entree

Spaghetti Eggplant Turrets (Towers of Yumminess)

Spaghetti is an American classic.  I don’t make it enough, especially since going gluten free.  That may change since I started to read Mario Batali’s newest cookbook “America Farm to Table”.  I cooked up a storm this past weekend making his eggplant and angel hair turrets.  What’s a turret?  A tower of yumminess!farm to table cookbook

Having a surfeit of eggplants I was diving into all my eggplant recipes to determine the best way to utilize my crop of purple beauties. This one is a winner.

We devoured it by candlelight on my back porch the other Saturday night, bees wax candles to be exact.  I thought for a moment that my man was going to lick his dinner plate! It was rewarding to see him so enraptured by my cooking.

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I made a few changes so this is an adaptation of the recipe.  I advise reading it through twice so you don’t screw it up! I used less red pepper flakes than the original recipe; up it to a tsp. if you dare!  Yes, it uses instant potato flakes and they work fantastically to coat the eggplant.    I used my own tomato sauce I had made the night before from the last of my fresh tomatoes.  This recipe serves 4.

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Eggplant and Pasta Turrets

4 tbsp. EOL

2 large eggs

1 cup instant mashed potato flakes

1 large eggplant or 2 medium ones

½ cup onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 oil packed anchovy fillets plus 1 tbsp. of the packing oil

1 28 oz can of tomatoes, crushed by hand plus all the can juice or your own homemade tomato sauce, unseasoned

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

Kosher salt

1  12 oz package gf spaghetti

½-2/3 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese

Fresh basil leaves

Eggplant: Place the eggs in a wide shallow bowl, beat well.  Put the potato flakes into a second shallow bowl or a wax paper covered plate.  Slice the eggplant into 1/3 inch slices.  Dip into the eggs, let excess drip off and dredge in the potato flakes.

Heat a large Teflon pan, add 2 tbsp EVOL.  Let heat to medium hot, add the eggplant slices, cook 2-3 minutes a side.  Place cooked eggplants on a paper towel lined plate.  Do a second batch of slices.  I put my cooked slices on a small baking sheet and put them into a 350 oven which I then turned off.  They stayed hot and I felt a tad more sure that they were fully cooked.

Make the sauce: heat the remaining EVOL in a large pot, add the onion, sauté until slightly softened; 2 minutes, add the sliced garlic, red pepper flakes, mashed up anchovy fillets, oil of fillets and the tomatoes.  Cook, stirring often; 12-15 minutes.

Pasta: Cook the pasta in a big pot of boiling salted water. Drain it one minute before the package directions say it will be done. Save a cup of the pot water to thin the pasta.

Use the eggplant fry pan (wipe out the brown bits of crust) and ladle in 2-3 big scoops of the sauce and the pasta.  Cook one minute, turn off the stove and add the cheese, stir well.

Construction of the turrets:

Place a big spoonful of sauce on each plate.  Top with an eggplant slice (I used my biggest slices for the bottom layer) and then top with a big twirl of the pasta mixture.  Top with another eggplant slice and then another pasta twirl.  Do this again.  Top with a dab of the red sauce.  You can also top it with some hot pepper jelly which is a surprisingly good addition!  I did sprinkle our towers with a few torn basil leaves.

Dive in!  And check out this cookbook; chock a block full of great relatively healthy recipes. This was one of the more complex ones; most seem fairly straight forward and sound darn delicious.

Originally published in my blog October 2014.  I made this the other weekend and decided I just had to share it again.  Do use the red pepper jelly if you have any; it is amazing!

Sassy Sweet and Sour Pork

Eating out at Chinese restaurants is nearly impossible for me. No PF Changs has arrived in the Valley so that great choice for eating gf Chinese is not available…. Soy sauce is generally unsafe unless you bring your own, ditto for a few other sauces and the eggroll wrappers, wonton wrappers and steamed buns are wheat based…sad news for us celiacs.

Still, there is an alternative to Chinese takeout: home cooking. I make some rocking good Chinese foods to satisfy my cravings.  My latest is sweet and sour pork over rice.  A classic; my mom used to make it long long ago!  I hadn’t tried it since I went gf but have felt a yearning for that incredibly addictive sweet and sour sauce.  So I went to my reliable source; Betty Crocker…and modified from there to make it gf for me.

I used baby bok choy, red pepper and brown rice; can use green pepper if you prefer, big ribs of bok choy and white rice.  Your choice.  I was out of chunk pineapple so I used a can of rings.  If rings, use a knife to cut them up while still in the can into about 6 chunks by cutting down vertically with a long knife. Be sure to use pineapple canned in its own juice not syrup.

The sauce flavor is excellent;if you have any leftovers – makes a great lunch. Best of all it is easy to put together and you can be flexible with the ingredients. Win!

