter Warmer

Sausage and White Bean Soup

2 generous servings

We were getting ready to leave town and I had carrots, potatoes and chicken broth to use up, but wasn’t in the mood for plain old chicken soup. It’s freezing up here in the mountains this winter and I was craving something warm and hearty. A quick look in the freezer got me wondering if I could somehow work sausage in to a soup. Luckily, I found the perfect ingredient to tie it all together sitting right in my pantry: beans. The soup was perfect served with some freshly toasted gluten-free garlic bread, and Scott had seconds!

2 links Italian sausage, about ½ lb.

4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into ½ inch cubes

2 red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (unpeeled)

1 C. red wine

2 cups chicken broth

2 C. beef broth

1 T. tomato paste

½ tsp. dried oregano

1 C. canned white beans, including starchy liquid

Salt and pepper to taste

Squeeze the sausage out of its casing and break into chunks the size of small meatballs. In a heavy pot or French oven (enameled cast iron pot) over medium-high heat, sauté the sausage chunks, rolling around as they brown, to cook evenly on all sides. (This doesn’t have to be perfect. The sausage chunks don’t have to be uniform in size and if a couple break up, that’s fine.) Once cooked, remove sausage from pot and set aside. Add potatoes and carrots to the pot and stir to coat in the remaining grease from the sausages. Season with salt and pepper. Add the red wine to deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon to stir the vegetables and scrape the brown from the bottom of the pot. Let simmer until the wine reduces by about half. Add the broth, tomato paste and oregano. Stir, cover, and let simmer on low until the vegetables are tender (about 20-30 minutes). Add the beans and cooked sausage, stir, and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato Soup: Mmm Mmm Better

Tomato Soup

I’m back! My daughter is six months old today and I’m marking the occasion by getting back to my blog! Since I still have to do most of my cooking with a baby on my hip, I can’t promise any consistency to my posts, but I will try my hardest to share a new recipe at least once a week, if not more, so please keep checking in or just subscribe to Glutenholics Anonymous!

It’s nearly impossible to find a gluten-free tomato soup at a standard grocery store…but all the ingredients for my quick and easy homemade version are probably already in your pantry! And this post comes just in time for winter, when a warm, hearty, silky soup is just the ticket for a rainy day. You can make this recipe even easier by omitting the flour and olive oil, but I added the step because my husband requested a thicker soup for dunking his grilled cheese sandwich. The final product is way better than the canned stuff!

For the marinara sauce, choose your favorite, good-quality brand because this basically determines the flavor of the soup!

Tomato Soup

(About Four 1-cup Servings)

1 T. olive oil

2 T. rice flour

1 can (about 1 ¾ C.) GF chicken broth (such as Swanson’s Natural Goodness)

3 C. GF marinara sauce, pureed until smooth

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

Salt and Pepper, to taste

In a medium pot over medium-low heat, stir the flour and oil into a paste, then whisk in the chicken broth a little at a time (to prevent lumps) until fully incorporated and smooth. Add the pureed marinara sauce and seasoning. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a bubble, stirring occasionally. Serve with a dollop of crème fresh and fresh basil, if desired.

Hang in There!

To all the wonderful people that have been reading my blogs and recipes, I just wanted to thank you for your patience as my posting frequency has dropped off. I will continue to  post only about once a week or so in the coming weeks as my family prepares for our first baby and a move into our first home! I’ve been very busy and extremely exhausted and unable to cook or write as much, so please hang in there and be sure to check in at least once a week to look for new posts. If you subscribe, new blogs and recipes will automatically be sent to your email.

Thanks again for reading and making all my hard work worth while!

A Nod to the Irish

Shepherd’s Pie

All hail the Irish and their obsession with potatoes! It’s no surprise that of all cultures, they have come up with a pie that uses a mashed potato topping in place of a crust…especially since the Irish have long been associated with Celiac. Unfortunately, you still can’t just go into a pub and assume the dish is safe since flour is used to thicken the sauce inside the pie.

My version of shepherd’s pie calls for pre-cooked chicken instead of the traditional lamb or beef, so this is another great way (like last week’s Roasted Chicken Soup) to use up a leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken. I use my favorite gravy flour – rice flour – to thicken the sauce and one of my very favorite herbs – tarragon – to give it a unique sweet and savory flavor.

Shepherd’s Pie

For 2 servings:

Mashed Potato Topping

2 C. diced potatoes (1 large russet or 2 gold potatoes)

2 T. butter

¼ C. milk

Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Boil the potatoes until tender. Strain. Return to the pot and mash together with butter, milk, salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Shepherd’s Pie Filling

2 carrots, diced into bite-sized pieces

1 C. broccoli florets

2 T. butter

1 C. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. rice flour

2 C. GF chicken broth (or 1 can)

1 ½ tsp. dried tarragon

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

GF hot sauce to taste

½ C. frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained to ¼ C.)

