The secret to gluten-free eating isn’t really baking with alternative flours. The secret is eating a wide variety of naturally gluten-free foods and leaving the gluten-free baking for treats and special occasions. When my partner was diagnosed with celiac disease, we found that we didn’t have to adjust our lifestyle drastically. We didn’t eat a lot of bread and though I have a bit of a baking habit, it’s something I do for meetings and gatherings, not just for the two of us. Though we had to eliminate couscous, it was a relief to find out that quinoa was on the safe list. It’s easy to prepare, a complete protein and has a great, nutty flavour. I’d have been sad to have to leave quinoa out of our repertoire.

This week’s French Friday recipe is a good example of why we’re so fond of quinoa. It’s prepared much as rice would be, with a fifteen to twenty minute cooking time. Then, the cooked quinoa is mixed with dried fruit, nuts, seeds and herbs before being tossed in a simple lemon-ginger dressing. I used dried cranberries and blueberries, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, minced basil and parsley. I let the mixture rest for an hour and then, as suggested, served it over mixed greens with a dollop of plain yogurt. A simple, filling supper with a lot of texture and flavour. It’s also great for packed lunches or picnics.

When people find out that Kevin has celiac disease, they often express concern over the expense of gluten-free eating. It’s processed and packaged gluten-free food that’s costly, though. Our food bill hasn’t changed much, because we don’t rely on those products. With recipes like this one, who needs them?

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Quinoa, Fruit and Nut Salad

It’s going to be an unforgivably short post today, I’m afraid.

Dorie Greenspan tells the tale of Beggar’s Linguine here and includes the recipe. I substituted dates for the raisins and used gluten-free rotini in place of the linguine, but followed the recipe otherwise. It’s not my favourite recipe for French Fridays, but I didn’t hate it. It’s good to stretch the taste buds a little and I can see playing with the recipe in future to suit myself a little better. It certainly looked lovely on the plate, though.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Beggar’s Linguine

Just a quick post today, as it’s been a busy week.

Gluten-free baking can be a little tricky, especially when converting standard flour recipes. In converting the recipe for the sweet tart dough for the Orange-Almond Tart, I chose to use an all purpose mix made of white rice flour, potato starch and tapioca flour. It’s one that they sell at my local food co-operative and I’ve had really good results with it. In this recipe, though, the dough was ultimately too crumbly, with a slightly sandy taste that detracted a little from the shortbread flavour the dough is meant to have. Next time I try this, I’ll use a different combination of flours – one that doesn’t rely so heavily on white rice flour. (For the record, I’ve made this sweet tart dough recipe as written, with conventional flour, and it turned out beautifully. The problem was my choice of flours, not a fault in the recipe. I think I should have used a touch more xantham gum, too.)

My intention was to make a tangerine version of this tart, but sectioning the tangerines did not go well. The fruit was quite soft and my knife was not quite sharp enough. In the end, I sectioned some nice, firm oranges instead, which worked out quite well.

The almond cream turned out beautifully and the same gluten-free flour mix that failed in the pastry worked really well for the filling.

The finished product was tasty, if crumbly and with a few inexplicably over-browned oranges. The oranges also were a little swallowed by the almond cream, I think because my pan was smaller than called for. I’ll make this again, once I’ve sorted out a gluten-free version of the tart dough that works well. I hope that the next time I make this, too, that the finished product looks a little prettier. Check out the other French Friday participants if you want to see more attractive versions!

UPDATE – February 18/11 – I sent a big slice home with my parents, the day after I made it. I apologized in advance because I didn’t think they’d like my version of the crust much. Turns out, though, that they loved it. My mother phoned back to tell me so. I tried another piece and was really pleased. Refrigerated overnight, the crust had improved immensely. It was no longer crumbly and was very flavourful. The filling was still just as good as it had been the first day. When I make this again, I’ll make it ahead.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Orange-Almond Tart

February is a busy month for us this year, in no small part because it’s my partner’s 40th birthday next week. We’ve got a big party lined up for the weekend at one of our favourite gluten-free-friendly restaurants, but for his actual birthday I’m making a rice pasta spinach lasagna. I’m also going to attempt a gluten-free version of next week’s FFwD recipe, Orange-Almond Tart. So, I was happy the month was starting off with a relatively easy dish. One which is naturally gluten-free, to boot. No substitutions needed.

