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Entries by Nancy Kohler (118)

Monday
Oct252010

A Community Dinner: One Dish at a Time

Buttermilk Biscuit Bites with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes (recipe follows)

This post is about community, friends and family. And, yes, it’s about food. The kind of food that makes it easy to get together: Perfect One-Dish Dinners.

A while ago I mentioned having had the good fortune of meeting Pam, Maggy, and Sharon over at Three Many Cooks. Pam (Anderson) is the mom of the family and a cookbook author many times over. Her latest book, Perfect One-Dish Dinners, is the featured subject of blog posts appearing across the www today as a dozen or so food bloggers whip up one-dish dinners, enjoy them with friends and family, and then share them with you, dear readers.

Perfect One-Dish Dinners is not a gluten-free cookbook. It does have some naturally gluten-free recipes—like Shrimp Ceviche Dip, Cassoulet-Style Italian Sausages and White Beans, and Ouzo-Flavored Blood Orange Sorbet. And, as I’ve found out, some of the remaining recipes can be easily converted to gluten-free goodness! A recipe for feta and sun dried tomato studded biscuits from Pam’s book—converted to gluten-free—follows this post.

There are two things I’d wish for you to walk away with from this post: don’t let food restrictions stop you from sharing time with your family and loved ones over a well-cooked meal and don’t be afraid to try to convert recipes to meet your food needs. Granted some recipes are just a “no go” but, there are many that just beg to be tried. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, but sometimes you win…big time.

Assorted Olives and Orange & Wild Fennel Salame

My day with friends and family….

The mission, should we choose to accept it, was to make a beautiful, simple dish from Pam’s cookbook and  share that dinner and the evening with friends and family.

The timing couldn’t have been better in our home—the kid was home from college. His best bud, the son of my dear friend and her husband (who happens to be a childhood friend of the hubs!), lives next door. We’ve had many Sunday dinners over the years at one another’s houses but as the kids have grown life’s gotten busy and we’ve enjoyed those group dinners with less and less frequency. This seemed like a natural opportunity to reestablish our Sunday dinner tradition. So, that’s just what we did.

My neighbor, Kathy—both artsy and a foodie—loved the idea right away. We planned the day, the food, and threw in a little fun—a walk around the local annual art show. After gorging our eyes and brains with the wares of talented artisans we headed to a local farm for pumpkins, fresh vegetables, fruit, and a big old pumpkin pie.

Back at home I readied the kitchen for an onslaught of cooking and Kathy planted dozens of tulip bulbs in her garden. (Spring at her house will be quite beautiful.)  The appetizers were first up because we had to grab the afternoon light and take some good photos before the sun disappeared.

The apps were quickly ready because they were simple: prosciutto cups filled with caponata, manchego cheese, some beautiful olives from the local Italian delicatessen, and a lovely dried salumi from Boccalone in San Francisco. (I have no idea if Boccalone’s cured salumi is gluten-free.)

Arms filled with a tray loaded with all that good stuff I headed next door and spent the next hour with Kathy setting up and taking photos of the appetizers. So much fun!

Caponata in Crisp Proscuitto Cups

Then back to my house to make the dinner: Coq au Vin Blanc with Spring Vegetables, Buttermilk Biscuit Bites with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes and a big bowl of organic greens with fresh vegetables and tossed with a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Although we didn’t take photos throughout the evening here are the images that click through my mind as I remember our dinner:

My husband setting the table.

The boys heading out to pick up whipped cream for the pumpkin pie.

Carefully decorating the island with beautiful appetizers.

Old friends greeting us with smiles and beautiful hydrangeas in hand.

The clink of wine glasses. The smell of good food. The sound of camaraderie.

A steaming dish of coq au vin flanked by biscuits and organic greens.

Stories of the day—many laughs and good-natured banter among the kids.

My son’s smile.

The faces of my friends and husband—engaged in the enjoyment of the food and company.

Who wants pie? And, whipped cream.

Being thankful for such a wonderful day, wonderful friends, wonderful family, and the good food that graced our table.

Cleaning up, putting it all away and thinking about the next time we come together to keep our tradition of sharing a Sunday meal with those we cherish.

 

What a beautiful fall appetizer spread. Photo courtesy my friend Kathy.

Buttermilk Biscuit Bites with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Gluten-Free)

Adapted from Pam Anderson’s Perfect One-Dish Dinners

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Whisk together in a medium bowl:

2 cups gluten-free flour blend

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (I used one made from goat milk)

Coarsely grate and add to the flour mixture mixing together with a fork or your clean hands:

8 tablespoons frozen Earth Balance (or butter, if you prefer)

In a separate measuring cup, mix together with a fork:

1 cup cold hemp milk (or buttermilk)

1 teaspoon lemon juice (omit if you’re using buttermilk)

2 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes

Continuing with the fork, mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until the dough comes together. Drop by round spoonfuls onto a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet. Press each biscuit lightly to flatten. Bake until just browned, about 10-12 minutes. Serve warm.

