Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Andy,

So glad to have you as my hubby - 

the best father I could have found for our kids.

Love you, Beth

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French Baguettes - Not GF

I used to make this epicurious.com recipe all the time before I was diagnosed with Celiac, and then after for the rest of the family.  It's so simple with a bread machine and the baguettes taste wonderful right out of the oven.  I usually don't brush with the egg mixture unless we've got company coming!

2 baguettes

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon water

Preparation:

Place water, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast into bread machine pan in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select Dough cycle, and start.  When finished, punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16x12 inch rectangle. Cut dough in half, creating two 8x12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go. Roll gently back and forth to taper end. Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet.

Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees). Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Gluten-Free Mock Matzo

I found this on the internet a couple of years ago, and though it doesn't taste like matzo it's good.  It does look like dark matzo and is what I use for a substitute if I don't buy a gluten-free box.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup almond meal
1 Tbsp flaxseed meal
2 Tbsp shortening or oil (I used olive, the recipe also called for coconut.)
3 Tbsp warm water
1/4 tsp salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Mix shortening/oil into the dry ingredients using your hands. Add water just a little bit at a time until the dough makes a ball and isn't too sticky. Knead well, making sure there are no big chunks of shortening. If the dough is sticky, add additional potato starch. Take walnut size pieces and press with your fingers onto the foil-covered baking sheet until flat and fairly thin. Smooth out edges, if desired, and use a fork to prick rows of holes. Cook for 10 minutes, watching carefully to make sure they don't get overdone. You should underbake them slightly, rather than overbaking. Remove from oven as soon as the edges become slightly brown - The top should still be white.

Maple Tea Scones - Not GF

This is a great recipe that I just had to add event though it's not gluten free.  It appeared in Bon Appétit in December 1999.

Yield: Makes 16 scones

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour, or whole wheat pastry or combination

4 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar; half for batter, half for glaze

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup (or more) plus 6 tablespoons (for glaze) whipping cream or milk

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2/3 cup (about) powdered sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°F. (Use food processor if you have one.) Whisk flour, 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl to blend. Add butter and rub with fingertips or process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 1/2 cup cream/milk and 1/2 cup syrup to blend. Gradually add to flour mixture, stirring just until dough comes together and adding more cream if dough is dry. Knead dough gently until smooth on lightly floured surface, about 5 turns. Using floured hands, pat out dough to two 8-inch rounds; cut into 8 wedges each. Transfer to baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake scones until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to rack.

Whisk remaining 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar, 6 Tbsp cream/milk and 2 Tbsp maple syrup in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in enough powdered sugar to form thick glaze.  Drizzle or spread glaze over warm scones. Let stand until glaze sets.

Pancakes

This is one of our favorite recipes, from the Illustrated Cookbook.  I substitute  GF flour and ground almonds for the flour.

Makes 12 4-inch pancakes

Ingredients:

1¼ cups flour (for GF use 3/4 cup GF flour and 1/2 cup ground almonds)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 1/3 cup milk or soy milk

3 tablespoons canola oil

¼ cup oats (optional, I use GF oats)

Chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation:

In a large bowl mix the first 4 dry ingredients (and oats if using.)  In a small bowl beat the egg slightly, add milk and oil.  Add wet mixture to dry and stir just until flour is moistened.  Heat skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and brush lightly or spray with oil.  Pour batter by scant ¼ cupfuls onto hot skillet or griddle.  Cook until bubbly and edges look dry.  Turn and cook until underside is golden.

Stacy’s Waffles - Not GF

This is a Stacy special.  We love waffles and these are light and fluffy.  I haven't tried this with gluten free flour yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

Makes about 5 waffles.

Ingredients:

1 ¾  cups flour (whole wheat pastry or all purpose)

2 teaspoons baking powder

½  teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk or soy milk

7 tablespoons canola oil

Preparation:

In a large bowl mix the first 4 dry ingredients.  In a small bowl beat the egg slightly, add milk and oil.  Add wet mixture to dry and stir just until flour is moistened.  Pour by cupfuls onto heated waffle maker.  Let cook approximately 2 minutes each, until golden brown.

Sweet Corn Cake

According to allrecipes.com this is "A Mexican sweet corn cake with a spoon bread consistency."  I modified it to be a little lower in fat, and it's still delicious.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup masa harina (Mexican corn flour)

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl beat butter until it is creamy. Add the masa harina and water and beat until well mixed.  Stir corn into the butter mixture.  In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, milk, salt, and baking powder. Add to corn flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour batter into an ungreased 8x8 inch baking pan. Smooth batter and cover with aluminum foil. Place pan into a 9x13 inch baking dish that is filled a third of the way with water.  Bake 50 to 60 minutes.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Scoop out servings.

Pizza Dough - not GF

We put in a wood-burning pizza oven in our backyard when we remodeled a couple of years ago and love having pizza parties.  The brand of the oven is Fogazzo, and this is their favorite pizza dough recipe, and our families as well.  It is easy to make, even by hand, especially easy the way we do it - with the bread machine.  It can be made several days ahead of time, and lasts for a whole week in the refrigerator in a zip lock bag.

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups warm water (80˚ F)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon sea salt

3 ½ cups all purpose unbleached flour

1 cup semolina flour (#1 durum wheat)

1 packet active dry yeast

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a bread machine in the order listed, and set to make dough.   We make 8-10 individual pizzas from this recipe, but the original recipe says it makes 4 14" pizza doughs.  Roll out as thin as you like.

Spinach Ricotta Pie with Feta

A perfect brunch dish, this crust-less pie is delicious.  I almost always double it because the leftovers are great as well, and always gone within no time.  

5 servings

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 lb spinach, chopped coarsely

1½ cups ricotta or cottage cheese, or a mixture of the two

4 eggs

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 tablespoon dried oregano  (can add some za’atar too)

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Saute onion in a large pan over medium heat until translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds.  Add the spinach in batches, if necessary and sauté until just wilted.   Remove from heat. Lightly beat the ricotta/cottage cheese and the eggs together in a bowl.  Add the spinach mixture, feta, oregano and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Pour the batter into a greased 8 inch round pan.  Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.  If doubling, it will take close to an hour.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Garlic, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella

I had something similar to this at a True Foods restaurant, and came up with my own version.  It's another lasagna substitute for those of us who eat gluten free.

6 servings

1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) spaghetti squash

26 oz marinara sauce
8 oz fresh Mozzarella cheese, sliced thin

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup fresh basil, sliced

Pierce squash about an inch deep all over to prevent bursting. Microwave on high for 6 to 7 minutes. Turn squash over and microwave until squash feels slightly soft when pressed, 8 to 10 minutes more*. Cool squash for 5 minutes.  Remove seeds (and toast to munch if you’d like) and attached strings.  Using a fork remove spaghetti strands into a large bowl.  Pour ¼ cup marinara into an 8"x10" baking dish, add the remainder to squash and mix well.  Place spaghetti squash in baking dish.  Layer half of mozzarella on top, then garlic, tomatoes, basil, and other half of cheese.  Broil 10 minutes, or until browned.

*  Alternatively, you can bake the squash in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.