½ C. corn

¾ C. cooked shredded or diced chicken

Steam or boil the carrots and broccoli until tender (about 5 minutes). Set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over med-low heat and sauté onion and garlic until tender and translucent (8-10 minutes). Use a wooden spoon to stir in the rice flour to coat the onions, then slowly stir in the broth (if you do it a little at a time instead of all at once, it won’t clump as easily). Add dried tarragon. Turn the heat to medium and allow the sauce to come to a low simmer so it will thicken. Once it reaches a simmer, season with vinegar and hot sauce. Turn off the heat. Stir in the spinach, corn, chicken and reserved carrots and broccoli. Divide between two individual (or one medium) casserole dishes (I used two oval dishes about 4x6x1.5-in.). Top with the mashed potatoes. Bake at 415 for 15 minutes, until the tips of the mashed potato topping begin to turn brown.

A Cure for the Common Chicken Soup

Roasted Chicken and Potato Soup

I had a cold last week and chicken soup was just what I needed. Most people would just run to the store and grab a can of chicken noodle soup, but that’s not really an option for glutenholics. I don’t think people who buy the canned soup are doing themselves any favors anyway. The cans are usually lacking in chicken and vegetables and overloaded with salt. When sick, homemade is the way to go. And this particularly homemade chicken soup is, in my opinion, much better than “common” chicken soup because I use roasted chicken to make the broth and replace the standard noodles with potatoes.

That’s right. This recipe is MEANT to be made with a leftover whole chicken. That means two things: it’s fine if the chicken is already partially eaten and you can utilize whatever ingredients you had in your roast chicken to create your own unique broth flavor. It’s difficult to go wrong here. But I do find that starting out with a roasted chicken as opposed to a raw one turns out a richer, earthier, more flavorful broth. You can also season this broth with fresh herbs, but it’s really delicious without the added hassle.

An important thing to note is that noodles are not required to make an excellent chicken soup. I’ve used my favorite – potatoes – for the starchy component of this dish. Of course, you are welcome to use GF pasta or rice instead. And go crazy with the vegetables. I happened to have carrots and broccoli in the refrigerator, but I have also used green beans, chunks of corn on the cob and chopped bok choy. I would just recommend using a range of colors, as different colors of vegetables are supposed to contain different nutrients…and it’s prettier to look at that way.

For 6 to 8 servings:

Roasted Chicken and Potato Soup

1 Roasted Chicken (see March 3 blog “A Good Foundation”)

12 C. water

Kosher salt and pepper

3 C. diced, peeled potatoes

1 ½ C. diced carrots

1 ½ C. broccoli florets

2 C. diced or shredded cooked chicken

Remove all the remaining meat from the chicken carcass and set aside for the soup.  Place the carcass in a large stock pot, along with all the leftover vegetables used for stuffing and flavoring the cavity of the roasted chicken (onion, carrot, lemon, bay leaf and garlic) as well as any remaining onions and carrots that were roasted alongside the chicken. Cover the chicken with the water. Season with 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt and ½ tsp. ground pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for at least two hours and as many as four, until the broth is very flavorful when you taste it. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Strain the broth, then let it cool and skim the fat from the surface, if desired. Return the broth to the pot and add potatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil and then add the broccoli. Once the vegetables are tender (about 10 to 15 minutes), turn off the heat and stir in the reserved chicken.

A Strong Foundation

Roasted Chicken

A good roasted chicken is the foundation for countless recipes, so it’s important to know how to do it well. Be sure to save EVERYTHING, as on Friday I’ll be using the bones, stuffing  components and leftover meat to make an awesome Roasted Chicken Soup, from scratch.

1 large whole chicken

1 yellow onion

4 cloves garlic

1 lemon, quartered

4 carrots, cut into large chunks

Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

2 T. plus 1 tsp. olive oil

1 bay leaf

¼ C. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350.

Remove the gizzards from the inside of the chicken. Season the inside and outside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Cut half of the onion into large chunks and combine with 3 cloves of garlic (halved), the quartered lemon, a quarter of the carrots and bay leaf. Stuff the cavity with the mixture.

Finely chop another quarter of the onion. Mince remaining clove of garlic. Mix with 2 T. olive oil, 2 tsp. kosher salt and 1 tsp. ground pepper. Rub the mixture all over the outside of the bird and, if desired, between the skin and meat of the chicken as well (be careful to leave the skin in place so it still covers the flesh or the chicken could dry out).

