The Sensitive Epicure

Scallion Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

2012-01-04T09:00:00.005-05:00

Time for the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally! Gretchen of Kumquat hostessed this month with the challenge of biscuits. What a great way to start off the new year. Growing up in South Florida, biscuits with sausage gravy comes to my mind first. It's been eons since I've had biscuits and gravy; probably a good ten years. I decided to throw some scallions in there, since I've been craving Chinese style

Speculaas (Dutch Windmill Cookies)

2011-12-14T12:00:00.013-05:00

I just love holiday cookies. Who doesn't? After all, everyone is a cookie monster at heart. (Hint: they make great presents for neighbors, co-workers, party hosts, etc.) This year, I have recreated two of my favorite Christmas cookies my mother would have in the house time of year: spritz cookies with jam; and speculaas, aka Dutch windmill cookies. Spectulaas are a Dutch shortbread that are

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2011-12-07T12:00:00.020-05:00

So continues Food Network's Fall Fest with winter squash. The first thing to come to my mind, as I sure most people's minds, is butternut squash soup. With good reason. It's comforting, warm, hearty, rich, and not that difficult to make. Most soups start with a mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery), which creates the aromatic foundation. Then add in cooked tender squash, stock, seasonings, and

Spritz Cookies with Jam

2011-12-07T09:00:00.014-05:00

While sharing cookie recipes with the rest of the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally (GFreeRally), I came across spritz cookies. You know, the kind that are piped out with a small dollop of jam in the center. What really caught my eye was almond paste was listed as the first ingredient and I just bought two packages of marzipan from IKEA. I also had a new jar of strawberry preserves. Nice, I didn't even

Simply Sauteed Beets

2011-11-30T09:57:00.046-05:00

Beets, really? Food Network's Fall Fest ends with a beet recipe. More like a challenge to me. As a young teenager, my father would attempt to feed me beets. Those gross canned pickled beets that stunk. I would refuse. My dad would tempt me by saying, "Beets will make your boobs big." Blah. He never convinced me to eat them. And I developed into a well-endowed lady regardless of not eating my

Maple Bourbon Glazed & Braised Carrots

2011-11-23T12:00:00.004-05:00

I love carrots. Especially their bright orange color. Usually, I eat carrots raw as carrot sticks. But I often forget how sweet carrots are when cooked. Another one of my favorites is roasted carrots with potatoes. It is rare to find a dish where the carrots are the star. One of the standard culinary carrot dishes I learned to make in culinary school was glazed carrots. Unfortunately, it rarely

Oyster Dressing & Gravy

2011-11-16T12:00:00.010-05:00

To this day, my mother is the best cook I have ever known. She has been gone for over eight years, and I still find myself trying to replicate some of her culinary repertoire. I consider myself fortunate to learn so much from her, growing up in the kitchen, following her around. Mom always made a big to-do for holiday dinners with some of her annual specialties. My favorites were her oyster

Roasted Turnips with Olive Oil and Rosemary

2011-11-09T12:00:00.010-05:00

Looking for a way to spice up your dinner? How about turnips? Turnip greens are notorious for their pepperiness and bitterness. I tend to think about the bulbous root when I think of turnips. Turnips contain bitter cyanoglucosides (and lots of vitamin C.) Some people who are genetic "supertasters" and tend to be more sensitive to more bitter compounds in food and could find turnips too peppery

Cauliflower Souffle

2011-11-02T12:00:00.001-04:00

Cauliflower proves to be polarizing. My husband does not like it, mostly due to its thio, sulfury, stinky compounds. I like it. Maybe if I made it baked with eggs, cheese, and other aromatic ingredients, he would like it better. I remembered my food-writer inspiration and friend had a recipe for souffleed cauliflower I wanted to try. Colman Andrews has a simple, beautiful recipe in his Country

James Beard Chess Pie

2011-11-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

Pie crust was this month's Gluten-Free Ratio Rally Challenge, hosted by Lisa of Gluten Free Canteen. Keep up the our activities on Twitter #gfreerally and join in! I decided to make chess pie, because I really had no clue what exactly it was. In my research, chess pie is a Southern Pie that has custard filling thickened with cornmeal: butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and the cornmeal. Then I

