Gluten-free Gourmand

I heard about this technique called "The 450-degree oven" on the Splendid Table on NPR a few weeks ago. I tried it for the first time last week while I was bar-b-queing some steaks for a friend, and thought it was one of the easiest and most flavorful side dishes I had ever made. For this post, I decided to prepare it as a one-dish full meal. The whole thing only takes about 25 minutes to prep and cook, and it can be done with a wide variety of ingredients. If you're not into the meat aspect of the dish, omit that and make it vegan. The dish pictured was made with just potato, yam, onion, and bacon for main ingredients. It didn't occur to me until I looked at the pictures, but this dish could also be served with eggs at breakfast. The potatoes look a lot like home fries. First, turn on the oven to 450 degrees. Put a cookie sheet or a large cast-iron skillet into the oven as it's warming up. Cut into large pieces your soft vegetables: Onion Garlic ...

How I often pick seafood is by what looks good at the fish market. I create my recipes and ideas from the ingredients rather than forcing my shopping list to bend to the will of my recipes. This method proves itself over and over when selecting fresh fish. This week I found some really nice bay scallops that were very reasonably priced at my neighborhood New Season's. I really like the taste and texture of fresh scallops. They really have a lot of inherent flavor that I like to accentuate in my scallop recipes. The trick to getting the texture right is to cook them with high heat, and not for too long. This recipe was surprisingly fast to make. For once, I actually made the whole meal, including prep work, in the time it takes to cook the quinoa - about 20 minutes. Start your quinoa fist then prep the other ingredients, and cook. The quinoa can sit for quite a while in the pot if necessary after it's done, but the scallops are really quick to make and should be served r...

In Mexico, they serve ceviche everywhere on the coast. They serve it in restaurants, and vendors sell it from coolers on the beach (not recommended!) It is actually made without cooking the fish, but the lime and any other acids in the juice "cook" the fish in a chemical process without heat. As with any recipe, but especially when raw fish is concerned, buy your ingredients some place that you trust. I get my fish from New Season's in NE Portland or at Umajimaya in Beaverton. Both places have fish good enough to eat raw. If you want to do a shrimp ceviche, the shrimp should be cooked, but otherwise you can follow this recipe. There are lots of variations to this recipe, but I tried to make it like they serve it on the Pacific coast of Mexico. This dish is usually considered an appetizer, but I could eat it all day. I am not going to give quantities for this one, as you can adjust the ingredients according to your taste. Start by buying the fish. About a qu...

Now what you have all been waiting for: the recipe for the polenta that I served with the braised rabbit in my previous post. Unlike rabbit, polenta is completely vegan. At its simplest, it's made from just corn meal and water. This recipe uses vegetable stock and onions to give it a savory, hearty flavor. This dish can be served as a main course and topped with a tomato sauce, a white sauce, or cheese. Here I have it as a side dish, and it is tasty enough to be served plain. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan heat: 3 cups vegetable stock In a large skillet, heat on medium low: 2-4 Tbsp olive oil Chop into small pieces, then add to the heated oil: 1/2 onion Sautee the onions for about five minutes, then add the vegetable stock to the skillet. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together until smooth: 2 cups warm water 1 1/2 cup yellow corn meal Slowly add the corn mixture to the stock-and-onion liquid on the stove, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer for 10 minut...