Happy Birthday Stefan!

Sunday was Stefan's birthday and to celebrate, he made a last minute decision the week before... he made an appointment for oral surgery and had 2 wisdom teeth removed on Thursday.  YAY!  Immediately, my selfish reaction was "Great, there goes his birthday weekend and my plans to go out for a nice dinner on Sunday!"  Once I stopped thinking about how this would inconvenience me, I realized that I needed to go out and stock the house with soft foods.  I filled the fridge with yogurt and pudding and jell-o and those great Bolthouse Farms smoothie drinks.  Good stuff - I redeemed myself!  But I was still faced with the dilemma of how to deal with the birthday dinner.  It was clear that it would make more sense to cook something at home, but what do you cook for someone who can't eat anything that exceeds the consistency of baby food?  Pureeing a dinner is only really a good option when it is appropriate to do so.  I was inspired by the autumn weather and decided to try to make my own take on butternut squash soup.  And I have to say, I hit this one out of the park....

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (Gluten Free & Dairy Free)
1 whole butternut squash
1 vidalia onion, diced into large pieces
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 fennel bulb, halved, cored and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced or just smashed
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp garam masala (indian spice blend of coriander, cumin, cardamom and cinnamon)
kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
canola oil (a total of about 4 T or so)

Preheat your oven to 425°.  Cut your butternut squash in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet with the flesh side facing up.  Season lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle with about 1-2 T of canola oil.  Place in the oven and roast for approximately 45 minutes.

Heat up a medium stock pot and add about 2-3 T of canola oil.  Add the onions, fennel and garlic - season with salt and pepper and stir to begin sweating the veggies.  Cut up the carrot and parsnips and drop them into the pot also.  Season again with salt and pepper and lower the heat slightly so that the veggies soften slowly.  Stir occasionally, but let them go for about 15 minutes.  Once the squash is done remove from the oven and scoop out the seeds (and discard).  The squash should be soft enough to scoop out the flesh.  Add all of the roasted squash to the pot with the sweating veggies.  Stir together and then add enough stock to cover the veggies (about 4 cups).  Bring it up to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, puree the entire soup mixture in batches (as large as your machine can handle).  I was able to do this in two batches in my Cuisinart food processor.  I added the nutmeg and garam masala at this point.  I really went crazy with the puree because I didn't want any surprise chunks in there.  Add it back to the pot and simmer until you are ready to serve.

No cream at all and this is one of the richest and creamiest soups I've ever tasted.  You really appreciate the taste of the parsnips and fennel, as those aren't traditional ingredients in a soup like this.  The hint of spices gives it that distinctly autumn taste and I'm glad I didn't have a heavier hand with the spice.  It was very well balanced.  I also garnished with a dollop of plain nonfat greek yogurt mixed with a few dashes of hot sauce. Delicious and surprisingly filling for a pureed soup.  He loved his birthday dinner and didn't even need a fork or knife to enjoy it :)

Five Ingredient Gluten Free Baking?

Well... not exactly.

But this recipe was adapted from something that I saw Claire Robinson make on Food Network.  For those of you who don't know Claire Robinson, she hosts Five Ingredient Fix.  She's totally adorable, young, cool and has a lot of great cooking ideas.  We like her so much we got tickets to see her at the NYC Food & Wine Festival next month.  One Sunday morning we were watching and she made these incredible looking Brown Butter Banana Muffins and I made it my mission to make them gluten free.

Something you need to understand is that gluten free baking cannot be done with only five ingredients.  Even if you are using a GF flour blend mixture, you still need to tinker with it and add more stuff like baking powder and xanthan gum.  So that turns the self rising flour that Claire uses into 3 ingredients.  Since I blew it there, I added one more ingredient for additional flavor - vanilla extract.  So here are the ingredients that I used:

Gluten Free Brown Butter Banana Muffins
4 ripe bananas
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 stick of butter (eek!  i know... i never use this much butter, but it's worth it - plus it's being divided by 12 muffins)
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups Pamela's Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. xanthan gum

Since Claire has already written up this recipe HERE, I'll just tell you what I did differently.  I whisked together the GF flour mix, baking powder and xanthan gum and used that in place of self rising flour.  Also, when you add the mashed banana mixture to the butter to cook for a few minutes, I added the vanilla extract.