Place the chicken on a rack inside a large baking dish or cookie sheet, so that the legs are sitting towards the bottom and the breast is facing up.

Cut the remaining quarter of the onion into bite-sized pieces and toss with remaining ¾ carrots, 1 tsp. olive oil and additional salt and pepper to taste. Scatter in the baking dish surrounding the chicken.

Bake for 1 to 1 and a half hours, depending on the size of the bird, basting with melted butter every 20 minutes. To test doneness, insert a knife between the body of the chicken and the leg: the juices should run clear. Serve the chicken with its pan juices for extra flavor.

Reserve the carcass, vegetables from the cavity of the chicken and any leftovers for Friday’s Roasted Chicken Soup.

A Perfect Package

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce, like corn tortillas, is the perfect GF vessel for all types of food. Tortillas work when warmed and softened, while lettuce offers a cold, refreshing crunch to a meal. I’ve used both before in this blog: corn tortillas as a crust for quiche and lettuce as a “bun” for cheeseburgers. This recipe shows another ideal use for lettuce as a wrap: warm and spicy filling pairs perfectly with cool, crispy iceberg in these Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

The shame about Chinese food is it tends to include just a few ingredients that are off-limits to glutenholics. But because those particular components (such as soy sauce) are in virtually every dish, Chinese food becomes a rare luxury for us. But there’s a bright side. If you buy GF versions of those few ingredients (try San-J GF soy sauce), the cuisine is already pretty glutenholic friendly. Corn starch is actually called for as a thickener in many authentic recipes, and rice flour is commonly used as a coating for deep frying. Unfortunately, you never really know what they’re using in Chinese restaurants and whether there’s any cross-contamination behind those swinging kitchen doors.

I’ve talked about the GF menu at P.F. Chang’s before. Let me emphasize that I don’t just love that place because it offers gluten free Chinese food (which by itself is incredible), but because that food is delicious. One of my favorite dishes on the menu is the chicken lettuce wraps: finely diced chicken cooked with water chestnuts, mushrooms and a super flavorful sauce, served with crunchy iceberg lettuce for wrapping. As we don’t all have a neighborhood P.F. Chang’s around the corner, here’s my version:

Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

For 2 servings:

1 T. vegetable oil

1 T. grated fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

2 green onion, minced

4 medium crimini mushrooms, diced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast or 4 to 6 tenders, cut into small chunks

1 8-oz. can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

¼ C. sherry wine

1/3 C. GF barbecue sauce (see Jan. 25 blog)

2 T. rice vinegar

¼ C. GF soy sauce (like San-J)

1 T. fish sauce (like Thai Kitchen)

½ to 1 tsp. Sriracha hot sauce

1 tsp. chili oil

½ head iceberg lettuce, washed and separated into whole leaves

In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat and quickly sauté the ginger, garlic, shallot, green onion and mushrooms. Once they begin to soften (after about a minute), add the chicken, tossing and stirring regularly until cooked through (another 2 to 3 minutes). Stir in the water chestnuts and sherry, then reduce heat to medium-low.  Add the remaining ingredients (sriracha to taste depending on your heat/spice tolerance)and cook for another few minutes until heated and slightly thickened. Serve wrapped in whole leaves of iceberg lettuce. Garnish with additional diced green onion, if desired.

Smoke Up

Hubby’s Hickory Smoked Pork Spareribs

I’ll take the credit for the great barbecue sauce in this recipe (though it’s not a new recipe to the blog) but my very talented, barbecuing husband Scott gets all the credit for these sweet, smoky ribs. I never thought I was a big rib fan until I had these. They are always a huge hit and great for game days, served casually with chips, baked potatoes or a gluten free potato salad (recipe to come).

You’ll probably get more than two servings out of the ribs, as this recipe calls for a full rack of ribs, but since there’s not a lot of meat on rib bones, I would rather overestimate portion size than underestimate. If you prefer, you can cut the recipe in half and divide the ribs in half.

For 2 to 4 servings:

Hubby’s Hickory Smoked Pork Spareribs

1 bag hickory chips, soaked in water for an hour before using

1 rack of pork spareribs (about 10 to 12 ribs)

2 T. chopped fresh rosemary

2 T. GF steak seasoning of choice (I like Pappy’s)

2 T. olive oil

1 ½ C. GF barbeque sauce (see recipe in Jan. 25 post “Brighten Your Day with BBQ”)

Rub the rack of ribs with rosemary, steak seasoning and olive oil. Set your gas grill to about 275 to 300 degrees, placing the wood chips in a smoke box (metal tray with holes) that sits underneath the grill. Place the ribs to one side of the grill, meat-side-up, so they are over indirect heat. Do not flip the ribs. Cook for about five hours, replenishing the smoke box with additional wood chips as necessary and basting the ribs with additional barbecue sauce as it dries out. The ribs will be done when the meat starts to pull away from the end of the bone or the internal temperature reaches 150, for medium doneness. Before removing the ribs, turn the grill up to high and place the rack, meat-side-down, over direct heat for 3 to 5 minutes to give it a dark crust. Remove from heat and let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing into individual ribs. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.