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Molasses Marshmallows

2011-10-25T17:32:00.132-04:00

Last year I jumped on the whoopie pie band wagon for a good reason. They are individual cake sandwiches with whatever frosting/marshmallow sugary goodness my heart desires for the filling. Since the gooey filling is on the inside, that means less mess on my hands. Most importantly, the only special equipment I need to make perfect whoopie pies are parchment sheets and a scooper for consistent

Potatoes Anna with Fresh Thyme and Truffle Salt

2011-10-18T22:46:00.039-04:00

This NFL football season, I have the honor to personal chef for an amazing running back, Cedric Benson, of the Cincinnati Bengals. (And the bonus is that he is a very nice and chill man.) One of our favorite meals I made for him was a steak house meal: potatoes Anna with olive oil, fresh thyme, and black truffle salt; pan seared hanger steak; and creamed spinach. These potatoes Anna looked so

Catalan Spinach with Raisins, Pinenuts & Bacon (Espinacas a la Catalana)

2011-10-12T12:00:00.074-04:00

Ever since I was a child, I have loved spinach, whether it's cooked or raw. Maybe from watching all the Popeye reruns. One of my favorites dishes that I would eat as a meal was Stouffer's spinach souffle, especially in my teenage years. My exposure to spinach dishes have been very conventional: spinach salad, sauteed spinach, spinach "souffle." That changed when I was working in Cataluña /

Pan-Fried Apple Rings with a Cider Maple Reduction (Gluten-Free)

2011-10-05T12:31:00.005-04:00

So continues the focus on seasonally bounty with Food Network Blog's feature on Fall Fest. Yay! This week, it's apples. How timely. Last Sunday at my local farmer's market I was overwhelmed with how many types of apples they had. They sampled all I wanted to taste. I ended up picking Courtland apples mainly for their appearance: nice and round with light green and pink skin. Lately, I've been

Stuffed Pizza Pie: Spinach, Mushrooms, Sausage

2011-10-05T10:12:00.002-04:00

Pizza, without a doubt, is one of those universal things you miss having to live a gluten-free life. Since I have been gluten-free, I make so many different iterations of pizza: polenta crust or a "quick bread" dough using eggs and baking powder. None of which are a traditional yeast leavened pizza crust. For this month's Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, Karen of Cooking Gluten-Free posed the challenge

Yemista: Greek Stuffed Tomatoes & Peppers with Potatoes

2011-08-31T12:00:00.065-04:00

Yemista means "to stuff" in Greek. Baked tomatoes and peppers, stuffed with rice and ground meat seems to be a ubiquitous meal at most Greek tavernas. Yemista makes the most of summer vegetables. In Greece yemista is made from whatever is freshest at the market, from the farmers, or from their own gardens. The most common are tomatoes and peppers. Everyone’s favorite is usually the tomatoes.

Fresh Corn Fritters with Lime Chipotle Chive Yogurt (Gluten-Free)

2011-08-17T12:00:00.020-04:00

Every Saturday morning in August my step-father, Fred, and I would look forward to getting corn from Mr. Schneider at the Farmer’s Market near Lunken Municipal Airport. Mr. Schneider grew the best corn and Fred would only buy corn from him. Usually we would eat it boiled, on the cob, with butter and salt. Once in a while Fred would make corn fritters. Those fritters were a treat, and

Cherry Almond Clafouti (Gluten-Free)

2011-08-03T12:00:00.028-04:00

The clafouti (cla-foo-tee) or clafoutis is an old dessert from the Limoges region of France which can be traced back to the 19th century. I cannot tell you how long it has been since I have had intention to make a clafouti. Finally, I made it and it was delicious. Thanks to the Summer Fest started on the Food Network Blog, I was challenged to make something to showcase fresh cherries. Clafouti

Chocolate Hostess Cupcakes (Gluten-Free Dupes)