These muffins came out sooooo good... they were very moist and for only "five" ingredients, the flavor was very deep.  What I love about Claire's recipes is that she really utilizes each ingredient to it's fullest potential.  In this recipe, by browning the butter, you get a deep, almost caramel flavor through the muffin.  Then cooking some of the banana mixture in the brown butter takes the banana ingredient to an entirely different level.  This is really a great recipe... and I would even play around with it by adding nuts and maybe a few other ingredients to make it your own.  Enjoy :)

A Fond Farewell to Summer

Labor Day weekend is always bittersweet, because it marks the official end of summer but is usually marked by beautiful weather with cool, dry air.  That's exactly what happened for this Labor Day weekend - Hurricane Earle blew by leaving a few rain drops and some wind behind.... opening up the rest of the weekend to some of the most beautiful weather we've seen all summer.  I have to admit, I was excited for fall this year, after the oppressively hot and dry summer that we've had in NJ.  And by dry, I mean rainfall dry, not humidity dry.  After a great weekend of beach, friends, a wine festival.... this is how we closed out the weekend on Labor Day Monday.... and tell me this doesn't look perfect?

Dinner on the deck with a cool, dry breeze... healthy, comforting food... a great bottle of wine... string lights and candles going... perfect.  And just to celebrate this perfect scene, you - my friends - are going to get 2 recipes in one post!  I would list the salad as a recipe, but I don't want to overload you in one post.  In that picture above, you'll see we have Gluten Free Baked Chicken Tenderloins and Pesto Polenta.  On the side is a beautiful salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, fennel, basil and flat leaf parsely - dressed lightly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Delish.  And now, onto the recipes... easier one first:

Pesto Polenta
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Corn Grits (Polenta)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk (1% or 2% to make it creamy)
1/4 - 1/3 cup pesto (we made our own, but you can use store bought or use your favorite pesto recipe)

This was such an easy concept and I can't believe it took us this long to put 2 +2 together.  Polenta always starts the same way, and it's a 3:1 ratio of liquid to dry polenta.  I always mix the liquid with 1/2 chicken broth and 1/2 milk.... the broth gives it flavor and the milk helps make the polenta richer and creamier.  So bring the liquid to a boil, then add the polenta slowly - whisking as you add it in.  Lower the heat and continue to stir/whisk until the polenta begins to mass up and thicken.  When it thickens to a creamy, porridge-like consistency, take it off the heat and add the pesto.  Whisk it together and watch the green specks from the pesto spread throughout the polenta.  The smell is wonderful and it tastes amazing together.  As an added bonus, we made our pesto with basil, oregano and marjoram from the garden - this is zipped together in the food processor with lightly toasted pine nuts, a clove of garlic, grated parmigiano reggiano and olive oil.  It's a pretty standard pesto recipe, but I like to mix in other fresh green herbs besides basil to give it a deeper flavor (and use some of those herbs that are growing wildly on the deck).  And now onto the co-star of the meal:

Gluten Free Baked Chicken Tenderloins
approximately 12-14 chicken tenderloin pieces (I used the frozen packs from CostCo, and I think they had about 6-7 in each serving package)
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup gluten free flour blend, for dredging
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a few tablespoons of milk
1 cup Betty Crocker Potato Buds
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 T paprika
1/2 T poultry seasoning
1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1 T dried rosemary

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  First, season the chicken tenders liberally with salt & pepper.  Then prepare the dredging and coating assembly line - whisk together the GF flour and some kosher salt in a shallow bowl - beat up the eggs with some milk in another shallow bowl - then whisk together the Potato Buds, garlic powder, paprika, poultry seasoning, grated cheese, rosemary and salt & pepper to taste in another shallow bowl.  Using tongs, coat each piece of chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess.  Then dip into the egg mixture and coat with the Potato Bud mixture.  (Here's a hint, when you get to the last few tenders, if you have a lot of coating left then do a double dip - dip in the egg again then the coating again and you get a nice, thick layer of the potato mixture.  Arrange the chicken tenders on a large baking sheet and drizzle each one with olive oil.  Bake the chicken tenders for a total of about 25-30 minutes, flipping them at the halfway point so they get evenly brown and crispy.

The Potato Buds are an excellent gluten free substitute for a bread crumb coating on baked or fried chicken cutlets or tenders.  The key to getting it really brown is adding some cheese into the mixture too.  I can't tell you how much we enjoyed this meal and I hope that you'll give it a try.

Breakfast, in a pretty little package....

Breakfast isn't usually a pretty meal.  On the weekends, I usually make something heavy - like eggs or an omelet, and while it tastes great, it's not very pretty to look at.  But when I hit the supermarket yesterday I picked up some fresh berries and some plain greek yogurt.  I like to keep these ingredients in the house over the weekend in the summer in case I get tempted for a dessert.  It's a healthy way to get something sweet after dinner.  But this morning, I decided to use this to put together a little breakfast parfait.

