Breakfast for Dinner: Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pancakes

We had gluten free chocolate chip pancakes for dinner tonight.

 Working all day, cooking two to three meals a day and making sure my teenage daughter is taken care of is a huge amount of responsibility. I love all of it, but sometimes, I just have to give in to a nice and easy dinner: gluten-free almond milk chocolate chip pancakes (way more words in that name than the actual effort took to make them).

This is another installment of my cook the book project with these lovely ladies: Rachel, Aimee, Emily, Sammy and Claudie. We are cooking our way through Marion Cunnignham's The Breakfast Book. Chapter six is all about pancakes!

My daughter was thrilled with the choice. I didn't have any bacon, so she had roasted chicken and  cauliflower alongside her pancakes. Sort of like she ate dessert at the same time as dinner.

Look at that batter. The warm milk and butter mixture melted the chocolate chips into delicious strips of chocolatey goodness.

I made them with almond milk and gluten-free flour so I could eat them, too. So yummy!

Plain Pancakes

adapted from Marion Cunnigham’s The Breakfast Book, Copyright 1987, Alfred A. Knopf

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 1/4 cups gluten-free flour (make your own or use this one from Gluten-Free Pantry)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

• Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl until they are thoroughly blended. Put the butter and the milk in a small saucepan and warm over low heat until the butter has melted.
• Set aside and allow to cool a little –you don't want to add this mixture to the eggs while it is very hot or it will cook the eggs. Stir the butter mixture into the eggs and mix well.
• Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and stir with a fork until well mixed.
• Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir only until the dry ingredients are well moistened. Don't over mix.
• Heat a griddle or skillet until a few drops of water dance on it, then lightly film with grease.
• Drop 2 or 3 tablespoons of batter for each pancake onto the griddle (a 12-inch girdler will hold 4 pancakes) and cook until bubbles break on the surface.
• Turn the pancake over and cook another 30 seconds, or until the bottom is lightly browned. Serve the pancakes hot.

A Little Taste of Home: Onions and Eggs

Gran Fran made me onions and eggs on our most recent visit.

We visited for a little over two weeks, and returned home just before school started. What a good time we had. Tons of good food at every turn, with these onions and eggs as one of my favorite simple meals we were served.

These eggs are great served at room temperature, too. You could easily pack this in a container for a nice hearty lunch. It's also excellent with some cheese added in at the end of cooking, or better yet, some bacon. The little bit of sugar in the mix just heightens  the flavor of the onions.

Make this easy, four ingredient dinner for dinner, serve it alongside a salad and toasted baguette and you've got yourself a great meal.

Onions and Eggs

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Good dose of kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 8 large eggs, beaten just until blended

Method:

1. Heat large skillet; add olive oil; heat oil over high heat.
2. Add onions; reduce flame to medium; sprinkle with sugar, salt, and pepper.
3. Saute about 20 minutes over low heat---or until golden and reduced by at least half.
4. On medium heat;stir in eggs; allow to set for three minutes or so.
5. Stir and fold eggs until they reach desired consistency; serve.

Grits, Fried Green Tomatoes and Bacon: The Perfect Meal

Grits, fried green tomatoes and bacon were the first combination that came to mind when I started work on this installment of our Cook The Book project.

We are covering cereals from Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book. There are six of us participating in the project: Rachel of Ode to Goodness, Sammy of Rêve du Jour, Emily of The Bon Appetit Diaries, Aimee of Homemade Trade and Claudie of The Bohemian Kitchen.

I've never made either of these dishes before. Both turned out to be very easy and very satisfying. I was surprised at how much I loved the grits. They are a cross between traditional polenta and a warm grain cereal, like cream of rice or farina. Those were two of my favorite warm cereals growing up, so it makes perfect sense that the grits made me so happy. It's such a filling dish that I think I can get six to eight servings out of each batch.

The recipe said you could serve the grits as a sweet dish with milk and sugar. Savory breakfast is more my taste, so I tried the grits two ways: one just with butter and one with black truffle oil and bacon.

The black truffle oil was my favorite, but way too rich to eat very much of it. The fried green tomatoes were nice and crispy, as an alternate cornmeal texture against the smooth silkiness of the grits. I have plans to make a ton of this, and will likely experiment with some other combinations.

Good Grits

adapted from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book, copyright 1987, Alfred A Knopf

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup grits (I used Bob's Red Mill Organic Corn Grits Polenta)
• 1 tablespoon butter OR
• 1/2 tablespoon black truffle oil

Method:

1. Bring the water to a boil and add salt. slowly stir in the grits, and stir for a few seconds more.
2. Turn the heat to medium-low (closer to low than medium on my stove) and cover the pan.
3. Cook, stirring once or twice for five minutes (I left it for up to 10 minutes).
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter or the black truffle oil.
5. Serve hot.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 small hard green tomatoes cut into slices
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (you may want to add more at the end depending on taste)
• 1 to 2 eggs, whisked until yolks are incorporated with the whites, in a shallow dish
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup cornmeal, on a small plate
• Tobasco or Chalula sauce for serving.