Basque Potato Tortilla is more akin to what North Americans would describe as an omelette than what we think of as a tortilla. It’s started on the stove and finished under the broiler, requiring a close eye, but little intervention. I resisted the urge to add cheese (it’s good to break the habit of always cooking eggs with dairy), but added mushrooms, red pepper, thyme and ham to the base recipe.

Tonight, we ate slices at room temperature with lemon-dressed steamed Swiss Chard on the side. I’m curious to taste it cold tomorrow. I certainly see the appeal of slicing it into cubes or squares and serving it as an appetizer – it would go well with a red pepper salsa, I think. Though I enjoyed the tortilla, I don’t think it will be making a regular appearance in our kitchen. I’m keeping it in mind for those times when you need a simple, visually impressive main or appetizer, though, especially because it uses ingredients you’re likely to have on hand.

It’s also one of those dishes that’s infinitely variable. The Swiss Chard could have just as easily gone into the tortilla as on the side. It’s good to have a few variations on workhorse egg recipes in hand.

Thanks, Kevin, for the loan of your camera – the batteries in mine died today. Apologies to everyone for the darkness of this week’s shots. I’m not as handy with his camera.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Basque Potato Tortilla

Slow is underrated, especially when it comes to food. I don’t just mean this kind of slow, though that’s definitely important. I’m talking about taking time with a dish, letting flavours meld and working through the steps to make something truly delicious. We’re so inundated with recipes for 30 minute, 15 minute and even 10 minute meals, that it’s hard to remember that setting aside time for cooking can have enormous rewards. Obviously, in our culture, few of us have the ability to put long hours into every dish that we make, so it’s important that when you do, the recipe is worth it. Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for Chicken B’stilla is a wonderful example of what happens when you put time into making your food.

In this French take on a traditional Moroccan dish, chicken is marinated in spices, then simmered in broth until very tender. The broth is cooked down into a rich sauce, made even richer by adding eggs and honey. Finally, everything is combined, put into a phyllo pastry crust and baked. Since my partner would be eating this with me, I substituted gluten-free rough puff pastry for the phyllo, using Gluten-Free Girl’s recipe (which you can find here). I’d researched gluten-free phyllo pastry, but didn’t find a recipe I trusted. I need to do a little more exploration and some test batches, I suppose. I recommend this puff pastry recipe wholeheartedly – it comes together like magic, though you’ll likely have sore biceps the next day.

Even though you must take a little time to make this dish, none of the steps are particularly difficult. The most difficult part of this recipe is resisting the aroma of the food at the various stages of cooking. While the shredded chicken was cooling, my dog sat in front of the stove, hoping for a handout. My partner repeatedly came in asking if he could have some. I was busy with the sauce, but adding the honey and eggs just added to the wonderful smell. Anticipation ran high.

Once the B’stilla was assembled and baked, it was difficult to wait for it to cool enough to cut. It was worth the work and the wait. Kevin rarely enjoys pie, savoury or sweet, but even before we were finished our first serving, he asked when I would be making it again. I’ll be making this often for Kevin, but I think I’ll also go over to my parents’ place and make the conventional phyllo version for them, too. Not that I’m looking for excuses to make this again…

And, speaking of slow, this was actually the January 28th recipe for French Fridays with Dorie. Instead of writing this post on Friday as I’d planned, I went to a hockey game with my mother instead. I’ve finally found time to catch up today.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Chicken B’stilla

Almost five months after buying Around My French Table, there’s still a little bit of the scent of new book about it, but that’s fading fast. It’s now starting to look like some of the most-used cookbooks in my collection. One page has a drop of braising liquid and on another there’s a tiny stain from Valrhona chocolate. I’m sure that there’s also some gluten-free flour mix dusted throughout. At least I don’t dog-ear the pages (shudder).

