Blueberry Crisp

What is a gluten free Jew to do on Christmas Day after the movies and Chinese food? Go home and make a GF dessert of course! With the stores closed for the holiday, I made do with what we had in the house. There is always a bag of frozen blueberries in my freezer and rolled oats in the pantry, so blueberry crisp it is!

FILLING:
4 cups frozen, unsweetened blueberries
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup agave sweetener
Pinch of Kosher salt

TOPPING:
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup quick cooking GF oats
1/4 cup rolled oats
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tablespoons butter

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In an ungreased baking dish, mix together the frozen blueberries, the cornstarch, lemon zest, salt and agave.
• In a small bowl, blend together the flour, the oats, the brown sugar and cinnamon. With your fingers blend the butter into the topping until evenly distributed.

• Sprinkle the topping over the blueberries in the baking dish.
• Bake for about 45 minutes or until hot, bubbly, and golden brown. Serve with your favorite whipped topping.

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Dorothy's Apple Latkes

My friend, Dorothy, would occasionally bring in Polish pancakes with kielbasa as a treat for brunch at school. As much as I will always treasure our friendship because of Dorothy's (and her mom's) culinary expertise, she is also someone I deeply admire. Dorothy, born and raised in Poland, is an extremely talented musician and earned her doctorate in this country in Viola. (All this with English as her second language!) As we all know her as Dr. Sobieski, she conducts the string orchestra at school and makes even the youngest students (with violins crafted so small that they look like toys) play like accomplished musicians. For years, my art room was next door to her music classroom and I was able to enjoy the sounds of her music all day. Her students are very lucky to have her as their mentor as I have been to have her as my friend.

Dorothy gave me her mom's apple pancake recipe, "placki z jabikami," just as they make it at home and I followed it perfectly each time to my family's delight. The tangy flavor of the sour cream is really nice. I haven't made them since changing my diet to be gluten free so this time I changed the flour to GF and also reduced the amount of flour and wet ingredients by half. This made the grated apple more of a prominent ingredient (more like a potato latke). We all loved our Polish "apple latkes" this morning! Thank you, Dorothy!

INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs, separated
1 cup light sour cream
1 cup gluten free flour (I use King Arthur brand)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2-3 apples, peeled and grated
Oil for frying (I use grapeseed oil)
Cinnamon and sugar

1. Separate eggs, placing whites in a mixing bowl and yolks in a small bowl to reserve. Beat egg whites until stiff.
2. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the yolks, sour cream, flour and salt. Fold in the grated apples.
3. Fry the latkes in small rounds on a non-stick griddle with a little oil. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
4. Sprinkle the top with a little cinnamon and sugar while they are still hot. Enjoy!

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Rice Pudding

An easy and elegant dessert for anyone with a gluten free diet is rice pudding! Mine is made with almond milk which makes it dairy free too. The almond milk gives it a slight mocha color. The pudding will not look as white as typical dairy rice pudding does, but the nutty taste of the almond milk is wonderful. When you are making this dessert, plan ahead. The finished rice pudding needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours. Delicious served with mandel bread (see my post for a gluten free recipe) or biscotti!

Ingredients:

1 cup of arborio rice

4 cups of unsweetened almond milk, plus extra if needed (You can use regular milk instead)

1/4 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of agave sweetener (You can use all sugar or all agave if you prefer)

Pinch of kosher salt

1 tsp. real vanilla extract

Whipped topping and cinnamon for serving

• Stir together the rice and almond milk in a pot on the stove. Add the sugars, salt and vanilla. Bring this to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for about 40 minutes, checking every 15 minutes and stirring the pot.

• Let it simmer, covered, until all the milk has been absorbed. The rice should taste very tender. If the rice is not soft enough and there is not enough liquid to keep cooking, add another 1/4 cup or so of milk to the pot and stir together. Let it simmer away until it is soft and the consistency is how you want it for the pudding. The rice will not magically become softer after it chills. If you don't like a slight bite or texture to your pudding, you must let it cook until it is ready.

• Transfer the hot pudding to a baking dish and cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator.

Note: After the rice pudding chills it often gets much thicker in consistency and you may want to add a bit more milk and stir it though before spooning it into bowls. I sometimes stir in a splash of cream or my husband's half and half that he uses for his coffee. The rich and creamy flavor stirred in at the last moment is wonderful. Add your favorite whipped topping and cinnamon. Enjoy!