Polenta’s Potential

Polenta Lasagna

Of course you can buy GF lasagna noodles to recreate your favorite lasagna recipe, but polenta just has so much more potential for versatility and flavor. Using polenta also means I can avoid a separate trip to the natural foods store to buy a more expensive/specialty ingredient.

This version of lasagna is both a creative way to make lasagna and a creative use for polenta. What’s great about it is you can mix your favorite seasonings right into the polenta (in this case: parmesan, onion and garlic), giving the dish the potential to be much more flavorful than lasagna that uses a standard, plain pasta noodle.

This recipe makes two generous dinner servings, but is also perfect for cutting into four pieces and freezing individually to have on hand for quick lunches.

Polenta Lasagna

For 2 to 4 servings:

1 T plus 1 tsp. olive oil

½ C. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 GF Italian sausages, removed from casing

¾ C. GF marinara

1 tsp. dried basil or 1 T. fresh chopped basil

Kosher salt and pepper

2 C. water

½ C. dry polenta or cornmeal

½ tsp. garlic powder

1/3 C. plus 3 T. shredded Parmesan cheese

1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

½ C. GF ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

Coat bottom of medium sauté pan with about 1 T. olive oil and sauté onion and garlic for a few minutes, until tender. Remove and set aside. Add sausage and turkey to the pan and cook through, using a spatula or wooden spoon to break up the meat as it cooks.  Stir in the marinara and half of the basil, season with salt and pepper, and keep warm until the polenta is finished cooking.

In a medium pot, bring water to a boil and whisk in polenta. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until polenta is soft and has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat and stir in the sautéed onion and garlic, garlic powder, remaining basil and 1/3 C. Parmesan cheese.

Coat an 8×8 inch square baking dish with 1 tsp. olive oil. Pour in half of the polenta to coat the bottom of the baking dish, using a spoon to spread it out, if necessary. Cover the polenta with half of the sausage/marinara mixture. Dab the top with ¼ C. of ricotta cheese, then cover with a layer of ½ C. mozzarella and 1 T. parmesan. Repeat with remaining ingredients, pouring a layer of the remaining polenta, followed by the remaining sausage mix, and finally the cheeses (2 T. of Parmesan this time).

Bake for 15 minutes, then set the oven to broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese on top of the lasagna begins to bubble and turn golden.

The Lighter Side of Dessert Day

Pineapple Cheesecake with Ginger Cookie and Coconut Crust

Good gluten free ginger snaps are pretty easy to find. I like the Mi-Del brand, found at many natural foods stores (beware that they have a non-GF version too) and if you have a Trader Joe’s market in your area, they sell a great GF ginger snap as well. When you can find a good GF product that’s ready-made for a reasonable price, save yourself the trouble of making it yourself. These cookies are great for snacking and perfect for making pie crusts.

Some glutenholics complain that they gain unwelcome wait when starting the new diet. I’m not a doctor, but my guess is that’s probably because they’re sick intestines are finally beginning to work properly so can fully digest and absorb GF food.  So for this cheesecake, I came up with a super simple recipe that also has a little less fat and sugar than a traditional cheesecake. No eggs. Low-fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese. Pineapple juice used as sweetener. Still tastes great.

Kraft’s Philadelphia Cream Cheese is GF according to the ingredient list. The company’s web site states that any gluten in its products is properly identified on the package. For example, if the natural flavors are sourced from gluten, it will say “contains rye” on the label.

For 6 large or 9 small servings:

Ginger Cookie and Coconut Crust

1 C. GF ginger snaps (about 15 cookies)

½ C. shredded coconut

2 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400. Combine the cookies, coconut and melted butter in a food processor. Whirl into a sandy consistency. Press into the bottom of an 8×8-inch square baking dish. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Pineapple Cheesecake

2 8-oz. packages GF Neufchatel (low-fat cream cheese)

1 C. pineapple juice

1 envelope gelatin

2 T. sugar

Bring the juice to a boil and stir in the gelatin until completely dissolved. Add the sugar. Using an electric mixer, slowly mix the warm juice into the cream cheese.  Pour over the baked crust. Refrigerate until cool and set, 2 to 3 hours. Garnish with candied ginger, if desired.