Yogurt & Berry Breakfast Parfait
1 cup plain greek yogurt (not an exact measurement)
1 cup Honey Nut Chex, crushed in a plastic bag
6 oz. raspberries
6 oz. blueberries
1 T agave nectar
honey, for drizzling
cinnamon sugar, for garnish/sprinkling

Rinse the berries in some water and place them in a small bowl.  Drizzle about 1 T of agave nectar on top and toss it all together, then set aside.  This will sweeten up the raspberries a bit, which tend to be need some help being less bitter.  Then take about 1 cup of Chex and pour it into a small sandwich bag.  Crush it up into small pieces with your hands.  Take a large goblet and spoon the berry mixture into the bottom.  Spoon in some greek yogurt on top, making an even layer.  Drizzle lightly with honey then sprinkle on some of the crushed Chex.  Continue to layer in this order until you get to the top - berries, yogurt/honey, Chex.  When you are at the top of the goblet, add a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Then garnish with one blueberry and one raspberry.  Dig in and enjoy a slightly sweet, slightly crunchy, and slightly tangy breakfast.

Where's the Beef?

That will be the big question on everyone's mind when they see that my Land & Sea dinner was actually comprised of chicken and shrimp as the main characters.  It's no secret to anyone who knows how I work in the kitchen that a "one-pot meal" is KING in my book.  You get your veggies and protein together with some sauce, all in one scoopful, and it really lets all of the flavors of your ingredients get intimate with each other.  Sassy, right?  We really enjoy the flavor of chicken thighs, and it's not something that we use too often because chicken breasts are much lower in fat.  But on this day, I was willing to splurge in an effort to get the most flavor OUT of my chicken instead of putting lots of flavor INTO a much more bland, plain chicken breast.  White wine and lemon work really well together so I wanted this dish to compliment that pairing with the flavors of fresh herbs from the garden.

Here's what I made:

Lemony Fennel Chicken & Shrimp with White Wine
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5 or 6 thighs)
2/3 lb large shrimp (this is approx, I used frozen, raw, peeled and deveined)
1 large vidalia onion, thinly sliced (not diced!!)
1 large fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
4 large garlic cloves, minced finely
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/3 cup fresh herbs, mixed (I used basil, oregano, marjoram & flat leaf parsley)
fresh thyme sprigs (whole)
2 fresh bay leaves
1 cup dry white wine (I used Cavit pinot grigio)
1 cup chicken broth (maybe a little more depending on consistency)
1/2 cup gluten free flour blend (for dredging, I used Namaste's GF mix)
1/2 T poultry seasoning
1/2 T paprika
2 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper

To get this one started, get a large cast iron pot heating up on the stove.  As the pot is heating up, get together the dredging mixture for the chicken.  Whisk together the GF flour, poultry seasoning, paprika, chipotle chili powder and garlic salt in a wide, shallow bowl.  Open up your package of chicken and season each side of the thighs liberally with salt and pepper.  When the pot is hot add a good 2-3 T of olive oil to the pot and let it start heating up.  Keep the heat on pretty high to get a good sear on the chicken.  Dredge each piece of chicken in the GF flour mixture and shake off the excess.  Get the chicken into the olive oil and DON'T MOVE IT.  You should hear a nice sizzle and you want to leave it there to get a good sear.  Sear the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side, and when it's nicely browned move the chicken onto a plate.

Since you are using chicken thighs, you'll see that some fat has rendered off the chicken.  Add another T olive oil if you need it and then add the sliced onions, fennel, carrot and garlic to the pot.  Season liberally with salt and pepper.  Stir things around and then this cook through until the veggies begin to soften (about 8 minutes or so).  While this is happening, defrost your shrimp in some room temp water, then drain, season with salt and pepper and set aside in a small bowl.  Add the white wine and deglaze the pot, scraping up all of the brown bits from when you seared the chicken.  Stir in the lemon zest and all of the fresh herbs at this point.  It will smell amazing.  Toss in the bay leaves and fresh thyme sprig and stir it around.  Add the chicken broth to the pot and let this mixture begin to bubble.  Using tongs, move the chicken back to the pot, nestling into the sauce and veggie mixture so that the chicken is 1/2 to 3/4 of the way covered.  You really want to braise, not boil, the chicken so make sure it's not totally covered.  Cover the pot and lower the heat to a simmer.  You want to cook this low and slow, probably about 45 minutes or so.

About 10 minutes before the dish is done, open up the pot and smell the deliciousness of it all (not a required step in the recipe).  The sauce seemed a bit thin to me so I mixed up some broth and corn starch and stirred it in to thicken up in the last 10 minutes.  At this point, add the shrimp to the pot and stir around.  Cover it up again and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.  The sauce will thicken up and the shrimp will cook through and be a nice bright pink color.  Remove the thyme sprig and basil leaves and stir in the lemon juice right before serving for a little added "freshness".  I served this with some short grain brown rice which really went well with the sauce.  I also garnished with some basil, sliced into long thin strips.  This was really delicious.  Make sure you season throughout with lots of salt and pepper, because I used lots of mild flavors in this dish.  The salt really brings it all out.  I hope you make this!