Kitchen Nightmares

Cheese soufflés gone wild.

When this happens, one is very happy that only close friends have decided to show up for dinner.

Cookie Scoopers

Use a cookie scooper for some evenly shaped, evenly cooked cookies.


Yummy.

Moroccan Chicken Stuffed Acorn Squash

I love fall. Every year, I'm excited for the season change more and more. I celebrate by making autumnal dishes, even if it's still 95 degrees in North Hollywood.

Last night, we had an actual fall evening, with the temperature dipping down to the mid-fifties. I was in heaven. It was time to make something with cinnamon in it.

I've made these Stuffed Acorn Squashes twice, both times with rotisserie chicken. You know I love a good organic rotisserie chicken, and since I always have some parts of a chicken laying around, what a better way to use it than in a one-bowl meal like this one.

For the gluten free breadcrumbs, I will toast 2 slices of Whole Foods' GF Sandwich Bread while roasting the squash, then pulse the toast in the blender to make breadcrumbs.

This might hafta make an appearance at the 2009 Thanksgiving table.

Changed, adapted, and made gluten free from a Martha Stewart recipe from this month's Living. Subscribe to her zine, already. It's worth it!

Moroccan Chicken Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 medium acorn squashes (bigger is not better), halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup rotisserie chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 medium brown or yellow onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
1 and 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash, cut side down, in a baking dish. Bake until tender, about 40 minutes.

While squashes are baking, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add chicken pieces, a pinch each of the cinnamon and nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Heat up the chicken until a little crispy, stirring frequently, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Add onion to your saucepan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the gluten free breadcrumbs, stir to combine. Pour in the water and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand for 5 more minutes. Fluff with fork, add in chicken and the toasted pine nuts, combine.

Scrape out the soft flesh of the baked squash, and fold into the chicken/breadcrumbs mixture. Divide evenly among squash halves, and put back in the oven to bake until tops are browned, about 15 minutes.

Free Radio and Comedy Central

It's official. Free Radio has more lives than a cat.

The second season of the show has been picked up by Comedy Central. Free Radio will begin airing on November 16th, after The Colbert Report, and if the ratings are sufficient, Comedy Central will pull the trigger on a third season.

You know what this means...the shameless self-promotion commences almost immediately. I think Free Radio has found a perfect home in Comedy Central, and I ask you loyal readers and fans to spread the word.

To November 16th and a Colbert lead-in!!

Gluten Free Donuts

This picture cannot possibly do justice to the taste sensation of eating a donut for the first time in eight years. I have found my new GF baking bible, and I strongly urge you to buy it. Even if you don't bake that often, there will be times that you NEED to bake, so you NEED to have this book on hand when the baking muse strikes. The book is called "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" by Annalise G. Roberts.

Ms. Roberts also keyed me into a fantastic flour that I'm worshiping wholeheartedly for baking perfect cookies, cupcakes, cakes, brownies, and the above donuts. The flour mix is called Bette's Featherlight Rice Flour Blend. Try it, you'll like it.

I love this cookbook so much, and I'm so grateful that Ms. Roberts took the time to perfect all of her GF recipes. The donuts I made in the above picture were the Old Fashioned Buttermilk Donuts with a Vanilla Icing. You'll have to buy the cookbook to get the recipe, but here's a recipe from Annalise Roberts' own site for Apple Cider Donuts, which is a very similar to the ones I made.

Make these with a kid. I did. And then we had fun eating them all day!

Food Philosopher's Gluten-Free Apple Cider Donuts:

Makes 9 doughnuts and 9 “holes”

1¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon brown rice flour mix (from Anna: Bette's Featherlight Rice Flour Blend is yummy)
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾-1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs
7 tablespoons apple cider
2 tablespoons Canola oil
Canola oil for cooking
Cinnamon sugar (combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon)
Rice flour (about 2 tablespoons used to flour boards)

1. Mix brown rice flour mix, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl and set aside.
2. In large 5 quart sauce pan, heat two inches of Canola oil to 350°F (use a candy thermometer to maintain temperature. Temperatures higher than 350°F will brown doughnuts before they are fully cooked and prevent them from fully rising).
3. In large bowl of electric mixer, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add brown rice flour mixture, apple cider, and Canola oil; mix one minute at medium low speed.
4. Liberally spread rice flour over surface of a wooden board and lightly flour hands. Use a spatula to move dough out onto the wooden board in a ball shape. Dough will be sticky. Roll dough around in the rice flour until it is lightly covered. Gently press dough into a ½-inch round. Use a 3-inch round doughnut cutter (or a 3-inch round cookie cutter and 1-inch round cookie cutter) to cut 9 doughnuts and 9 doughnut holes. (After you press the dough into shape the first time, you should be able to cut 6 doughnuts).
5. Use a pancake turner to gently lift 3 doughnuts and 3 holes into the hot oil. The doughnuts should rise slowly to the surface and puff. Cook one minute; turn with a slotted spoon. Cook other side for one minute (doughnuts should be golden brown in color); remove with slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Blot any residual oil off doughnuts.
6. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and holes but make sure oil is heated to 350°F before proceeding.
7. Gently coat warm doughnuts with cinnamon sugar (place cinnamon sugar in a flat bottom bowl and use a spoon to help coat doughnuts). Serve doughnuts and holes warm or at room temperature. Best when eaten the day they are made. Wrap any leftover doughnuts (is that possible?) in plastic wrap and then foil to store in freezer for up to two weeks. Rewarm briefly in microwave.

Recipe reprinted from Food Philosopher.

Lime Chicken Tostadas with Cilantro Sour Cream

What do you make gluten-free during a no-cook cook off at a traditional grocery store in under 25 minutes? Tostadas! Thanks to Pavilions/Vons for inviting me to participate, I had a ball. I will write a separate post on the event itself, but I gotta get this recipe written up for the powers that be... (you know who you are).

Lime Chicken Tostadas with Cilantro Sour Cream

Rotisserie chicken
Bunch of cilantro
1 medium heirloom tomato
1/2 cup your favorite salsa
1 lime
1/4 cup grated cheese
4 corn-based tostadas
1 avocado
1/2 cup lite sour cream or creme fraiche

Pull the rotisserie chicken meat into small pieces and put into a large mixing bowl. Squeeze the juice of one lime over the chicken, blend it in, and let the chicken marinate for 5-10 minutes in the lime juice while you chop the other ingredients. Put the chopped tomato, a small handful of chopped cilantro, and the salsa into the chicken mixture and fold in evenly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream and another small handful of finely chopped cilantro.

Place chicken mixture on tostada shells, top with grated cheese, avocado slices, and cilantro sour cream.

Feed your family of 4 for $25 in under 25 minutes.

DONE.