Thursday, March 17, 2011

Irish Soda Bread


What is St. Patrick's Day without Irish Soda Bread.  I'm not really Irish but married into an Irish family.  My mother-in-law used to make the best Irish Soda Bread.  (Actually, it's the only one I've ever had, but I loved it from the first bite, some 35 years ago.) I've been making her recipe every year since for St. Patrick's Day.  For the past few years I have not been able to eat it.  Recently, I decided to try to make a gluten free version.  It turned out surprisingly good but I knew there were a few things I needed to tweak.  Tonight I made the new and improved, gluten free Irish Soda Bread and I have to say, it passed my taste test and that of my husband.  Try for yourself.

Irish Soda Bread

4 cups gluten free flour *
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 cup sugar - can make it slightly heaping for a little sweeter taste
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder

Mix dry ingredients and then add:
2 cups buttermilk (or 2 cups milk mixed with 2 Tabls. vinegar)
2 Tabls. melted butter

Stir well - may be thick, you can add a little bit more milk if needed
Mix in 1 cup raisins
2 tsp. caraway seeds (optional) - I don't like caraways seeds so I skip them

Put into greased loaf pan and pour 1 Tabls. melted butter on top, can sprinkle with 2 tsp. sugar, if desired

 Bake 375 degree pre-heated oven for 10 minutes then lower temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking an additional 50 minutes.  Toothpick inserted should come out clean.

*There are many flour and flour blends that are gluten free.  I prefer a mixture of tapioca flour, garbanzo flour, fava flour, sorghum flour.  Arrowhead Mills has a flour blend but there is rice flour in it that can make it somewhat gritty.  Bob's Red Mill also has a flour blend with garbanzo and fava flour.  I preferred to mix both Arrowhead Mills and Bob's and another called Bette's Gourmet Four Flour Blend.  By doing this I achieved the perfect consistency with no grittiness.

Enjoy!

Cathy

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm working on a recipe for gluten free chocolate chip cookies.  Made a batch last night but didn't care for the way they came out.  Too gritty, even though I've used the flour combo in other items and it seemed to work.  Not so good with the cookies.  Back to the drawing board.  Will be trying again this weekend and hoping  for a better result.  Will post the recipe and photo when they have been perfected.

Cathy

Monday, March 7, 2011

Joe's American Bar & Grill - gluten free

I love a great meal.  Before being diagnosed with celiac, our primary form of entertainment was trying a different restaurant every weekend.  Gluten free was something that most restaurants never heard of.  Actually, until I needed to know, it was something I had never heard of either.  Learning that gluten was in so many things like chicken broth, soy sauce, blue cheese, not to mention the obvious like flour, bread crumbs, and pasta and so much more, really put a damper on our dining out.  When I thought of all the things that I could not eat and then about the potential for cross contamination, I felt like my restaurant hopping days were gone. 

Over the past year, I've been finding that many restaurants, and grocery stores for that matter, are becoming more aware of gluten sensitivity.  It may have something to do with the fact that more people are being diagnosed with some form of gluten intolerance or perhaps part of the latest fad diet.  Whatever the reason, all of us living with celiac disease are happy to see there are now more gluten free choices available.  The next few blogs will be focused on my review of gluten free dining in some local establishments.  Please add your own comments to share.

Today's review:  Joe's American Bar & Grill

A few weeks ago, I had lunch in Fairfield at Joe's American Bar & Grill, my neice had done a little investigating and found they had a gluten free menu, so that made it a perfect choice.  I must say I was pleasantly surprised.  I had a burger on a gluten free roll and it was served with fries.  Although they do not have a gluten free fryolator, they said would cook the fries in a pan, so they were not contaminated by the other breaded items.  The burger was great, nice treat to have it on a roll as I usually have it served on a piece of lettuce and sometimes just on a plate solo.  The fries were ok, but not close to the real deal.  The best part was feeling comfortable that the staff knew what the issues were and being able to have something other than a salad.

This weekend Dave and I were in Boston visiting our daughters.  Because it was close to where we were staying and we knew they offered a gluten free menu, Friday evening we went to Joe's American Bar & Grill on Newbury Street for dinner.  The gluten free dinner menu was comprised of simply making adjustments on their regular menu.  Basically, nearly everything on their regular menu could be made gluten free. (This is very exciting as usually any gluten free options available could be written on an index card.)  After much pondering on the many choices, I ordered the Blackened Chicken Pasta.  It was a gluten free pasta with escarole, peppers, and blackened chicken in a zesty parmesan sauce.  OMG, it was delicious, full of the many robust flavors. The blackened chicken added just enough zip without being too overpowering.   I would highly recommend it.  My daughter had the same dish in the full gluten version and sampled mine as well, agreeing that it tasted "regular".  Once again, it was comforting to know that the wait staff and chefs were familiar with the food limitations as well as cross contamination.  Joe's American Bar & Grill gets two thumbs up from me.  I only wish there were more Connecticut locations.  Here is a link to their website.

http://www.joesamerican.com/

Cathy