Italian Ricotta Cookies, Gluten Free Version



 

I used to do a lot of baking, especially at Christmas time. My mother, my aunt and I would make all of our favorite cookies and combine them to give to friends for gifts. After my kids were born I just didn't have the time anymore. And after I was diagnosed with Celiac, the thought of filling my kitchen with flour and risking getting sick from the contamination just was not worth it.







Today, I was craving Christmas cookies. One of my favorites was the Italian "knot" cookie, which is a plain vanilla flavored cookie topped with either anise or lemon flavored icing. My version added ricotta cheese which didn't change the flavor but gave them a lighter, fluffier texture. So, I thought I would experiment and see how they would come out using my old recipe but substituting gluten free flour and xanthan gum.  In this recipe I used King Arthur gluten free flour.  I made my icing with powdered sugar, a little milk and Sambucca for the anise flavor. You could also substitute lemon juice if you prefer a lemon icing.The resulting cookie was just like I remembered! Light and fluffy like the ones with wheat flour. My daughters eyes lit up when she saw them and she agreed they tasted just like the ones I used to make! Buon Natale!



Ricotta Cookies

Makes about 48 cookies
Printable Recipe

4 cups gluten free flour
1 tsp xanthan gum (Omit if you are using a gluten free flour blend that already includes it)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup softened butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsps. vanilla
1-15oz container ricotta

Glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp. milk
Anisette or Sambucca liquor

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. Beat together butter and sugar with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, ricotta and vanilla and mix well. Add dry ingredients and stir until combined. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a ball and drop onto  the cookie sheet. The dough is sticky. Bake 10-15 minutes until cooked thru. (The tops do not get very brown)

Cool completely on wire racks. To make the glaze: Combine the milk and powdered sugar and add the liquor a few drops at a time, mixing until the glaze is smooth and thick enough to stay on the cookie. Dip each cooled cookie into the glaze just enough to cover the tops. Let glaze dry at lease an hour before storing.

Gluten Free No-Boil Lasagna

I was very happy to find gluten free lasagna noodles. I have used both Tinkyada and Joviel brands with great results. I have served this lasagna to my guests and no one guessed it was gluten free until they saw me eating it too.

This is a very easy recipe to make and it feeds a crowd. It can also be assembled ahead of time. And, these noodles reheat well, yes, this gluten free lasagna is just as good the next day reheated! The best part is, you don't have to boil the noodles first! Assemble the lasagna with the uncooked noodles, cover with foil and they will be perfectly cooked in an hour! This method works with ANY lasagna noodle, you don't have to look for ones that are labeled "no-boil".

Easy Lasagna

1tbsp olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage meat (if you are using sausage links, remove the meat from the casings before frying)
6 cups marinara sauce (jarred or homemade)
1 -10 oz box Gluten Free Lasagna Noodles
1-15oz container Ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown sausage meat in olive oil, drain off excess fat. Add marinara sauce and stir.

Combine Ricotta cheese, 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs and parsley, mix well.

Spread 1 cup of meat-sauce mixture in 9x13 pan. Place 1/3 of the uncooked Lasagna noodles over sauce. Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture over noodles, top with 1/3 of meat-sauce mixture. Repeat layers, end with noodles and meat-sauce mixture. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.




Cover with foil. Bake 55 minutes. Uncover, bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Printable Recipe

Gluten Free Turkey Stuffing

 

 

Years ago, pre-celiac diagnosis, I first tasted this stuffing at a family Thanksgiving dinner. I liked it so much, I have made it this way ever since. and it happens to be gluten free without any substitutions!

Growing up, my mother always made a ground meat based stuffing, never the classic Thanksgiving bread stuffing. It consisted of ground beef, mushrooms, onions and other seasonings similar to meatloaf. So my memories of turkey stuffing are closer to this version.

My cousin saw this recipe made on the Today Show many years ago by the Scotto Family. They were doing a segment on Thanksgiving dinner. She made it for Thanksgiving that year and I have been using the recipe ever since. I was delighted when I looked at the recipe and realized that the ingredients were gluten free! (Just be careful with the chicken broth-check the label to be sure it is gluten free). The only change I made was to decrease the amount of rice used. You can assemble this ahead of time and put it in the oven after the turkey is cooked.

