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With people in my family that need to be on a gluten-free diet, I often experiment with a variety of doughs, trying to find just the right one for both, those who live a GF lifestyle and those who don’t. Those of us that can eat gluten, know that GF foods are very often sorely lacking in flavor and texture. So when a good recipe comes along, it’s worth sharing.

 

I originally made dinner rolls with this recipe, and although I was shooting for a Parker roll softness and consistency, what I got was more like a biscuit, although it was still quite soft and delicious. It got a big thumbs-up from the GF members of my family. And I thought they tasted pretty good as well.

Since I had leftover ingredients, I thought I would try making a pizza dough with the same recipe, and I think it came out quite successfully. In my experience, the biggest problem with gluten-free doughs is that you can’t stretch or mold them, they stick to your hands like crazy, and you need to use tons of oil so that they don’t stick to the pan when you’re baking. This recipe had none of those problems.

I was able to stretch the pizza dough out into a parchment lined pan, wetting my fingertips with cold water every once in a while to keep them from sticking, and then I let the dough rise for a couple of hours before popping it into the oven. But no oil was needed. And it never stuck to the parchment.

So here’s the recipe…almost exactly the same for the dinner rolls and pizza crust. Both start out with these ingredients…

1/4 cup warm water, about 110 degrees
1 tablespoon dry yeast
2 3/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free Baking Flour
2 tablespoons sugar, separated
1 teaspoon Xantham gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm whole milk, about 110 degrees
1 large egg
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the warm water with the yeast. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar as well, to get the yeast going. Stir to combine and let it stand for 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, the other tablespoon of sugar, the Xantham gum, and salt. Mix well.

When the yeast has bloomed, add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, along with the warm milk, egg, and melted butter. Mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes. The dough will be somewhat thick.

For the dinner rolls: Scoop out the dough in 1/3 cup measurements into a a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover it with plastic and place it in a warm place to double in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes, until they’re slightly golden in color.

While the rolls are baking, melt another 2 tablespoons of butter, and brush the rolls with it when they come out of the oven. Season with a little salt.

For the pizza: Take the ball of dough out of the mixer and spread it evenly onto a parchment-lined baking pan. Wet your fingers with cold water to keep the dough from sticking.

Cover the dough with plastic and let it rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours. (This is a good time to prepare your sauce, cheese and toppings for the pizza. Any sauce works here, from homemade to sauce in a jar. I had a variety of cheeses in the fridge, so I made a combination of mozzarella, fontina, pecorino Romano, and provolone.)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the dough—no sauce or cheese—for 10 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, add your sauce, cheese and toppings, then put it back in the oven and bake until the cheese has melted.

 

 

 

 

As much as everybody loves mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, these potatoes take things to the next level. This Thanksgiving, maybe substitute these for the mashed…or, if you’re really adventurous, make both! The crunch on the outside, and the softness on the inside of these potatoes, is hard to beat.

I like using small, whole organic potatoes for this recipe. No peeling needed. Just put them in a big pot of water, bring it to a boil, and cook them until they are fork tender.
Drain the potatoes into a colander, and let them sit there for a few minutes to dry out.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°.
Get a baking pan and pour in a little bit of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and some chopped fresh rosemary.
Dump in the potatoes, and toss all of the ingredients together.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, take the pan out of the oven and gently squash the potatoes with a flat object, like a glass. (I used my mint julep cup!) Toss them around again in the pan, and then return it to the oven for another 25 to 30 minutes.

The crunch, the texture of these potatoes is unreal!

The holidays on on our minds already. Time to start bringing out the recipes…

What’s a Thanksgiving dinner without Parker House rolls?

Parker House rolls are one of my all-time favorite treats. They’re so light and delicious because milk and melted butter are used to make the dough. I’d make and eat them every weekend if it wasn’t for the fact that I’d gain a ton of weight in the process! So…I save them for special occasions.

 

There really is a Parker House. It’s a hotel in Boston where the rolls originated in the 1870’s. Legend has it that a disgruntled hotel baker threw a batch of unfinished rolls in the oven, and when they came out, they had a folded pocketbook shape that made them light on the inside, and crisp and buttery on the outside. A legend was born.