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Penne Pasta With Chicken, Roasted Butternut Squash, and Kale

Years ago, we ate dinner at Carmine's in Atlantic City and ordered our meal family style. I'll never forget how delicious one of the pasta dishes was! We had pasta with sausage and broccoli rabe in a bowl large enough to feed an army. Growing up in a Jewish home, I never ate things like this before and I was so impressed with the deep flavors in the dish and how the pasta was presented in one bowl with the meat and vegetables. I have been making variations of this dish at home ever since and one of my healthier versions is often made with ground turkey and broccolini and is just as delicious.

Creating a sauté of meat and vegetables in a large pan is a perfect addition for any pasta and the sauté creates a delicious sauce at the same time.  With all the ingredients, your guests will never know the pasta is gluten free! My chicken, butternut squash and kale combination was made using this same technique and the flavors work beautifully together. Note: I usually prefer fresh basil as my herb of choice for any of these pasta and sauté dishes, but I did not have any at home this time. I did have sage leaves left over from Thanksgiving so I used that instead. Sage works well with poultry and with the butternut squash so I do recommend using it here, but feel free to use whatever fresh herbs you happen to have. Delicate, fresh herbs such as basil should be added just before serving.

2 thick skinless, boneless chicken cutlets cut into strips
3 cloves of garlic
Zest of a lemon
Juice of a half a lemon
Olive oil
Kosher Salt and Pepper
2 cups fresh butternut squash, cut into a small dice
1 small onion, diced
6 leaves of fresh sage
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups kale, with stems removed and leafs cut coarsely into bite size pieces
1 package GF penne rigate
Grated Parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pasta pot of water up to a boil on top of the stove.
• In a bowl, mix together a marinade for the chicken with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, grated or crushed garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken pieces with the dressing and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, arrange pieces of butternut squash, onion and sage on a sheet tray. Drizzle it with olive oil and add a pinch of salt and freshly grated nutmeg. Roast in the oven until the butternut squash is tender and golden. (To make sure the squash does not stick to the tray, remove the tray from the oven every 15 minutes or so and move the pieces around and flip them over for even browning.) Do not shut off the oven when it is done. You'll need the sheet tray and the hot oven for the kale.
• Heat a large sauté pan with olive oil. Cook the marinated chicken pieces in one layer until golden on the bottom. Flip pieces over and cook through on other side. Do this in batches if there is too much chicken to cook in one layer.
• Once both the chicken and the butternut squash pieces are browned and tender, drop your pasta into the pot of boiling water. Don't forget to salt the water before adding the pasta.
• Transfer all the butternut squash from the sheet tray into the sauté pan with the chicken and stir to combine. Place a cover over the pan to keep it warm and allow all the flavors to come together.
• Arrange your kale leaves on the sheet tray you cooked the squash on and add a drizzle of a olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast the kale in the oven until crispy.
• When the pasta is almost done... just shy of al dente... Add a ladleful of pasta cooking water into the sauté pan and use your spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up any flavorful bits on the bottom of the pan and create a sauce. Then add the pasta to the sauté pan and stir to combine. Let it sit for a few minutes in the pan.
• Remove the crispy kale from the oven and just before serving, add the kale to the pasta mixture and top with grated cheese if you like.

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Cooking with Gluten Free Pasta

We have a pasta dinner at least once a week in my family. Before my diet became gluten free, a favorite meal for us would either be a baked pasta like ziti or lasagna and we would have delicious leftovers for another day, or I would cook a pot of fresh pasta and pair that with a hearty meat sauce. Before the newer versions of GF pastas came out on the market, I could never just substitute brown rice pasta for regular semolina pasta and get away with calling it dinner at my table! It was awful in taste, gummy in texture, and could never stand up to leftovers. This meant making regular pasta for everyone else and boiling a separate pot of water for my portion of noodles. I was so happy to be able to eat anything remotely similar to pasta that I didn't complain much about the extra pots, strainers, and utensils to clean.

About a year ago, we were invited to our friends' apartment in Manhattan. Vicki's son, Ned, was in charge of making a dinner for us and he was sweet enough to make sure that even I could partake in the meal. He found a brand of GF pasta in one of the specialty shops in the city called "Bionaturae" Organic Gluten Free Pasta. What a difference it made! We could not tell that it wasn't "real" pasta. Reading the package, I saw that this pasta was a mixture of rice, corn and soy. A blend like this helps to create a better taste and texture. I was able to find this brand of pasta near my home at stores like Wegman's, Whole Foods and even Stop and Shop, and I now always keep packages of Bionaturae's penne, elbows, and fusilli in my pantry to grab for any night of the week. Thank you Ned!