Sausage and Rice Turkey Stuffing                 
(Adapted from a Scotto Family recipe)

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sausage without casing
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground veal
• 1 pound uncooked rice
• 1 1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese, diced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Cook the rice according to the package directions (include the butter) In a large sauté pan over medium heat, brown the sausage in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Remove it to a large bowl. Sauté the onion, beef and veal in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil until brown and add it to the bowl. Stir together the meat, rice, chicken broth, mozzarella and Parmesan.
Place the mixture in a casserole dish, sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Serves 10 to 15

Printable Recipe

Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Bars

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and when I think of dessert for this holiday, there is always something made with pumpkin. I was looking for a gluten free dessert to make and I considered traditional pumpkin pie. I have had great success using crushed gluten free ginger snaps in place of graham crackers for the crust. But I came across a recipe for GF Harvest Pumpkin Spice Bars that looked tasty and were easy to make. The base for this recipe is Betty Crocker gluten free yellow cake mix and the end results in a moist, delicious pumpkin dessert, not overly sweet and with a nice amount of spice. No one will guess these are gluten free!

I made a few changes-I added chopped pecans to the batter and I used a 13x9 glass baking dish instead of 15x10. 

Pumpkin Spice Bars
     
1 box Betty Crocker® Gluten Free yellow cake mix                        
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)                        
1/2 cup butter, softened                        
1/4 cup water                        
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon                         
1/2  teaspoon ground ginger                         
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves                         
3 eggs                         
1  cup raisins  
1 cup chopped pecans 

Cream Cheese Icing

 

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

4 oz. Cream Cheese or Neufchatel cheese 

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat together with mixer until fluffy.

 

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray. Beat all bar ingredients except raisins and pecans with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in raisins and nuts. Spread evenly in pan.                           

Bake 30 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack.                            

Spread with cream cheese icing.  Cut into squares and garnish each square with a pecan. Store in refrigerator.
Printable Recipe

Halloween Party Decorating

Halloween is my favorite holiday. For the past 14 years, I have organized the Halloween party for my office. It has grown from a small party held in our office to a yearly event off premises complete with decorations, DJ, food, and of course, costume contest! It is very competitive and secretive, no one reveals their costumes until the night of the party. Some get together as "teams" and accompany their costumes with a musical routine. The prizes are these esteemed and highly desired, plastic trophies!


This year, I wanted to give the room an "eerie feel" so my tables were covered with black tablecloths, spider webs, candelabras, skulls and spiders.

Wine bottle w/votives

Skulls painted with metallic silver paint

Trial run at home

Manicure?



"Mummy Guest"

Skeleton guest





"Drink, anyone?



Punch bowl w/mist




































For our costumes this year, my team decided to be Barbie Dolls, complete with their boxes! I made the boxes from cardboard wardrobe moving boxes covered with material, added logos, and straps so we could carry them.

Cotton material w/shoes & purses

Pink nylon adjustable straps



"Me as a 50's" Barbie

My Barbie team- 50's, Cheerleader and Western, dancing to "The Barbie Song"



Best Team!!!!

And, we won "Best Team!

 

Gluten Free Turkey Chili

Chili is not a dish that you find on an Italian menu. As a child, my mother never made Chili and I don't think she had ever tasted it.  I think my first taste of Chili was probably Wendy's taco salad (pre-celiac) as an adult.

There are hundreds of Chili recipes and I have tried many of them to find one that I really like. I have to say that every time I make Chili I probably put a different ingredient in it just to see  how it will taste. So I don't have a perfect chili recipe yet.

I have also learned the hard way, that Chili can be a gluten nightmare for someone who must be gluten free like me! Chili can be gluten free or it can be filled with hidden gluten! You must be careful with pre-packaged Chili Seasoning Mix . They generally have wheat flour as one of the ingredients. Another popular ingredient is beer. My worst and most embarrassing "glutening"(meaning accidently ingesting gluten, usually from cross contamination or hidden gluten) experience started with a bowl of vegetarian chili.