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Angie’s Sweet and Sour Pork

Ingredients:

¼ cup gf flour mix: I used my standard mix; recipe below

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 lb pork shoulder or boneless pork chops, cut into ½ inch cubes

3 tbsp. mild olive oil

1  13 oz can pineapple chunks or rings in juice.  Drain, reserve juice

¼ c apple cider vinegar

¼ c. gf soy sauce

1.5 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper cut into fat strips and then across into 3 sections

1 can bamboo shoots or sliced water chestnuts; drained,

2-3 baby bok choy cut into 1 inch sections or cut up 3 ribs of bok choy

½ tsp siracha sauce or chili sauce (1-2 tsp)

2.5 cups hot cooked rice

Directions: Mix the flour with the ginger in a bag and toss the pork cubes with it until they are all coated.  Heat a large frying pan, add the olive oil.  Heat to medium hot and add the pork cubes.  Fry stirring occasionally until the cubes are browned. If you have too many to brown; use two frying pans. Add the onion after the cubes are at least half browned. Add about 1/4 cup water to the reserved pineapple juice to make a cup of liquid.  Add the flour/ginger remains to the pan of browned pork cubes.  Stir for a minute.  Add the juice, the soy sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce; heat until it boils, stirring constantly.  Boil a minute, turn down heat, add sugar, salt, pepper. Cover and cook at least 20 minutes, preferably 30 minutes.  Add more water if needed.  Add the pepper chunks and bok choy, cook 5 minutes, add the bok choy, bamboo shoots and siracha sauce.  Cover five more minutes.  Serve over hot rice.  Five servings.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Or for a quick flour dip mix try ½ cup coconut flour and ½ cup white rice flour.

Monk Fish with Ratatouille…Early Fall on a Plate

My mom sometimes made fish for dinner and one of her favorites was monkfish, sometimes called poor man’s lobster. If you google monkfish it is one big ugly black fish. Luckily it tastes pretty good and is a change of pace from the fish I seem to be in a rut of choosing. I can’t remember how my mom made it but I saw this recipe on epicurious and decided to try it with some fresh veggies straight from the garden as a treat for her.  We both love ratatouille so what could be better?

I made a few small changes and cut the ingredient amounts in half for just two (my mom and I).  I was blown away by the rich flavors of the roasted ratatouille and the delicate but meaty monk fish fillet.  I think its nick name is due to the texture which does remind me of lobster, sort of.  It isn’t the most popular of fish (insert salmon her!) but this dish might change your mind and make the list of top ten fish recipes for your family. We ate every bite of the fish and those incredible veggies. I almost forgot to mention; this entree is ridiculously easy to make and is naturally gluten free.  Perfect!

The amounts are flexible; if you love eggplant it could be a bit more and if you have yellow squash instead of zuke that is perfect. I used that skinny Japanese eggplant but any regular eggplant cut in strips and then cubes would be perfect. The original recipe used canned marinara sauce but I chose to use some tomato paste from a tube and the fresh plum tomatoes. I was concerned about having a runny sauce but if you want more liquid add some sauce to thin things down.

I carefully transferred the dish to a glass oven pan and baked it just long enough to get the pan hot before putting on the lid and heading over to where my mom lives.  You don’t have to take that step but this is an easy meal to transport which makes my life a bit easier.

My starch was fire roasted russet potatoes but I am thinking this would be awesome with either gf noodles, gf pasta or rice pilaf.

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I just sprinkled dried basil on top of the veggies. Will stir and add fish before roasting some more. You can add more wine if necessary.

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Capers are on top, in my lidded glass oven dish.

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About to dig in…yes…that’s a paper plate. I am at my mom’s assisted living room……easy clean up. This is just a blog. Not the food network, lol.

Monkfish with Ratatouille

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes (1.5 cups)

1 cup sliced zucchini

1/2 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium onion, cut into thin segments from top to bottom

2 teaspoon olive oil, divided

Vegetable oil cooking spray

2 to 4 tbsp. dry white wine (or red if you prefer)

1 large clove garlic chopped coarsely

2 tbsp. tomato paste.

3 big plum tomatoes cut into chunks

2 monkfish fillets (about 5-6 ounces each)

1 tsp dried basil or 1.5 tbsp. fresh

1 tablespoon drained capers

PREPARATION

Heat oven to 425°F.

Coat a shallow baking pan with cooking spray. Place eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and onion on the sheet and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss a bit…I used a pancake turner to do that operation. Then spread the vegetables out over the pan so they are in a thin layer and roast until tender, about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with white wine, garlic and tomatoes. Cover loosely with foil and roast 5-10 minutes more. Remove pan from oven. Stir in basil. Lay fish fillets in the middle of the veggies; push them aside first to make a cleared space; drizzle with remaining teaspoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Cook about 10-12 minutes.  Sprinkle with capers and fresh basil if you have some.

I served this with grilled potatoes but if you are low carbing leave off the starch and you won’t be disappointed by the results.

Southern Comfort: Cheesy Shrimp and Grits…My Version

Some people aren’t big fans of grits; this recipe could change that for ever as it is pretty easy and darn tasty.  Not diet food; we are talking cheese and cream here. Still, I promise; you and yours will love grits after you whip up this luscious entrée!

