February 2, 2012

There must be a million recipes for hot weeks--published this week alone. And since all the cool kid's are going it, I'm sharing my favorite recipes for easy wings!

Since these wings are baked, not fried, the oven temperature is important. Baking the wings at 475°F ensures they are crisp on the outside with a moist and juicy interior.

Drying the wings before baking also helps to crisp them up. Do you remember the scene in "Julie and Julia" where Julia Childs instructs that the beef for her boeuf bourguignon be patted dry before searing? Same theory applies here. By drying the chicken wings really well before baking, they won't steam in the oven.

As for the hot sauce, I like it hot. Since you can't go wrong with Frank's Red Hot Sauce, I doctor it a bit. While the wings bake, I cook a generous amount of garlic, add ground chipotle chili, and then the sauce. It simmers for a bit, getting a little thick. That's it!

. . . keep reading

February 1, 2012

On my kitchen counter right now sits a copy of my new cookbook. I still can't believe it. After almost two years of work, the book's real. It no longer lives solely in my mind. Or in the e-mail exchanges between my editor and myself. It's here!

But what to share? I love all of the recipes! From the crisp waffles to the chipotle chicken wraps. This cookbook's meant to live on your kitchen counter. The recipes are perfect for weeknight meals with a few weekend (read: longer to prepare) recipes thrown in for fun.

After much deliberating, I decided to share two recipes. This one's for my Easy Veggie Chili. (And, yes, I know that some folks bristle when someone uses the name "chili" for a meatless dish. But to me, chili it is!) And I can't share my chili recipe without sharing the recipe for my Cornbread Chili Bake. It uses leftover chili and tops it with a light, fluffy cornbread.

But first, Veggie Chili!

February 1, 2012

Some people are magicians when it comes to turning leftovers into a brand new meal. I'm not one of them. My usual approach to leftovers? "Reheat and eat."

But for every rule there's an exception. My exception is chili. After making a pot of chili, the leftovers turn into this simple cornbread-topped chili bake.

For the recipe, I use my veggie chili recipe as the base. Since it's meat-free, I sometimes brown one pound of either ground turkey or ground beef and add it to the chili. Then I spoon cornbread batter over the chili and bake.

The cornbread bakes up light and fluffy but doesn't overpower the robust spices and flavors of the chili.

However, the cornbread doesn't need to fade quietly into the background. Adapt it to suit your tastes and enhance the chili you use for the casserole. Some nice modifications are adding whole corn kernels, scallions, or ground chili spices.

I recently shared this recipe with the lovely folks at WNYT. The video's after the cut. . . . keep reading

January 31, 2012

At football parties, few things frustrate me more than a plate of piping hot pigs in a blanket that I can't eat. (My team losing would be the #1 thing that frustrates me. I'm looking at you Green Bay.) A few years ago, I grew tired of this--it was time for a gluten-free version.

Traditional wheat-based pigs in a blanket are often made with store-bought dough, usually crescent dough or puff pastry. Those of us on the gluten-free diet currently don't have the option of using pre-made dough. While not as easy as popping open a can of dough, this gluten-free pastry isn't tough to make.

To prepare the dough, simply cut some butter (or shortening) into dry ingredients, add an egg and some milk and stir until a firm dough forms. That's it.

These can also be made ahead of time and frozen. After wrapping each wiener in dough, place them on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about three hours, until they're firm. Then place the pigs in a blanket in a plastic bag and return to the freezer.

When you're ready to serve, preheat the oven and bake from frozen. . . . keep reading

January 3, 2012

Recently it occurred to me that some of my favorite sandwiches are seasonal sandwiches. I eagerly await the first BLT of the summer and come winter I can't wait for a croque-monsieur. Of course, unlike the BLT, there's nothing really seasonal about this sandwich. Bread, ham, cheese and white sauce are available all year round. Yet tucking into this hearty sandwich during a warm season just doesn't appeal to me. (Probably because I am too busy eating BLTs.) Come the cold nights of January, however? I'm ready for a dressed-up ham and cheese sandwich.

While this French sandwich has been around for at least a hundred years, it's fairly new to my culinary repertoire. For years I avoided it because the thought of a sandwich topped with béchamel sauce sauce didn't sound appealing to me. I imagined the bread would turn unappetizingly soggy. However, I was wrong. Terribly wrong. After one bite, I knew why this sandwich was a classic. It's a comfort food sandwich! How did I miss this before? Warm cheese, salty ham, and tangy mustard. As for the bread, as long as it's well toasted (which is key with gluten-free bread.) the bread doesn't get mushy under the thick sauce.

Since the sandwich takes a little time to prepare, I usually don't make it for lunch. Instead I serve it for dinner along with a peppery green salad and a gluten-free beer.

. . . keep reading

December 22, 2011

After posting twelve recipes for holiday sweets, I need a break from the sweet stuff!

With Christmas almost here, I knew which recipe I wanted to share with you: Clam and Garlic pasta! This recipe was my grandmother's. She served it every Christmas Eve, along with lots of other seafood. (It's an Italian tradition to serve seafood on Christmas Eve.)

And not only is this recipe a family tradition, it's also from my new cookbook, making this recipe doubly sweet to me.  I filled the new book with lots (LOTS) of recipes for easy suppers. Something like Clam and Garlic pasta might not sound easy...until you see how I make it! The sauce cooks while the pasta boils. So even though this dish is good enough to serve on a special night like Christmas Eve, it's also easy enough to make any weeknight.