PRINT RECIPE

Link Love

Here are links to the other blogs featuring Pam’s Perfect One-Dish Dinners:

Art of Gluten-Free Baking

Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef

Celiacs In The House

Dad Cooks Dinner

Recipe Girl

Kitchen Gadget Girl

My Baking Addiction

Wenderly

Bluebonnets and Brownies

What’s Cooking Blog

Two Peas and Their Pod

What’s Gaby Cooking

bell’alimento

Smith Bites

My Favorite Everything

Food For My Family

Savoring The Thyme

Dine and Dish

This Week For Dinner

What We’re Eating

She Wears Many Hats

Tickled Red

Picky Palate

Ivory Hut

Sugarcrafter

Good Life Eats

How To: Simplify

Rookie Moms

La Fuji Mama

The Steamy Kitchen on TLC

Sunday
Oct172010

Chocolate Chai Pie

I literally whipped up this Chocolate Chai Pie within days of being invited to a contest featuring recipes with tea as an ingredient.

This is not typically the kind of dessert that comes out of my kitchen. Although I truly love pies I’m more smitten with those made with fruit than any other kind. Since I haven’t tried my hand at gluten-free pie crusts this sweet dessert has not crossed my lips in over two years!

A crumb crust seemed like a good alternative. Normally, a graham cracker crust would do the trick but the idea of baking cookies first seemed like overkill. So, after a little research into “from scratch” crumb crusts I came up with this one…laced with tea and chai spices. It’s unusual, interesting, and flavorful.

The chocolate center is born of the desire to have something light, airy, creamy. Along the lines of a chiffon. Whipped coconut milk and marshmallow crème mixed together produced a sweet filling with a texture reminiscent of chiffon. Admittedly the end result was not dead-on. Still it’s delicious (but pretty sweet).

I’ll definitely be playing with the filling—maybe some different flavors—to take it to the next level.

Oh, right, you’ll want to know if the pie won the contest? Sadly, no. But, it was one of the recipes that made it to the “baking” stage so I was pretty happy about that. You can see the winning entrees at Sanctuary T.

Chocolate Chai Pie

Fluffy whipped chocolate marshmallow crème meets Chai-spiced crumb crust in this tea inspired dessert.

You’ll need a can of full fat coconut milk (not coconut cream) for the chocolate filling. The trick is to make sure it hasn’t been shaken since you’ll be using the cream that’s risen to the top of the can. It’s best to buy and place the coconut milk in the refrigerator a few days in advance however, I used coconut milk that was in my pantry and refrigerated overnight—it worked very well.

Chai Crumb Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together until foamy and then set aside:

1 ½ teaspoons egg replacer

2 tablespoons warm water

In a large bowl whisk together:

¾ cup gluten-free flour blend

¾ cup almond flour

¼ cup sugar

4 teaspoons loose black tea (about 4 teabags—I used Darjeeling)

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons cardamom

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

 

Mix together in a separate bowl or large liquid measuring cup:

Egg replacer mixture you made earlier

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil

 

Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and blend together with a large fork until moist and crumbly. Turn the crumbs into a well-greased 8- or 9-inch pie plate and spread them around the bottom and up the sides gently compressing as you go.

Place the piecrust in the middle of the oven and bake 12-14 minutes until just golden brown. Remove and let cool.

Whipped Chocolate Filling

Whisk together, microwave for 30 seconds and set aside:

2 packets unflavored gelatin

6 tablespoons cold water

 

Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer:

1 cup agave syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

gelatin mixture

 

Beat with the whisk attachment until marshmallow crème forms, about 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile melt in a microwave (30 seconds on high, stir, return for 5 second intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate is smooth):

½ cup chocolate chips

Once the marshmallow has increased to about three times in size gently add the melted chocolate, whisking about a minute until it’s fully incorporate. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. At this point the marshmallow will not hold stiff peaks but will be a very thick and creamy fluff.  (I transferred the marshmallow to another bowl and cleaned it and the whisk so I could use the stand mixer for the next step.)

Taking care not to shake the can remove the coconut milk from the refrigerator and, using a can opener, remove the lid. Scoop the heavy cream from the top and place into a clean mixing bowl that fits your stand mixer. Reserve the coconut water. Beat at medium speed with the whisk attachment until the coconut milk resembles whipped cream.

Meanwhile mix together until smooth:

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 tablespoon of the reserved coconut water

 

Once the coconut milk is thickened to a whipped cream consistency add the cocoa mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Gently fold in the marshmallow crème.

Spoon the chocolate mixture into the prepared piecrust and refrigerate until firm.

PRINT RECIPE