Method:

1. Heat a skillet over high heat.
2. Place the tomato slices in the egg wash, turning to coat them completely.
3. Transfer the egg-coated tomato slices to the cornmeal and coat them completely in corn meal.
4. Add the olive oil to the hot pan, swirling it around to cover the entire surface of the pan.
5. Place the tomato slices in the hot oil and cook for four minutes, or until the coating on that side has browned well.
6. Turn the slices over and cook for an additional four minutes on the second side.
7. Remove the slices to a paper towel lined plate, sprinkle with salt and serve.

Cook the Book: Gluten-Free Cinnamon Butter Puffs

Better than beignets, these cinnamon butter puffs really knocked my socks off.

In this installment of our Cook The Book project, we are covering quick breads from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book. There are six of us participating in the project: Rachel of Ode to Goodness, Sammy of Rêve du Jour, Emily of The Bon Appetit Diaries, Aimee of Homemade Trade and Claudie of The Bohemian Kitchen.

After my wonderful cinnamon buns, I was prepared to commit at least eight hours to making these. The butter puffs were made, start to finish in just over thirty minutes. They came out of the oven just as we finished eating dinner, so instead of these being a breakfast treat, we ate them as desert.

This perfect marriage of sugar and spice yields moist, fluffy muffins with a kick of nutmeg. The gluten-free flour mix I used did not take away from the fluffiness of the muffins, which was my main concern. My daughter loved the flavor and texture of them so much that even after I told her they were gluten-free, she said they tasted just right.

Enjoy with tea, cafe au lait or hot chocolate. The lip-licking coating and the downy interior elevate these muffins beyond traditional breakfast offerings.

You may also want to give these fig, ham and butter sandwiches from the same book.

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Butter Puffs

adapted from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup shortening (I used butter instead, same measurement)
• 1/2 cup suger (less if desired)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour (I used Gluten-Free Pantry's Baking Mix)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup milk

Topping:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar combined with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Meethod:

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the muffin tins.
2. Put the shortening (or butter), sugar, and egg in a mixing bowl. Beat well.
3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg and add to the first mixture.
4. Pour in the milk and beat until blended and smooth.
5. Fill the muffin tins about two-thirds full.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
7. For the topping, have the melted butter ready in a bowl that is just large enough to hold one puff.
8. Have a shallow bowl nearby with the combined sugar and cinnamon.
9. As soon as the puffs are done, remove them from the pan and dip them one by one into the melted butter, and then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Restaurant Review: Radish, San Francisco

See those biscuits down there? They're gluten-free. I ordered these for breakfast at Radish in San Francisco.

I had eaten at Radish several times and only on this particular day did I notice the gluten-free biscuits on the menu. They are just as good as everything else I've had at Radish.

The poached eggs were perfectly prepared. I loved the choice of salad greens instead of potatoes, too. It's always a good idea to give me a reason to walk away from the fried potatoes.

I have had their french fries on another visit and thought they were great. My friends rave about the mac and cheese (being gluten-free and dairy-free, I can't eat it) and the bottomless mimosa's at brunch are always a big hit.

A statement from their website confirms that they use all local, seasonal ingredients and make most everything in their kitchen:

"We feature an eclectic American menu with high quality, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients taking some inspiration from Adam's Southern roots. We make the majority of our products in-house from our baguettes and biscuits to our spreads and sauces. For everything else our tiny kitchen does not allow us to create we partner with other local companies who share our hands-on approach. Our ice cream is from an up and coming local favorite, Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous; our coffee is organic and locally roasted from Mr. Espresso; and our tea is loose-leaf, fair-trade organic sourced from another up and coming tea company, Sartori tea, based out of San Jose."

Take yourself over to Radish for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The service is outstanding, the food is delicious, fresh and flavorful and the light-filled dining area is relaxing and beautiful.

Radish is located at 3416 19th street on the corner of Lexington and 19th in San Francisco.

Memorial Day Gluten-Free Pasta Salads: Pasta with Romanesco Cauliflower, Pasta with Olives and Walnuts

Going to a Memorial Day BBQ? Pasta salads are an easy made-ahead side dish that can feed a crowd. These are just two examples of pasta salads that you can make. Improvise some, add in some cheese for an extra rich variety. Or, some bacon instead of the tuna in the Romanesco cauliflower pasta salad.