2011-08-03T10:00:00.009-04:00

When Kate of Gluten-Free Gobsmacked hosted this month’s Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, the challenge was cake. Yes! Who doesn’t love cake?! As a Celiac, cake is one of those baked items I miss on a regular basis. Since I usually have to make it from scratch, cake and cupcake end up being a special occasion baked item. Usually just for myself. Since this was the challenge, I felt obliged to put in more

Tzatziki (cucumber yogurt dip)

2011-07-20T12:00:00.026-04:00

Tzatziki, tzadziki, or tsatsiki (Greek: τζατζίκι) is a Greek meze or appetizer, also used as a sauce for souvlaki and gyros. Tzatziki is made of strained yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, usually olive oil, pepper, sometimes dill, sometimes lemon juice and parsley, and sometimes mint added. Tzatziki is always served cold. Whenever I go back to Greece to visit my husband's family,

Summer Peach Tart (Gluten-Free)

2011-07-06T12:00:00.072-04:00

Inspired by Food Network's Summer Fest focus on peaches and Gluten-Free Girl's pie party, I created this recipe for a peach tart. Growing up in Cincinnati, I had many traditional German/French fresh fruit tarts made by old-school pastry shops that are institutions here. I miss those, being gluten-free now. Therefore, I knew the only solution is to make it myself. The crust is a short dough

Ravioli: A Pasta GF Ratio Rally Challenge

2011-07-06T09:24:00.197-04:00

This month for the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, Jenn of JennCuisine (our lovely hostess this month), gave us the mother of a challenge: fresh GF pasta. Pasta is one of those items that really relies upon the formation of gluten to give the critical physical characteristics of making pasta: strength; flexibility; plasticity; and elasticity. Without having these qualities, it is near impossible,

Churros y Chocolate Sin Gluten

2011-06-01T09:00:00.034-04:00

(This post is a continuation of June's Gluten-Free Ratio Rally challenge of pate a choux: http://thesensitiveepicure.blogspot.com/2011/05/gluten-free-gougeres-filled-with-herbed.html) All throughout Spain churros and chocolate can be found on many street corners called churrerías. Churrerías are a sort of small bakery shops that sell all different kind of churros, homemade potato chips, and

Gluten-Free Gougeres filled with Herbed Goat Cheese Mousse

2011-06-01T09:00:00.033-04:00

Serving as hostess for this month’s Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, I wanted to challenge my follow bloggers with patê á choux paste, also known as éclair paste. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the “GFree Rally” we are a group of GF blogger brought together by Gluten-Free Girl, Shauna, to prove that GF baking does not have to be difficult if you use know ratios/formulations used in the

Italian Almond Orange Cake

2011-05-27T13:43:00.001-04:00

Also known as Torta di Mandorle con Arancia, this cake is naturally gluten-free. The ingredients are few, leaving the full flavor of every ingredient to come out. This cake has a substantial texture with a moist crumb. Almond flour is the basis of this cake with the zest and juice of one orange, lots of eggs to give it a sponge cake quality, and just enough sugar to make it sweet. With all

Salted Coconut Almond Cupcakes Revisited (Gluten-Free and Milk-Free)

2011-05-10T10:17:00.000-04:00

With Easter just behind us, I can't help reminiscing about my childhood Easters growing up in South Florida. My stepmother Patti would make the Easter meal showstopper: her coconut lamb cake with jelly bean embellishments was the crescendo for all the kids. The cake was light, fluffy and with the sweetness of bountiful coconut. A couple of years ago I decided to recreate Patti’s masterpiece as a

Millet Scones: GFree Rally

2011-05-04T09:00:00.012-04:00

If you are not familiar with the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally yet, here's the low down. We are a group of GF bloggers recruited and coerced by Gluten-Free Girl, Shauna, on a mission to prove that basic baking recipes can be directed applied to delicious gluten-free conversions. The caveats are the most basic in pastry fundamentals: 1. recipes are most accurate in weight, and easily modified in this