• The biggest lesson I learned from this experience is to never buy a single ingredient pasta. Corn pasta by itself is just as horrible as rice pasta. Always look for a mix of at least two different grains for the best taste and texture.
• One of the most important tips I learned from watching my favorite chefs on television make their pasta dishes is something that becomes even more crucial with GF pasta. Rachel Ray, Mario Batali, and Lydia Bastianich all say it is important to cook your pasta a little shy of al dente and then let your pasta continue to "cook" in the pan with the sauce as you stir the entire dish together. This not only coats all of the pasta, but it imparts flavor into the actual noodle. By the time you are ready to serve a dish prepared this way, any kind of noodle would be delicious!
• I have also learned to use the salted pasta cooking water as part of the sauce. It somehow acts a binder, helping the sauce stick to the noodles and it makes a healthier addition (it is just starchy water after all) than using oil, heavy cream, or butter to make more sauce. In order to have this water on hand when I finish up the sauce, I find it easier to scoop my cooked pasta out of the water with a big spider (or a slotted spoon) and transfer the pasta into the pan with the sauce instead of pouring the entire pot of water over a strainer in the sink. This way, you don't have to go to the trouble of remembering to save some of the water.

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Chicken and Black Bean Tortilla Soup

This soup I made on our first snow day from school. There is nothing sweeter than a snow day, even for the teachers! With the surprise of an unplanned day to yourself and a pantry full of food to choose from, what else was there to do but think about what to make for dinner? My boys went out to shovel the snow and I made a delicious pot of soup that simmered away on the stove until we were ready to eat.

For gluten intolerant folks, watch out for some of the box broths and stocks on the market. Not all are gluten free, although I still can't figure out why anyone finds it necessary to put gluten in clear broths! My pantry always has boxes of organic broth from Wegman's and these brands that I know are safe: Pacific and Swanson. If time allows, as it does on a snow day... make your own. In my freezer I store deli containers of my own homemade chicken soup to grab and quickly defrost.

I made my soup today with homemade chicken broth and chicken breasts that I had in my freezer, defrosted, and then poached in water on the top of the stove. You can just as easily use leftover roast chicken or a rotisserie chicken from the store. I also used a small can of chopped green chilies and I always keep these on hand in my pantry for times like this when I can't go out to shop for fresh peppers. These can be found in the international aisle of your market where they keep the Mexican ingredients.

• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1 onion diced
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1 small can of chopped green chilies, drained
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken breast
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• Corn Tortillas (GF)
• Cilantro, chopped

Heat a large stock pot with oil and add the diced onion. As the onions turn translucent, add the cumin, chili powder, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring until the spices are fragrant. Add the chopped green chilies and tomato paste. Stir.

Put the shredded chicken into the pot and toss to coat the chicken with all the flavors. Now add the black beans, diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Place one corn tortilla at a time over a dry skillet to lightly toast. Cut these into strips and add to the soup. Sprinkle cilantro over top. Excellent toppings would also be diced avocado, shredded cheese, red onion or sour cream.

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Chicken and Mushrooms a la Sonny's

First, a story...

Sonny's Pizzeria is located in Hopewell Junction down the road from Camp Kinder Ring. Anyone working at our camp not only thought of Sonny's as their second home away from home, but we all knew the phone number by heart. Counselors sitting "OD" on an adirondack chair on the porches of their campers' bunks knew that somehow they would be given a parm from Sonny's to get them through the late night. By a parm, of course Sonny knew that we meant chicken. If you weren't from camp and you came into the restaurant and asked for a parm, Sonny would yell at you. "A Parm? What kind of parm? Chicken? Eggplant? What?" But the counselors from camp were treated like family, like royalty, and Sonny knew each and everyone one of us. On visiting day, the 4th Saturday of every summer, alumni counselors would come up, first have dinner at Sonny's and then spend visiting day at the camp. It was a ritual. They loved it and Sonny loved it.

Sue Smith and I created this painting as a backdrop for a camp play. I can't even remember which play it was, but Debbie, the director, rewrote the setting of the play to be Hopewell Junction. Sue and I had so much fun driving around the town and taking pictures of all the important stops along the way to show in our painting. Sonny's Ristorante not only was a prominent location, but of course, Sonny made the scene as well! Dressed as he always was, in a white chef shirt with the top 4 buttons undone, gold chains around his neck, and a pack of cigarettes folded into one of his short sleeves, he was quite the character and nobody messed around with him. It was not a question that he would be a part of our scenery.

