Mixed recipe reviews this week. While the end product turned out, I seemed to have had issues with assembly. Sorry, only on picture this week! Bought a new gluten free cookbook and one recipe is from the news paper and, ultimately, I just forgot to snap a few pictures of the finished products
Beer Muffins with Cheddar Cheese (Star Tribune, 4/11/13)
The author serves her beer muffins with cream of tomato soup. They would have been equally good with chili or a beef and beer stew. From Lauren Chattman.
2 c unbleached flour
2 tbsp packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup lager-style beer
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled, divided
1 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
Preheat oven to 375*. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the beer and 4 tbsp of melted butter until a rough dough forms. Stir in 3/4 cup cheese and dill. Divide batter amongst muffin cups. Drizzle remaining butter over top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top.
Bake until the muffins are golden and toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry, about 18 minutes.
Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool another 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Cornmeal-Pecan Pancakes (The GF Bible)
A side bar in the recipe noted to use finely ground cornmeal to prevent grittiness. As we were grinding our own, I made sure to grind fine. However, I think the recipe should have noted 'cornmeal flour' because even with a fine grind, the initial batter was soup. I ended up adding 2/3 more rice flour to get the batter even close to pancake consistency. The liquid to flour ratio does seem a bit off in this so adjust flour as necessary.
However, these are quite tasty and I will be making them again with adjustments- like grinding my corn even more.
1 c yellow cornmeal (flour consistency)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 rice flour (+ extra as needed)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 c milk (soy milk/almond milk or dairy free ok)
1 egg
1 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 chopped pecans
1) Combine cornmeal, sugar, rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a large bow; mix well. Combine soymilk, egg, oil and vanilla in a medium bowl; whisk until smooth. Add liquid to cornmeal mixture; stir until smooth batter forms. Stir in pecans.
2) Spray a non-stick skillet or large griddle with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Spoon 2 tbsp batter onto hot griddle for each pancake; spread to a three inch diameter. Cook until tops of pancake are bubbly; turn and cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Serve warm.
Cajun Chicken and Rice (GF Bible)
A recipe similar to a family favorite, but without the "cream of" soups. Fairly quick assembly - brown the chicken on the stove, set aside; bring rice broth and veggies to a boil, put everything in a baking dish and bake. Except...I ended up with soup again. Sense a theme in my week? I bake rice in the oven all the time. 350*. 1 hour. What was this recipe? 350*. 1 hour. Except again, I ended up with more liquid than I should have and the rice was still a bit al dente. WTHeck? Must have been the chicken juices. The rice absorbed most of the liquid over the coming days and I thought the leftovers were better than the original dish.
4 chicken drumsticks, skin removed
4 chicken thighs, skin removed
2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or seasoned salt, or just salt and pepper)
2 tsp salt (omit if used above)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 (14oz) can chicken broth
1 cup uncooked rice
1 medium green bell pepper,diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp tumeric
1. Preheat oven to 350*. Lightly coat 9x13" baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with seasoning. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 8-10 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove from skillet.
3. Add broth to skillet; bring to a boil, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan. Stir in rice, peppers, green onions, garlic, thyme and tumeric. Pour into prepared baking dish and place chicken on top. Cover tightly and bake 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through (or until rice has absorbed all liquid). Serves 6.
Quinoa and Roasted Corn (GF Bible) GF, vegetarian
This was outstanding. Assembly goes very quickly and the light 'dressing' really adds just the perfect amount of brightness. I used red pepper instead of cherry tomatoes as I don't care for how tomatoes make a dish watery. This made enough for 8 lunches total. Could be easily doubled to feed a group or potluck luncheon. Recommended.
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
vegetable oil
1 cup chopped green onions, divided
1 tsp salt
1 cup
(I used diced red pepper)
1 14oz can black beans, drained
1/4 tsp grated lime peel
juice of one lime or 2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1. Place quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse well under cold water (this removes any saponin which makes it taste bitter). Put in a sauce pan and cover with two cups cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat; cover and simmer 15-18 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender. [Note - I let stand, covered, for about 10-15 minutes to let the moisture finish absorbing; makes for a better end product in my opinion.] Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add corn and cook 10-12 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in 2/3 cup green onions and salt, cook 2 minutes. Add corn to quinoa. Gently stir in tomatoes (or red pepper) and black beans.
3. Combine lime peel, lime juice, sugar, cumin and black pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in remaining 1 tbsp oil until blended. Pour over quinoa mixture; toss lightly to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup green onions. Serve warm or cold.
Mexican Wedding Cookies (Ckng Lght BB)
Husband had a "Cinco de Mayo" potluck at work last week and I thought I could whip up something simple like Mexican Wedding cookies. Little did I know just how many variations are on this shortbread style biscuit! I found the one below and tripled the batch. Being spring, I decided to go with orange flavoring. Optional flavors are struckout below.
After all was baked and cooled, the orange flavor was nice and bright. I didn't roll the cookies in the powdered sugar, but just sifted a bit over the top of each. I hate excessive powdered sugar on my baked goods.
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar (I didn't sift and it worked out fine)
2 tsp water (or orange juice)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground toasted
Powdered sugar
In a large mixer bowl beat butter or margarine until softened. Add powdered sugar and beat till fluffy. Add water and vanilla and beat well. Stir in flour, nuts and
Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass dipped in powdered sugar. (If necessary, chill dough till easy to handle) Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in a 325 degree oven for 18-20 minutes. (Mine were done in 16) or till lightly browned on the bottom. Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then remove and dust cookies lightly in powdered sugar. Cool thoroughly on wire racks.
One batch makes about 18 - 1" cookies.
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