Episode 2 – Amazing Discoveries
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* Gluten un-friendly
* Picazzo’s
- Only in Arizona though, folks.
Gluten-free brownies
Rating: 5
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 9 brownies
This is a very nice brownie recipe that has been adapted to use a gluten-free flour. We've discovered a great premixed off-the-shelf flour. However, for a recipe as simple as brownies, you could use just a singular flour like rice flour, or maybe even potato starch. You should not need to worry about xanthum gum either.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (or 1 stick), melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup gluten-free AP flour (or rice flour)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Into a large bowl, mix butter, sugar and vanilla.
- Add the eggs and beat to mix in well.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
- Gradually blend the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
- Stir in nuts, if you wish to add them.
- Pour into a greased 8" or 9" square pan.
- Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes, or until the brownie begins to come away from the edges of your pan.
Gluten-Free Buns at Red Robin!
We went to our favorite Red Robin tonight expecting to have to eat our burgers without buns. The manager informed us that they now have a gluten-free bun option! It is apparently a brand-new option and participation may vary. (It is not yet listed on their regular menus, so be sure to ask for them.) They do have a full gluten-free menu sheet as well if you ask for it, listing what is safe to eat.
Also our waitress let us know that the seasoning on the fries should not be used when avoiding gluten. This is the same seasoning they have at the tables and I didn’t see anything in the ingredient list that might contain gluten. (It does have soy though, so I try to avoid it.) Since they recommend we not use it, we took their advice. We felt like they were aware of gluten-free requirements and were able and happy to help us.
The gluten-free buns are a dollar extra, but if you are like us and are tired (already) of eating a burger with a lettuce wrap, or worse, with cutlery, then just for the illusion of normalcy, they are worth it. And, frankly, quite tasty.
Episode 1 – Introductions
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// ABOUT US
Quick and Easy GF pizza crust
Rating: 3
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serving Size: 8
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 2/3 cup gluten-free flour mix (with xanthum gum)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400° F.
- Beat the milk and eggs together.
- Add the cornstarch, flour, and salt.
- Then mix in the oil.
- Spread into a greased 9"x13" pan or a 12" round pan.
- Ladle on your favorite sauce and sprinkle on your favorite cheese and topping.
- Bake for about 25 minutes.
This recipe was adapted from one in The Gluten-Free Gourmet by Bette Hagman which was attributed to Jill Ryan.
This is how we altered a gluten-free crust recipe. It came out more like a thin crusty bread. Which is fascinating, but not quite what we expected.
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
NB: It is not my goal for this blog to be a rant site, but I will post reviews. I also don’t expect to post three times in one day. This review just needs to be shared.
My wife and I went to Romano’s Macaroni Grill in Scottsdale tonight for dinner. I left disappointed.
We came to the restaurant specifically because of a recommendation. As I am now on a gluten-free diet and have other allergies, suffice it to say, I don’t get to eat Italian often. However I was told that they have gluten-free pasta and other choices. I was initially impressed by the sheet that breaks down their meals by allergen so that one knows what is safe. Kudos on that. This is more than most places provide.
However, they have Basil Pesto Sauce listed as NOT being gluten-free nor soy free. Finding that odd, I asked the waiter to confirm with the chef, and I was told there was no wheat product at all in the pesto, which seems correct. (I did not ask about the soy, but I would wager that sneaks in somehow thanks to the cheese.)
So I ordered the Create Your Own Pasta of gluten-free penne with pesto sauce, shrimp, peppers, spinach, and mushrooms.
When my bowl of pasta arrived, it had all of the above. However, it also had onions, zucchini, and eggplant, yet I had to dig to find a shrimp. I originally assumed I had somebody else’s order.
The waiter, who was wonderful and attentive, took the bowl away and offered to replace it as I ordered. I would have eaten the original bowl, and told him so, but I was more concerned, as I said, that it was someone else’s.
As a side note, if these flourishes of extra vegetables are an example of a cook’s flair, I would say that if a customer orders a straight menu item, that might be acceptable. But when I fill out a cute little checkbox form with what I want on my Create Your Own Pasta bowl, I *only* want the items I checked off.
A fresh bowl arrived later exactly as ordered. Except the pasta was undercooked. I don’t mean really firm al-dente. I mean some were still way under done. Now, I know that gluten-free pasta takes longer to cook, and they probably rushed the bowl to get it to me. But that bowl was almost inedible.
The waiter did offer to get me a third bowl. I declined and soldiered through it. We were having dinner out for my wife’s birthday and I did not want to belabor the meal. The waiter then offered us dessert to make up for the problems. Though I did agree to this, and I’m not demanding or even asking for a full dinner cost to be covered, it seems inadequate for management to offer me a three dollar dessert to make up for a twice-failed $14 dinner. I do not intend to go back.
AllergyEats.com
I just discovered a restaurant search and rating website called AllergyEats.com. I’m surprised I had never heard of this site before. #TheInternetIsABigScaryPlace
It is similar to a rating site like Yelp, except in addition to giving a restaurant a simple rating, you also rate how well they cater to specific avoidances there. They cover the major allergies and intolerances: wheat, gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, and sesame. I hope they’ll add one I requested which I have to deal with: tomato.
I shall have a further review of the site after I have used it more.
My Body Hates Me
Happy New Year! This is a time of new beginnings, of looking backward in the hopes of advising the future.
My name is Dan Shaurette. I have a love-hate relationship with food. I love it, it hates me.
Correction… my body hates me. This is not self-loathing, vanity, or any such malarkey. (I’ve always loved that word, malarkey.)
I suffer from a good many ailments, mostly digestive in nature, some pre-cancerous, though allergies and intolerances play a huge part. I’m a foodie though, and I’d like to think I’m a pretty damn good cook. So I suffer for my epicurean tendencies. (That should totally be the name of a soft rock band.) I’m very good 90% of the time in avoiding what I must and what I should. But some times, like the holidays, I suffer the most.
Welcome to 2012. I resolve to suffer no longer, or at least, lessen my suffering.
Based on conversations I have had with friends, family members, and many, many doctors, I am trying a new experiment: a gluten-free diet. No doctors have directed me this way yet, for the record. None have diagnosed me with celiac disease. Yet. I’ve had enough tests that should have shown indications, but I’ll add it to the list if that day comes.
But for at least a week now I have been learning all I can about gluten, celiac disease, gluten-free diets, and I’ve come to a realization. Everything I’ve heard and read says my body hates me for loving gluten. I’ve made sacrifices before. This is a hard one, but not impossible. Not at all.
I’m going to share what I learn here. For good, bad, or ugly, if I learn something, and it can help someone else, I’m damn well going to share it.