Sue and I would visit Sonny's every week instead of having the Wednesday BBQ down by the lake. It wasn't that we didn't want the finest hot dogs grilled by the Hawk, but we enjoyed that night as our night out. Sue would always have a glass of wine with the regulars at the bar, a Sonny's salad, and a slice of pizza. One of my favorite dishes was chicken and mushrooms on a plate, simply sautéed white chicken breast with mushrooms. My son, Zach, used to get the chicken and mushrooms on a sub. To this day, we can't seem to be able to order this at any other Italian restaurant, at least not like Sonny made it. This recipe is not only my way of paying homage to the great Sonny, but mine is gluten free! I don't think Sonny would have appreciated my asking him to make anything GF, since nobody would ever dare to ask him for something new or different. I actually hope that never changes. Some places should remain always as they live in our memories.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
3/4 c brown rice flour
1 tsp kosher salt
Olive oil, butter
1 package white button or cremini mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Pinch of salt
3 cloves of garlic, crushed

• Pound the chicken cutlets thin between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Cut the chicken into pieces about 2" x 4" in size.
• Mix the flour and salt together in a large plastic bag. Drop about 4 pieces of the chicken in the bag at once and shake to coat them with the flour. What you are looking for is a very light coating of the flour on each piece. Continue to coat all the pieces this way.
• Heat a large metal skillet with olive oil. Add some of the chicken to the pan to brown. This has to be done in batches so the chicken can cook in one layer without the pieces overlapping. Turn the chicken after the first side browns and then remove to a plate once they're cooked though. Repeat this until all the chicken is done.

• While the chicken is browning, wipe clean the mushrooms, trim the stems if necessary and slice them. Remove the thyme from the stems by pulling the leaves off in a backwards motion and run your knife through the thyme leaves, chopping them slightly. Crush 3 large cloves of garlic.
• After all the chicken is done, add a pat of butter to the pan and sauté the mushrooms with the thyme, a little salt and crushed garlic, until the mushrooms turn golden and tender. Remove the mushroom from the pan.

• Deglaze the pan with the wine, and then add the chicken stock. Return the chicken to the pan with any juices that might have accumulated on the dish. Spoon the mushrooms over the top of the chicken. Cover the pan and let it simmer for at least 15 minutes. The flour that you originally dredged the chicken in will thicken the wine and broth and create a delicious sauce.
• Although Sonny simply folded his chicken and mushrooms in a fresh roll, I served mine over polenta to catch every drop of the yummy mushroom gravy. Enjoy!

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Spinach Oat Squares

This is a great dish to make for a brunch. It travels well and can be eaten at room temperature too. There are many recipes like this one online but I adapted mine to be gluten free. There is no flour in this at all. I use gluten free oats as the binder.

Ingredients:
1 10oz box frozen spinach
3 eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup milk (I use almond milk)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Grated fresh nutmeg
1/4 cup quick cooking GF oats (or you can also pulse rolled oats in the food processor to break them up... do not grind as fine as flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup light jarlsberg grated
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese grated

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" x 8" pan.
• Place box of spinach on a microwave safe dish or bowl and cook on high for 4 minutes. Drain thawed spinach and squeeze dry.
• Whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add flour and baking powder and mix well with the whisk to get all lumps out.
• Fold in spinach and cheeses.

• Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until middle starts to puff up and turn light golden brown. This will happen first around the edges of the pan. Wait for the middle to puff up as well.

• Let cool in pan before cutting into squares. Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Oat Cakes

These happen to be gluten free and dairy free and are made with no eggs. In developing this recipe, I started off making them as a scone, but the pumpkin purée keeps them moist and it resembles more of a little cake or muffin in texture after baking. You certainly could make them in a muffin tin, but there is something more rustic and inviting about these free-form cakes. They freeze beautifully and reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds for a quick warm treat.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats (gluten free)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp real vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup oat flour (gluten free)
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp Xantham gum
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 cup puréed pumpkin
• 1/4 cup agave or honey
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• Sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar or agave for the top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Do not grease.

1. In a small bowl, mix rolled oats with almond milk and vanilla. Let soak for at least 20 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add flours, Xantham gum, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. Using your fingers, blend in the coconut oil.
3. Add oats to flour mixture. Add pumpkin purée and agave. Fold in walnuts. Mix together with a rubber spatula.
4. Use an ice cream scoop to place 11 scoops onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten each mound lightly with your hand to form the cakes.
5. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the top or drizzle the tops with agave or honey.
6. Bake until golden and set in the center. Cool on wire rack and store them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.

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