I used frozen large shrimp; don’t use very small ones, lacking real shrimp flavor.  My pantry didn’t have fancy country ham; just used some ham steak from the grocery store; was fine. My version has fresh tomatoes on it; love the addition.  This is mostly naturally gluten free; just changed the white all purpose flour for the roux to rice flour.  Use most any blend of gf flour you prefer. No bean flour though; that stuff is nasty for most things.

I ate some of it cold the next day; took it along for a lunch out.  No microwave….still tasty cold.  Enjoy!

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Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients

Shrimp:
1/2 pound (26-30 count) Wild Shrimp
1-2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

3/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
Grits:
1 cup water
1 gf chicken bouillon cubes
1 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup quick grits
1 1/2 tsp. tomato paste
3 oz heavy cream  (a glass measuring cup has ounce marks on it)

1 2/3 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar; shred on large grater side
Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tsp. minced garlic
1-2 tablespoons rice flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommend: Texas Pete)
¼ cup sugar-cured country ham diced

1 ripe tomato diced
Directions

First, peel and devein the shrimp. In a small bowl, combine Cajun seasoning, paprika, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the shrimp to coat well and set the shrimp aside while you get all the ingredients ready for the grits and sauce. You want the shrimp to stand at least 4-5 minutes before you fry them so the flavors soak in somewhat.

Now saute the shrimp in a large saute pan: melt 2 tablespoons of butter, add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add in the spice-coated shrimp, and cook only until they’re just done and tender. Don’t overcook. Remove the shrimp from the saute pan and set them aside in a bowl.
The roux is next. With all those wonderful drippings from the shrimp in the saute pan, add 1-2 tablespoons of rice flour and stir with a wooden spatula to make a roux. Start with one and add more if you think there is enough butter and drippings to mix with it. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes until roux reaches a medium-tan color, then slowly add the chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Whisk together and cook for 2 minutes, then whisk in Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Set aside.
Next, while the roux cooks, make your grits. In a medium saucepan, bring water, chicken bouillon cubes and 2 tablespoons butter to a boil. Slowly add the grits, whisking often with wire whisk for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, cream, and cheese. Keep whisking for another 2 or 3 minutes until the grits become creamy. Don’t skimp on the butter and the cream, it gotta have that good stuff so you have that great taste!
And last, toppings. Cook 1 center slice of cured country ham in a saute pan, and cut into cubes. I used a ham steak from the store and cut it in small cubes and sauteed it briefly before mixing it with the shrimp. Dice the tomato up.

To serve place 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of steaming cheese grits onto a place, top with half the shrimp and half the ham cubes. Drizzle that yummy roux sauce over top of the shrimp, and sprinkle on half that chunked up tomato. Enjoy this little bit of that world famous Southern cooking even up here in Pennsylvania!
I made a few changes to this recipe – originally by Joe Barnett: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/shrimp-and-grits-recipe

Pulled Chicken Barbeque: Tender, Easy and Tasty!

My kingdom for a simple but tasty gluten free pulled chicken barbeque recipe!  Well, maybe just a hearty thanks: to my friend Niki for her recipe inspiration.  This is so easy, only a few ingredients and fantastic results; it is a slow cooker recipe; the perfect method for effortless, falling apart and  mouth watering barbeque.

Mix it all in the slow cooker and four hours later it is ready, no sweat, no mess and the kitchen isn’t much warmer despite making this great dish.

If you hate dark meat; make it with chicken breast; will be done in less time of course; maybe 2-3 hours?

For a change I bought some gluten free roll made by Schar; their classic white rolls.  The package says new recipe and they are much better than I thought they would be.  Each held their shape, decent flavor: fantastic full of barbequed chicken thighs.  I also had a burger in one of the four buns and it held together nicely.  Schar has occasional coupons; I used one I got on line when I bought them for this meal and ended up paying $.50 a roll which is really cheap for gf rolls.

One third to half a bottle of gluten free barbeque sauce; Sweet Baby Ray’s is the barbeque sauce I use these days, nice smoky tang to it.  I think you could easily double this to 5 lbs of chicken.  I am planning to make it for my next summer gathering; just so easy and the no grill, no oven, no fry is awesome for summer meal planning.

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Niki’s BBQ Pulled Chicken Thighs

2 ½ lbs boneless chicken thighs

1/3 to half a small bottle of barbeque sauce

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

1 medium onion, diced

1 tsp. Dijon or whole grain mustard

2 tbsp. water

Directions:

Dump all but chicken in the slow cooker, stir, add chicken thighs; skinless is my preference.  Cover and cook on high for 3.5 to 4 hours. If you are around stir it once half way though and flip the chicken over. When done, turn off the slow cooker and break up the meat while still in it: I used a wooden spoon. Serve in a bun: mine was Schar’s classic white.  Use what ever bun you like! And of course, I used gf barbeque sauce.  Be sure it is a quality sauce you are fond of or the results will not be happy! Just like cooking with wine; use ingredients you would enjoy all on their own.  This recipe is a home run on a busy summer day.  Pair it with a salad or two and you have a great meal for four; double it to serve eight.