Month: December 2016

Apple Cranberry Holiday Pie

I had a few last apples from our fall orchard expedition and a bag of fresh cranberries in my fridge bin.  Needed a tasty and different holiday pie, saw this recipe and knew it was just the ticket.  I revised some: simplified and made my version gf (of course!)  It is a much brighter in flavor and color than an apple pie but you can definitely taste those apples.

This is my mixture of a couple of recipes. I know it has several steps but each one is easy. Note that I cook the fruit briefly so it smushes down a bit and you don’t have crust issues due to fruit settlement.

I call this top crust my cherry cheater crust as I love it for a cherry pie so you can see the bright red filling. But, because making a woven lattice gf crust is a lot of work, I just cut out circles on the rolled out dough using a small round jar lid and use a butter knife to pull out the marked circles.  Then, flip it onto the fruit filing and there you go…almost as fancy as a lattice crust! Just crimp the edges and sprinkle it with sparkly sugar for a very pretty look.  One last great tasting pie to round out 2016, “My Year of the Pie!”

apple-cranberry-pie

Angie’s GF Apple Cranberry Pie

Double Crust:

2 ¼ c brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

¼ cup sweet rice flour

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

12 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

2 large eggs

4 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Spray 9 or 10 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour. Or not; I forget to do it most of the time, hah!

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add egg and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape into two equal balls with your hands. Put each on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust balls some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you make the filling.

Filling:

4-5 cups sliced fresh baking apples

1/2 tp 2/3 c sugar (use the higher amount if you like it sweeter)

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp. fresh orange rind

½ tsp. grated fresh ginger

2 tbsp. butter at room temp

1 large egg (optional)

1 tbsp. rice flour

Raw or big/fancy crystal sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions: Mix the fruit, spices and sugar in a large bowl, add the butter to a large sauce pan and melt; dump in the fruit mixture, cook about 6-8 minutes until apples soften and the cranberries are bursting. Then add the rice flour, stir.  Let cool a few minutes and then add egg (if you want but I made it without myself) which you first beat up a bit. Cool filling to room temperature.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out one pie crust between the two sheets of wax paper; try to get the thickness even, no fat middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered.  Remove other slice of wax paper.  I have a plastic pie bag to roll my crust in and love it.  It is sturdier than wax paper.  Parchment paper works well I am thinking….

Pour cooled filling into pie shell, top with crust; I like to cut circles out of the top crust using a jar lid; about 1 ¼ inch diameter. So the filling peeps out but no need to weave pie crust strips which is pretty tricky for gf crust. Center it on the fruit and crimp the edges.  Use your fingers for this or maybe a fork to create a nice look that seals the top edge completely to the bottom crust.

Place on baking sheet to catch drips (I have a pie drip pan I love!)  Bake for 50-60 min until crust is golden and you can see the filling bubbling.  I put aluminum foil strips around the edges for last 15 minutes to keep them from getting too dark. Cool on rack for at least 1-2 hours before serving.

I made a couple yummy hand pies with all that leftover crust due to the cutouts.  Bonus!

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

 

This recipe is a blending of one I found on foodnetwork.com and the crust by Annalise Roberts as well as my own touches to the filling. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/apple-cranberry-pie.html

Pork, Poblano Pepper and Black Bean Stew

What to do with leftover pork roast?  There isn’t much eating a plate of pork with all the leftover sides that I can take.  So searching I found this recipe for a soup and of course had to alter it some! Don’t you get tired of rushing out to buy that one or two ingredients you don’t have? Then there are the things I don’t care for like cilantro, creamed corn… Any way; it is pretty darn tasty and a big change of pace from typical holiday food. You may call it a stew; not actually sure where the delineation between soup and stew is.  This is very chunky and hearty so maybe it is more a stew than a soup.