Whatever you do, make these ahead of time, kick off your shoes and enjoy the BBQ.

Ingredients:

• 1 head Romanesco Cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 can Solid White Tuna, drained
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 2 cups Pasta, cooked (I used gluten-free rice pasta like this one from Tinkyada)
• 3 Tbsps Capers, drained
• 4 Pickled Italian Cherry Peppers

Method:

• Boil a large pot of salted water.
• Chop the peppers into small pieces, removing the stems.
• Once the water has boiled, add the pasta and a steamer basket on top of the pasta to parboil the romanesco cauliflower.
• Cook the romanesco for 3 minutes with the lid on.
• While the pasta/romanesco is boiling, heat a large skillet over high heat.
• Put the olive oil and the tuna in the saute pan and cook for 1 minute on high heat.
• Add the parboiled romanesco to the saute pan and cook for five minutes, or until beginning to brown.
• Put the capers and peppers in with the romanesco and cook for three minutes.
• Drain the pasta, rinse in cool water and  put in a large bowl.
• Mix the pasta and the tuna/romaesco mixture together and enjoy!

Pasta with Olives and Walnuts

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cupLindsay chopped black olives, drained
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 lb pasta spirals (I used gluten-free rice pasta like this one from Tinkyada)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 diced red onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 4 tbsps Olive Oil, divided, plus some for drizzling at end

Method:

1. Set a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil for pasta.
2. Put drained, chopped olives in a bowl, add 2 cloves minced garlic, salt, pepper and *red pepper flakes.
3. Leave to marinate while pasta water boils, and pasta cooks.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add 2 tbsps olive oil to pan, swirl to coat.
6. Lower heat to medium, add remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic, and chopped red onions.
7. Sautee until golden, then reduce heat to low.
8. Add chopped walnuts, moving them around in the pan so they brown evenly.
9. Cook pasta according to directions on box.
10. Just before it’s cooked through, add marinated olives to the onion, garlic, walnut mixture.
11. Raise heat to medium. Heat until olives are just warmed.
12. Drain pasta and place in large bowl.
13. Pour onion, garlic, walnut and olive mixture over pasta and mix.
14. Drizzle olive oil over mixed pasta, add a pinch of salt and *red pepper flakes.
15. Serve and enjoy!

Real Simple Recipe: Slow Cooker Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and Potatoes

 

I've been reading the recipe section in Real Simple for a very long time. I got hooked way back, when they used to show an ingredient and use it in several dishes. I love the clarity of the instructions and the simplicity of the meals. Admittedly I hadn't made any of the recipes until last week.

My slow cooker has started calling to me. I've only used it four or five times in the year+ that I've owned it, but each time I use it, the results are better. I am becoming  a convert to the idea of a great hot meal awaiting me as soon as I walk in the door from work.

My last foray into slow cooker cooking was with this America’s Test Kitchen’s Slow Cooker Spicy Sausage Tomato Sauce . It turned out pretty tasty.  Primarily I had used the slow cooker to make pulled pork, or stews. I thought it was time to try something a little different.

Real Simple presented me with a fantastic recipe that was different from anything I ever made before. The ingredients list includes sauerkraut (which I love, but don't often have), bratwurst (which I've seen but never used) and caraway (which remind me of my dad, Joe, and therefore make me happy). My local butcher shop supplied me with handmade bratwurst and also happened to have a nice German sauerkraut and mustard (in a boot mug) for sale. I gathered up the remaining ingredients on the list and set to work.

There was no browning involved. Nothing but slicing and measuring. Once everything had been thrown into the slow cooker, I turned it on to low, set the timer for 8 hours, and went about my business. The house started to smell really good around hour 4 and by the hour 8, I was ready to eat.

The dish was great. I love how the caraway mixed with the sausage and white wine to create an earthy flavor. No one flavor over powered any of the others. Instead, the flavors all melded together nicely, and served with mustard on toast (make mine gluten free), this dish was deeply satisfying.  Next time,  I'll make half a batch. There is only so much sauerkraut one girl can eat.

 Real Simple: Sausages with Sauerkraut and Potatoes

serves 4 to 6 people

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, halved if large
• 2 cups sauerkraut, drained
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 pounds bratwurst links
• 1/4 cup chopped flat -leaf parsley
• Toasted bread, butter and mustard for serving

Method:

1. In a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker, mix together the potatoes, sauerkraut, onion, broth, wine, caraway seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Nestle the bratwurst in the vegetables.
2. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
3. Sprinkle the bratwurst, potatoes and sauerkraut with the parsley and serve with the toast, butter, and mustard.