Ultimately, I think those stains are the markers of a successful cookbook. Though I try to keep my cookbooks safe from my culinary adventures, I inevitably put a chocolately finger on the page or spatter some too enthusiastically stirred broth over the book. I’ve a few that are still pristine; those are likely to end up in a box at a yard sale someday. Those that I enjoy most are no longer so pretty.

It’s safe to say that I’m enjoying cooking from Around My French Table. Learning from Dorie Greenspan and from each other, the group has made some delicious dishes so far. This week’s recipe has inspired me to do a little learning beyond the AMFT classroom. Since the double chocolate mousse cake almost cries out for ice cream, I pulled out my (brand new) copy of David Lebovitz’ Ready for Dessert and looked for a suitable match. I don’t have an ice cream freezer, but that wasn’t too much of a barrier. I used his frozen caramel mousse recipe, along with salted almonds (both of which are meant to be served with sherry-glazed pears and chocolate, but those will have to wait for another time).

The cake itself is mostly a matter of stirring. Once the chocolate is melted, the rest of the ingredients are incorporated bit by bit, save for the egg whites, which are folded in at the end. The most time-consuming part of the process for me was walking down the block to the corner coffee shop, Bump N Grind, to pick up the espresso. I don’t usually drink coffee at home (I’m a mildly obsessive tea drinker) and my neighbourhood is known for very good espresso, so there’s little reason for me to keep coffee on hand. I used to have a fantastic chocolate cake recipe (which I’ve sadly lost) that used a long Americano. I lived closer to Continental Coffee then and entertained enough that they knew exactly what I was up to when I came in. It brought back memories when I walked into the shop yesterday and asked for a third of a cup of espresso.

I chose to bake the cake twice and serve it cold, which is Dorie’s favourite version. You can also bake it once and serve it with chilled chocolate mousse on top or bake it twice and serve it warm. I think there’s some experimentation called for, to make sure I identify my favourite version of this cake. I don’t think I’ll manage it all at once, though.

What I can tell you is that the cake is dense and delicious, reminiscent of a brownie, but much more sophisticated. The hint of espresso works really well with the bittersweet chocolate. Adding caramel mousse and salted almonds? Amazing.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Michel Rostang’s Double Chocolate Mousse Cake

I’ve always loved baking, in an old-fashioned way. When I was a child, I started out as my mother’s helper in the kitchen and then slowly started to master the recipes in her cookbooks. At University, I became known for bringing brownies, cookies and cakes to parties and people would be disappointed if I didn’t. I’ve been doing it ever since.

It’s only been in the last ten years or so that I’ve encountered people who disdain dessert. In one particular circle, I’d bring a basket of cookies to a party and go home with them all untouched. I’d bring the cookies to work the next day and they wouldn’t last a half hour. I was baffled, until I asked the friend who’d introduced me to that crowd. She told me that no one wanted to indulge in unhealthy treats and that a party was no excuse for over-eating.

So, I began bringing cheese plates instead. Blocks of brie, camembert, blue cheese and aged cheddar disappeared, along with the savoury dips and spreads that lined the table. It’s enough to break a baker’s heart. Clearly, the injunction against indulgence really only applied to desserts and baked goods.

I’ve got another one of these gatherings coming up, but I have a solution that’s going to satisfy my baker’s urge and shouldn’t leave me with untouched offerings at the end of the night. Dorie Greenspan’s Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts.

These are a lot like a brittle, with a spicy bite of cayenne and chilli, instead of the usual caramel. I added a touch of smoked paprika to mine and am pleased with the result. The only thing I’d change is the sugar I used. Next time, I’ll pick up some granulated sugar – the slightly coarse cane sugar I had on hand produced a bubbly, brittle texture that isn’t as visually pleasing as I’d like.

I’m going to present them with a variety of salted nuts. I predict they’ll be popular.

We’re doing things a little differently again for the month of December. We’re still posting weekly, but people are free to post this month’s recipes in any order. You can find many other blogged descriptions of this month’s FFWD recipes here: LYL: December 3