Pastitsio: A Delicious Greek Pasta Casserole

2011-04-25T16:54:00.006-04:00

At any restaurant in Greece, you can find pastitsio. Pastitsio is a baked pasta casserole with a meat and tomato sauce and covered with a béchamel sauce. I clearly remember having pastitsio before going gluten-free and it was so good.Pastitsio sounds simple and basic, but it can be very difficult to find in most American-Greek restaurants, let alone a gluten-free version. Now, when I travel back

Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins with Steusel Topping

2011-04-06T09:45:00.015-04:00

Quickbread / muffins were the challenge for April's Gluten-Free Ratio Rally. (On Twitter, search #gfreerally.)Every month, the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, a collaborative group of gluten-free bloggers, puts their on take a classic baked good. The premise resides in the ratio of weight of the main ingredients: flour, liquid, eggs, and fat. Michael Ruhlman published Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind

Gluten-Free Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce

2011-04-04T13:08:00.003-04:00

While working at Fundación Alicia in Spain, one of our last duties as an intern was to make a dish that is typical of where we live — that was an intimidating task considering that two of the staff were elBulli chefs. My Italian roommate and fellow intern, Michela, wanted to do a trial run of her dish, gnocchi, at the apartment. Again, we cooked side-by-side, as I made the gluten-free version of

Gluten-Free Pasta alla Carbonara

2011-03-28T14:11:00.011-04:00

When I lived in Barcelona, my Italian roommate and I would cook side-by-side. She wanted to learn how to cook gluten-free since her nephew had Celiac and I wanted to learn how to make traditional Italian food. Surprisingly, most Italian food is easily converted to gluten-free. One day, inspired by a recent acquisition of Parmigiano-Reggiano (which is fairly difficult to find in Spain) at a market

Bramble Mousse

2011-03-21T12:33:00.006-04:00

Carrying on the theme of St. Patrick’s Day is this lovely, Irish-based fruit mousse. This recipe is light and fresh, with enough cream in it to make it indulgent. This dessert is perfect anytime of the year you can get any fresh fruit. Traditionally, bramble mousse is based on freshly foraged blackberries from the bramble. Hence the name. This recipe works well for any fruit in season at the

Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread

2011-03-17T10:05:00.010-04:00

Soda bread uses a chemical leavening, meaning rises due to an acid-base reaction. Soda refers to the base used, baking soda. Different from traditional bread, that uses sugar and yeast (single cell organisms) to produce carbon dioxide gas and ethanol (drinking alcohol). Neither one I would imagine sounds appealing to the home cook, but are critical for fluffy, good baked goods. Both work well

Gluten-Free Shepherd’s Pie

2011-03-14T13:45:00.007-04:00

Eight years ago, almost to the day, I was diagnosed with Celiac. A higher number of Irish seem (compared to other nationalities) to be plagued by gluten-intolerance/Celiac. Apparently, the Irish have conspiracy theories involving the English. The leading theory was due to the English shipping all the wheat out of Ireland at one point, so the Irish people never got used to eating it. For

Queso de Cabra con Miel (Goat Cheese with Honey)

2011-03-06T19:06:00.014-05:00

Shortly after settling into my apartment in Manresa, Spain, one of my roommates and I set out to find our local vino y tapas bar. This was during my internship at Ferran Adrià’s R&D Institute, Fundació Alícia. Lucky enough, Las Vegas, was within two blocks. There I fast discover how gluten-free friendly Spain is. Written on the board on the bar wall was “Estrella Damm para Celiacos”,

Oatmeal Buckwheat Pancakes with Bananas and Pecans: Part of the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally

2011-03-02T08:00:00.017-05:00

Amazing GF Ratio Rally logo by Anile PrakashI am fortunate to be part of the "Gluten-Free Ratio Rally," started and hosted by the Gluten-Free Girl, Shauna Ahern. Other incredible gluten-free bloggers and cookbook authors are also part of this team, see list below. Our monthly mission is to take on a standard baking recipe and put our personal gluten-free spin on it. This is based on the Michael

Slow-Cooker Chili & Jalapeño Corn Muffins (GF)

2011-01-31T10:17:00.023-05:00