Gluten-free Gourmand

I like sweet things, but I don't like things too sweet.  Strawberry Rhubarb pie is usually too sweet for me.  The point for me isn't the strawberries; it's the rhubarb.  This recipe features both flavors without overwhelming either.  It's not nearly as sweet as most strawberry pie recipes.  Who needs all that sugar?  It has a lovely tart flavor but doesn't overwhelm the strawberries.  My rhubarb came up early this year and is flourishing.  The stalks aren't incredibly red, though, so the strawberries help out with the color. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe First you must have on hand a gluten-free pie crust .  If you are making this from scratch it takes about a half-hour so plan ahead.  You can make the pie filling before rolling out the dough while it's refrigerating to save time, or the crust can be made the day before and stored in the fridge if needed.  Once that is finished the making of the pie is very quick and ea...

If you've never tried guanciale, you should check it out.  It's like bacon, only better.  Made from the jowl of the pig, guanciale is the best part of the animal once it's cured. Guanciale is the central umame flavor in Pasta Amatriciana, a rustic pasta dish from Italy.  It's simple to make and, thanks to the guanciale, it's incredibly delicious. If you use the concept of prepping and cooking at the same time, this easy dish is very quick to make. Pasta Amatriciana Recipe Prep/Cook time: 30 minutes Serves 2-3 Set your water to boil for the pasta and, at the same time, put a large pan on the stove to heat up on medium heat.  Toss in the pan: some lardons of guanciale While all that is heating up, cut up some: shallots Toss those in the pan with the guanciale that's rendering.   Cut into chunks: 1 pound fresh or frozen tomatoes By this time the water should be at a boil.  When this is indeed the case, start cooking: 8 oz. pasta...

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I thought I'd post a really great enchilada recipe that my cooking partner  and I came up with using my braised chicken tacos recipe .  This is the perfect way to use up some day-old corn tortillas.  Since you stack the enchilada instead of rolling, the tortillas are easier to manage. Chicken Enchiladas Verde Recipe makes 2-4 servings In a heavy saucepan, heat: 1 Tbsp olive oil Once the olive oil is hot, brown on both sides, one or two at a time: 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs Brown them one at a time if necessary; don't crowd them in the pan.  Once there is nice browning on the bottom of the pan remove the chicken to a plate and pour in: 1/2 cup beer Scrape up the browning from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  This browning makes the sauce deliciously rich.  Once the pan is completely deglazed, add the chicken back in and top the chicken with: salsa verde more beer if...

What are scones?  In short, they are my favorite pastry.  I think of scones often, so I thought I'd share a little bit about them with you, my readers. Scones can be called a quick bread, a pastry, a tea cake.  However, they are most like a biscuit in structure.  The most traditional type of scone is made like a biscuit in that the fat - in this case butter - is cut into the flour to form chunks of fat in the dough.  When the scones are cooked the butter melts and leaves pockets of air in the scone.  This gives the little cakes a flakier texture. Scones can be sweet or savory and made with all sorts of different flour blends and liquids.  They originated in Scotland.  The traditional Scottish scone would be made with white flour, butter, sugar, salt, and cream.  They might also traditionally be made with barley flour or oat flour.  Baking powder and/or baking soda are usually added for leavening.  Currants are often used for ...

This winter I came up with many new bread recipes which I published here on my blog.  All of them involved my bread mixes which came out last fall and which I ship anywhere in the United States.  One day on my Facebook page I got this comment from a reader in response to my vegan sandwich bread recipe: Samantha Matete and I ended up swapping a bunch of messages about gluten-free bread making which eventually resulted in my blog post about how to make your own gluten-free bread flour blend .  Samantha ended up trying some of the ideas that I threw out.  I was excited to see pictures of her loaves once she did some experimenting. Here are some notes from Samantha about what she did on these loaves of bread: "Well I am definitely hooked on your bread recipes that I have been querying you about! The first 2 photos are following the vegan sandwich bread recipe and method. The 3rd photo is following the teff bread recipe and the 4th was a reci...

Did you know that I've had various sales going on over the last week for my  gluten-free flours ?  No?  Well here's how to get in the loop! Sign up for my email newsletter.  Just put your email in the box at the top of the left column. Follow my  Facebook Page . Follow me on Twitter  @GFGourmand . I also put my recipes up on  Pinterest . Join this blog or follow the RSS feed.  Find buttons in the left column. Follow me on  Google Plus . Thanks for following!

When it comes to sterilizing things, I subscribe to the notion that Americans do it too much.  Harsh chemicals in a home kitchen can be dangerous for humans and the environment.  However, there are times when it's necessary to sanitize things.  When I got my license to mix and package my baking mixes for Gluten-free Gourmand the inspector told me that I had to sanitize all equipment after washing it in a chemical sanitizer.  I hate using chlorine - talk about harmful to the environment - but he let me know that I could use iodine instead if I wanted.  It's quite a bit more eco-friendly since the substance occurs naturally. As a bonus it's really inexpensive.  You can get a small bottle in most pharmacies or drug stores for a few dollars or less, and a little goes a long way.  I think this is a good kitchen tip to share around. Iodine isn't for everything.  It's a dark brown color, so it can stain things, especially white plastics.  I have ...

You can find the recipe to this beautiful and delicious gluten-free salad on my cooking partner's website  Just another Shallot and Asparagus Blog .  Here you will find numerous delicious and funny posts about  - you guessed it - shallots and asparagus.  All recipes are gluten-free.

There is an updated version of this recipe here:  http://glutenfreegourmand.blogspot.com/2013/12/BouleBreadRecipe.html I'm sorry for the absence of new recipes lately.  I've been really busy with some major career events.  I'll post more on that in the weeks to come, but the long and the short of it is that I should have more time to post to the blog now that I've re-arranged my whole work life.  I'll be delving into some great recipes, including the ultimate bread recipe: sourdough.  I've been working on creating a nice, tangy, flavorful sourdough recipe for you, complete with an easy-to-use starter.  Keep checking back for that!  In the meantime, I have another nice traditional boule bread recipe for you to munch on. For those who have been following my gluten-free bread recipes , I'm giving you another in the series.  This one is very similar to the Traditional Round Loaf recipe.  In fact it's the same but you get a larger loaf, about...

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 ...