In the New Year I'll be talking more about "How to Cook Gluten-Free", telling you how it came together and sharing recipes from the book. I am so, so proud of this book. But for now, I wanted to share just a taste of it with you. (If you'd like to pre-order the book from Amazon, I'd be thrilled! Right now they have the cover wrong. The photo you see above is the true cover. Amazon should be updated shortly with the correct cover!)

Until then, enjoy the last few days of 2011. For many, 2011 was a tough year. My wish is that 2011 fades quietly as we welcome 2012 with open hearts.

See you in 2012!

Love,

Elizabeth

Click for the recipe . . . keep reading

December 21

Today wraps up my "12 Days of Holiday Sweets" (where did the month go???). And there couldn't be a more perfect ending than these chocolate peanut butter cookies. First, they're cookies! I know we've made pound cake and chocolate bark and granola during this series but, really, this season always feels like the cookie season. 

The recipe was requested by Tina S.. She sent me the recipe after we chatted about the holiday season on Facebook. I'm so glad we had that conversation! Because these cookies . . . keep reading

December 20, 2011

Make Your Own Chocolate Bark

One of the easiest (and tastiest!) homemade gifts to make is chocolate bark. One of the great things about bark is that there's no limit to the way you can make it! Two of my favorites are peppermint bark (One layer of dark chocolate, one layer of white chocolate that's topped with crusted candy canes.) and dark chocolate cherry bark (one layer of dark chocolate, sprinkled with dried cherries and white chocolate chips.)

Use this recipe as a guideline to encourage your own creativity. . . . keep reading

December 19, 2011

One of my favorite flavor combinations, chocolate and orange, becomes a little more popular this time of the year thanks to those "chocolate oranges" that you whack on the counter. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find out whether or not those chocolate novelties are gluten-free. That's okay because these orange-chocolate dipped cookie more than makes up for it!

For this recipe, I dip the cookies in confectionery coating. Like any ingredient, quality varies greatly from brand to brand. I use . . . keep reading

December 14, 2011

No matter how many carols I hear, cards I send, or gifts I wrap, it doesn't feel like the holidays until I make gingerbread cookies. And those gingerbread cookies? They need to meet two requirements:

• They can't spread. It's always disappointing to put cute cut-outs into the oven only to be greeted with weird amoeba-like shapes after baking; I like my gingerbread boys and girls to hold their shape!

• They must taste like ginger. Too often gingerbread cookies taste like molasses cookies with the ginger flavor lost to the other spices. If I want a molasses cookie, I'll make a batch. When I want a gingerbread cookie, I want ginger to be the prominent flavor.

December 13, 2011

I love sugar cookies! And these are some of the easiest sugar cookies to make. They don't require cookie cutter *and* they come out of the oven already decorated!

. . . keep reading

December 12, 2011

Remember the old Sara Lee commercials? They always popped up during the holiday season. Well, I thought I knew those commercials. So, let me tell you, my mind was recently blown when I learned that jingle in those songs said, "Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee." I always, always thought they were singing, "Nobody does it like Sara Lee." Because, as a kid, Nobody Did It Like Sara Lee. At least for pound cake in our house.

December 8, 2011

As much as I love giving cookies, candy, and bread as holiday gifts, it's fun to do something a little different. And homemade granola always fits the bill. This sweet, cinnamon-scented recipe makes perfect holiday gifts! And it only takes minutes to make. (Perfect for last minute gifts.)

. . . keep reading

December 7, 2011

This time of year leaves me feeling a little like the Cookie Monster: "Me want cookies!" And I don't want just any cookie, I want cut-out cookies. I love cookie cutters. I might love them too much. My 200-plus cookie cutter collection even boasts an armadillo-shaped cookie cutter.

December 6, 2011

As a kid, I knew one thing about Hanukkah: it included latkes and doughnuts and Christmas didn't. This made me more than a little sad that my family didn't celebrate the holiday. In my opinion, even the best Christmas cookie can't compete with a latke or doughnut fresh from the fryer.

Thankfully my mom's friend Judy provided all the laktes and doughnuts I could eat. This year I asked for her doughnut recipe--I didn't want to spend another holiday season jelly doughnut-less.

The doughnuts Judy made were jelly doughnut bites. "They're not doughnut holesbecause I don't make the full-size doughnut!" Judy told me after I asked for her "doughnut hole" recipe. (When I mentioned that jelly doughnuts don't actually have a hole, Judy laughed at me.) Thinking it might be a family tradition, I asked why she made doughnut "bites" and not full-size doughnuts. Did her mom make doughnut bites?

Her reply showed Judy's no-nonsense nature: "Tradition? No! My mother made regular doughnuts. Bites are just easier. I got the idea from Dunkin Donuts' Munchkins. They were new at the time and my kids loved 'em."

December 5, 2011

I think eggnog might be the candy corn of the Christmas season. People either love it or loathe it and, just like candy corn, they'll passionately tell you which camp they're in. Me? I love eggnog. Love it. But the last few years, disappointment instead of delight accompanied my annual eggnog purchase. The reason? High fructose corn syrup IHFCS). Health reasons and the HFCS debate aside, I just don't like the mouth feel it brings to beverages. I find eggnog (and even soda) made with HFCS to be, well, syrupy, instead of smooth. (For soda, I find sugar-based sodas "crisper" than their more prevalent HFCS-sweetened cousins.