Gluten-free Gourmand

Last week I scored some good-looking pork ribs on sale at my local market and I immediately considered making my Spanish-style BBQ Boneless Pork Ribs .  However, it ended up that I was too lazy to undertake that endeavor.  Instead I decided to come up with the easiest, most delicious method of cooking pork ribs ever conceived.  Although the bar was high, I achieved my goal in one attempt.  The idea is that simple.  Here is the recipe. Easy (Easiest) Pork Rib Roast Recipe Prep time: 10-15 min Cook time 20-30 min Put a cast-iron or other high-heat pan in the oven and set the temperature to 450 degrees.  While the oven is heating, rinse and pat dry: Boneless pork ribs or pork belly Sprinkle liberally with: cumin salt pepper In a medium bowl, toss together: Red potatoes, quartered salt pepper cumin olive oil When the oven comes up to temperature, place the seasoned pork and the potatoes on the hot cast-iron pan.  Roast for 20-...

As many of you already know, I'm a big fan of scones.  I already have a collection of gluten-free scone recipes that I've adapted and created from scratch.  I also collect other peoples' scone recipes, and I even have a Pinterest Board dedicated to gluten-free scones.  While searching for all the best gluten-free scone recipes on Pinterest, I came across a paleo scone recipe that I thought sounded good.  I already had a recipe that sounded similar, but for friands .  I thought I'd adapt that friand recipe for making paleo scones.  They turned out amazing, with a nice savory/sweet balance. Gluten-free Scone Recipe, Paleo Style Makes 3-4 Scones - double the recipe for a full batch Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, mix: 100g almond flour 18g tapioca flour a pinch of salt 15 raspberries, fresh or frozen In another bowl, warm until melted: 1 Tbsp lard 2T honey (or more for a sweeter scone) In another small bowl, whis...

If you already have some puff pastry, croissant dough, or danish dough made, then assembling some raspberry squares is very easy.  It's also an impressive dessert to bring to any occasion.  You can use any fruit, fresh or frozen, instead of the raspberries.  Here I used frozen raspberries. Raspberry Pastry Squares Recipe This recipe makes as many pastry squares as you have ingredients for.   Prep time: 10 minutes (with pre-made pastry dough) Cook time: 20 minutes Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Push through a fine mesh seive: apricot jam (optional) Set the jam aside.  Roll out to about 1/4" thick (or more): puff pastry, croissant , or danish dough Cut the dough into as many squares as needed, 2-4 inches per side.  Place the squares at least 1/2 inch apart on a parchment-paper lined sturdy baking sheet with sides.  (Do not use a baking sheet with no sides or you may start a grease fire.  Butter will probably come out of the d...

If you're making croissants anyway, Pain au Chocolat is easy.  All you need is your croissant dough , or Quicker, Easier Croissant Dough , and some high-quality chocolate. Roll out your croissant dough, but instead of cutting triangles keep the dough in rectangles.  Place a piece of chocolate about 1/4 of the way back from the leading edge. Using the parchment paper to support your croissant dough, carefully flip the leading edge over the chocolate. Keep rolling the dough around the chocolate gently until the whole think is rolled up. Let the  pain au chocolat  rise like you would a croissant.  Brush with egg wash and cook with your other croissants as directed.

Last week I let people request a recipe .  I've been working on a list of recipes that people have requested since about this time last year.  I've also been thinking about making biscuits since about this time last year, which is when a friend emailed a southern-style biscuit recipe to me.  When someone commented on my post asking for biscuits, I couldn't put it off any longer. How could I not have made biscuits until now?  They are so delicious!  This recipe is an adaptation of my friend Byron's southern-style biscuit recipe. Southern-style Biscuits Recipe Makes 8 biscuits Have everything very cold, except the oven which you should pre-heat right away to 500 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine: 270 g (2 cups) No. 2 Pastry Flour (OR No. 1 All-purpose Flour plus 1/4 tsp xanthan gum) 1 Tbsp Baking soda a scant 1/2 tsp salt Whisk the dry ingredients together.  Cut in: 6 Tbsp unsalted butter Blend in the butter until the mixture has piec...

My old house was a real fixer.  I was constantly knee-deep in, or recovering from, renovation projects. Some of the best advice I ever got about home projects is "always have the right tools for the job." The person who said it backed up the statement by buying me a very nice cordless power drill . That drill still comes in handy, even now when I don't have the heavy-duty projects I used to take on.  This power tool kept me from spending hours of extra time trying to put together a deck with a screwdriver. Gluten-free baking is kind of like trying to put together a deck with a screwdriver instead of a cordless power drill.  There are things that just don't work in exactly the same way with gluten-free as they do with "regular" flour.  That's why having the right tools for the job is essential for making good use of your time and resources when you're learning how to bake gluten-free.  Here are five essential tools you can add to your arsenal ...