We were on vacation in Oregon  and we had taken a day trip to Mt. Hood. There we ate lunch in the hotel restaurant. I ordered the chili and had informed the waitress that I got terribly ill if I ate gluten and she assured me she checked with the chef and the chili was OK. Long story short, 2 hours later on the bus back to our hotel in Portland, I was sick. My reaction to eating even the tiniest amount of gluten is that I vomit profusely 2 hours after I ingest it and continue to vomit until its out of my stomach. Well, we had no time to find restrooms along the way back to Portland (about a 2 hour ride) the bus stopped several times and I threw up in the gutter. Not pretty! Vacationing and eating in restaurants are both a challenge when you have Celiac. Well, I won't be eating Chili in a restaurant again, so my search continues for the perfect Chili recipe.

My favorite Chili recipe is actually a quick, simple turkey chili, that doesn't require hours of cooking and is perfect for a weeknight meal. I think the original recipe was for a low cal chili and I have tweaked it along the way. I serve it with brown rice and it is one of my "go to" after work meals, and is even better for lunch the next day. Also freezes well.


Gluten Free Turkey Chili                                                                 Printable Recipe
                                                           
2 tbsps. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced
2 pounds ground turkey
1 -10 oz can diced tomatoes &green chilies (I use Rotel)
1-14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1-14.5oz can cannellini beans, rinsed
1-14.5oz can red kidney beans
2 tbsps. chili powder - this is in the jar- not the pre-packaged mix-always check the label to see if it is gluten free, I've had no problem with McCormick's and Badia brands
1 tsp oregano
Dash of cinnamon
Salt to taste

Sauté the garlic, onion and red pepper in olive oil until softened. Add the ground turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula, cook until it is no longer pick. Add the remainder of the ingredients, stir until blended and simmer for about 1/2 hour. Serve over brown rice, top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Gluten Free Turkey Chili

Fasolakia-Greek String Beans

Don't you love simple, quick recipes that also happen to be gluten free? Fasolakia, is one of my favorite side dishes to prepare, it is tasty, healthy, and gluten free, no need for any substitutions. 

Married into a Greek family, I have sampled many delicious Greek recipes. Fasolakia, Greek String Beans, is a classic Greek side dish, one that you will find on many Greek restaurant menus and on the family dinner table.


I picked up these beautiful fresh string beans from the local farm and couldn't wait to prepare my version of Fasolakia.

The hardest part of this recipe is removing the stems from the beans. I have found the fastest & easiest way to do this is to use your kitchen sheers. Hold a handful of beans at a time and snip off both ends with the sheers. Quick and neat!

Fasolakia
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large Vidalia or sweet onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 lbs. fresh green string beans, ends removed and rinsed
1 -14 oz can diced tomatoes ( I love the fennel and red pepper flavor, but plain will be fine)
1/2 can water
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt/pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese

Trim the ends of the beans and rinse. Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened. Add the diced tomatoes, water, beans, Italian seasoning and water. Stir. Cover and let simmer until the beans are tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. If you are looking for a dish with crisp beans, this isn't it-the beans need to be cooked until they are very tender and have soaked up the tomatoes.

Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Wonderful alone or over brown rice, a great way to use the leftovers for lunch the next day!

Printable Recipe

 

Wine is Gluten Free

 

I  really enjoy wine. (See "Red, White and Gluten Free") Wine is on every list as being gluten free and I have had no problem any time I drink wine and I am very sensitive to gluten. I had read that some wine barrels were sealed with glue that contained  wheat paste and there was a slight possibility of gluten contamination. I always wondered if one day I would come across one of these wines, be "glutened", and never be able to enjoy wine again!!
I came across this article in Wine Spectator that references a few studies on wine and gluten and it appears I can continue to enjoy my wine without worry!

Should I be worried about wine if I have a gluten allergy? | Wine & Health Q&A | News & Features | Wine Spectator