pork-and-poblano-soup

Pork, Black Bean and Poblano Soup: serves 6

1 poblano pepper, roasted

1 ½ tbsp mild olive oil

1 red onion; diced and divided (set aside ¼ of it)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 heaping tbsp. ground coriander

¾ tsp. ground cumin

1 32 oz box of chicken broth, low sodium preferred

2 cups chopped kale (dinosaur kale is my choice for this soup)

1 tbsp. basil pesto

½ can black beans, well rinsed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

¾ lb roasted fresh pork cut in ½ inch cubes

Cooked brown (or white) rice for serving

Garnishes:

Sour cream; 1-2 tbsp. per serving

¼ diced avocado per serving

¼ lime in a wedge to squeeze in your soup bowl

Some diced red onion or scallion rounds

Crushed tortilla chips

Chopped fresh cilantro (optional!)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan.  Add most of the red onion, sauté 4-5 minutes stirring often.  Add poblano pepper cut in ¼ inch dice, the minced garlic cloves and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add coriander and cumin and cook another 1-2 minutes.  Add broth and beans, bring to a simmer.  Add the chopped kale (Make sure you remove the ribs if you use dinosaur kale aka Tuscan kale.)  Cook 5-8 minutes until the kale gets tender.  Add the pesto, stir well.  Add the cubes of cooked pork and heat through out, add salt and pepper to your taste.  Ladle into large bowls that have about ¼ to 1/3 cup of rice in the bowl and top with the garnishes. I like it with the brown rice or minus any rice. Have had it with or without the crushed chips. My favorite chips are the multigrain ones from Aldi’s; perfect crunch and spot on flavor. Do crumble them a few at a time as you slurp the soup so some chips stay a bit crunchy.  I also tried it with scallion rounds instead of red onion; works great too.  You will love that you can use any combination of toppings to vary the flavors. That is something I appreciate about this soup.

 

This recipe originated on Food Network; titled Pork and Poblano Soup; there were a number of changes I made.

Enjoy a Gluten Free Christmas

If you are new to eating gluten free and want to make your own food, my blog is a great place to look for holiday foods.  Some excellent bread choices are my French bread: https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2015/04/18/delicious-gluten-free-french-bread-easy-and-fast/  or these easy dinner rolls: https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/best-darn-dinner-rolls-and-gf/

boston trip 002

Desserts you might like; any of my pie recipes: https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2016/11/25/dutch-apple-crumb-pie/ or https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/pecan-pie-fall-classic/ or this favorite: https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/homemade-pumpkin-pie-easy-and-delish/

pecan-and-raspberry-tartlets

Other gluten free desserts like tarts: https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2016/12/10/alsatian-apple-custard-tart/  or this pear almond tart: https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2016/10/16/pear-frangipane-tart-for-dessert/

pear-tart-012Gluten free Cakes: https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/delightful-daffodil-cake/ or this tasty coffee cake: https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/sour-cream-cinnamon-cake/ and my favorite chocolate cake: https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/chocolate-birthday-cake/

There are lots of other desserts on my blog but I thought these few would give you some good ideas if you are still wondering what you can bake that is gluten free and is tasty.

Have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and especially a Merry Christmas to all those who follow or read my blog.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Some times you want those fancy, full of stuff kinda cookies and that is fine but occasionally a simple but delicious cookie is the way to go, like shortbread.  Dainty crisp shortbread cookies are great with a cup of tea or coffee.  I hadn’t tried them gluten free until this holiday season.  I now wonder why it took so long.

I baked my lemon cookies using Meyer lemon peel but you can use whatever lemons you buy at the grocery store.  Mine were sprinkled with a touch of green colored sugar.  Top yours as you wish or leave them plain.

No forming needed.  You glop the soft dough onto a long piece of plastic wrap, close it and roll on the table to shape.  Chill well and cut the dough into slices, onto the baking sheet and into the oven.  Simple to make and they are perfect for many festive occasions. I can’t wait to try some other variations on these shortbread cookies.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. lemon extract

1 tsp. lemon zest

¾ cup brown rice flour mix; recipe below

1/4 cup sweet rice flour

¼ tsp.  xanthan gum

1/8 tsp. salt

Beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, add the vanilla, lemon extract, and zest and mix.

Mix flour, xanthan gum in small bowl; add to butter/sugar mix.  Mix until a soft dough is formed.

Place lumps of dough in a line along a big sheet of plastic wrap; from it into a 1 ¼ inch log of dough.  Twist ends shut, smooth into a round long by rolling it on the table top.  Chill it at least an hour; until firm.

Heat oven to 350 degrees, racks to center of oven.  Lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.

Slice into ½ inch rounds. Place 1 ½ inch apart on sheet, sprinkle with colored or plain sugar.  Chill in fridge 15 minutes. Bake 12-14 minutes until lightly golden. Mine all took 14-15 minutes.  Let cool on cookie sheet 2-3 minutes so they solidify; transfer to a cookie cooling rack.  Store in airtight cookie jar once cooled.

My recipe says the dough can be kept in the fridge for a week or in freezer for up to two months.  It made about 32 cookies. They go fast!

They are thin and delicate; if left out in the air unsealed they will get soggy and loose their crisp, delicate texture.

To make them plain leave out the lemon extract and zest and add another ½ tsp. vanilla.

Flour Mix (same as King Arthur GF blend)
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

This recipe is out of Annalise G. Robert’s great cookbook: Gluten Free Baking Classics, second edition.

This is a reposting of a recipe I shared December 2014.

Alsatian Apple Custard Tart

I am wrapping up my 2016 Year of the Pie and I cannot leave this one out! Apples and cream; a marriage made in a cook’s heaven – the Alsation apple tart. It is from Annalise G. Roberts’s“ The Heirloom Collection” cookbook wherein she re-creates many classic recipes we all love but in a gluten free version.  It came out last year.  Everything I have made from this book is delicious. If you have her other cookbooks you will definitely want this one.

We enjoyed this tart two times last fall/winter.  It is a very easy recipe; make the tart shell and while it pre-bakes, peel and slice the apples and mix up the custard which you pour over the sliced fruit and carefully place in the oven for a transformational baking.

The baked filling has a lovely texture; the apple slices are soft but hold their shape and the custard is silky and subtle.  The long baking makes the crust very crisp.  No ice cream needed; this is perfect just by itself.

So freaking good; you must try it even if you use a wheat crust!

alsatian apple tart 007

Alsation Apple Tart
6 large slices or 8 skinny ones

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

2 Tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbps. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 lg egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Spray a nine – ten inch tart pan that has a 1 ½ inch side with cooking spray, set aside.  I use a ceramic pan but if you have one of those tricky deep tart pans with a removable side that would work perfectly.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add egg and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), or a pie bag. Do flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes.

Roll out the flattened ball into a pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in the tart pan, be sure to center it.  Remove other slice of wax paper.  Crimp edges all around.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

Filling:

4 medium-large sized apples, yellow delicious or fuji work well as they don’t squish down too much.

Peel apples, quarter, cut out core, slice into 1/2 inch thick slices (8 for a medium apple)

Mix in a medium  mixing bowl with:

6 tbsp. sugar

2 eggs; stir well

Add 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tbsp. milk, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, ¼ tsp. cinnamon.

Arrange the apple slices in the warm/hot tart shell, squash them close together.  Pour the custard filling over the apples.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 50-55 minutes until the custard is set and the crust is light brown

Cool the pie at least 1 hour before serving. You can sprinkle the slices with confectioner’s sugar if you like to guild the lily; not really necessary though.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur GF Flour mix)
2 c brown rice flour, finely ground

2/3 c potato starch (Not potato flour)

1/3 c tapioca flour

Note: This recipe is from Annalise Roberts’ great cookbook: Gluten-Free Baking Classics – The Heirloom Collection.

Originally posted November 2015.