There are hundreds of Parker House Roll recipes out there, but this is the one I swear by. It’s a great excuse to get out my old Kitchenaid standing mixer.

 

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus softened butter for brushing

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water (100 to 110 degrees)
1/4 cup sugar 1 cup whole milk, warmed
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)

 

Brush a large bowl with butter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, combine the yeast with the water and a pinch of sugar. Let it stand until it gets foamy, about 10 minutes. This gets the yeast happy.

 

 

Add the milk, melted butter, eggs and remaining sugar and mix until it’s all combined.

Now switch to the dough hook and add the flour and salt. Knead at low speed until a smooth ball forms, about 2 minutes.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead it gently into a ball. Then place the ball in the buttered bowl, covering it with plastic wrap, and placing the bowl in a warm place. Let the dough double in volume. It’ll take about 1 1/2 hours.

 

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Grease a 9-by-13 baking dish with more butter.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board again, punching out the air bubbles, and forming it into a ball again. Cut the ball in half, then each half into 8 pieces.

 

 

You can either leave the pieces in their wedge shape, placing them in the baking dish top side up. Or you can roll the wedges into balls, placing them into the baking dish, spacing them out evenly.

 

 

Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let the dough rise again for about 30 minutes. By then, your oven will be nice and warm.

 

 

Bake the rolls for 20 to 25minutes, until they’re a beautiful golden color.

 

 

Serve them warm or at room temperature. If you bake the rolls earlier in the day, you can cover them in plastic wrap, and the re-heat gently before serving.

These delicious “chunx” of pork are full of fantastic Asian flavors and go great with broccoli and rice…or just by themselves. Plus, I used inexpensive boneless pork sparerib meat, which saves a few bucks.

3 pounds boneless pork ribs
1/2 a large onion, diced
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese chili garlic sauce
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

This recipe is similar to my Asian bacon recipe, only it uses a cheaper, easier to find, cut of pork: boneless sparerib meat. You can usually find packages of this meat in a 3-pound size at most supermarkets.

The rib meat is fatty, however, and often has some gristle. So I trim as much of that away as I can to keep the tasty bites tender. 

I cut the pork into 1-inch cubes, and toss them in a bowl with the diced onion. I add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and Chinese chili garlic sauce to the bowl and mix everything really well.

I will let the pork marinate for 2 hours at room temperature, remixing every half-hour or so. (If the pork needs to stay out longer, I put it in the refrigerator, bringing it back to room temperature when I’m ready to cook.)

I preheat the oven to 350°.

I line a baking pan with nonstick aluminum foil and place the pork and onion pieces on it in a single layer, reserving any leftover marinade for later.

I bake the pork and onions for 30 minutes.

While the pork is in the oven, I get a large pot and place the lemon zest, lemon juice, star anise, cinnamon sticks, maple syrup, and chicken broth in the pot. I bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer.

After the pork and onions have cooked for 30 minutes, I remove them from the baking pan and place them in the pot, pouring in all the juices that might be in the baking pan. At this point, I can add any leftover marinade into the pot as well.

Bringing the heat under the pot back on high, I continue cooking until the liquid in the pot starts reducing. As it reduces, I turn the heat down as well, so I don’t burn any sugars in the pot. I stir the pork pieces once in a while.

Soon, the liquid will be reduced to a glaze. I keep tossing the pork in that glaze until it looks nice and shiny and gooey and sticky. And that’s when they’re ready!

Serve the pork chunks immediately!

Baked ziti, lasagna, and baked ravioli are all “cousins” …slightly different versions of basically the same dish. Yet each one is unique, and it’s fun to change them up when you’re in the mood for something gooey and cheesy.

I made this recipe recently, when my daughter invited some friends over, and they wanted to avoid meat. The extra layer of spinach makes it at least a tiny bit healthy! (I prefer fresh spinach over frozen, which I think tastes awful.)

I used fresh pasta for this dish (it came frozen and I thawed it), so no need to cook it ahead of baking. But you will have to cook dried pasta to a very chewy al dente stage if you choose to use it. (Not recommended for this recipe.)

1 lb. fresh or frozen raviolis (I used ravioli stuffed with burrata and spinach this time)
1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
2 cups fresh spinach, washed
1 1/2 cups shredded whole milk mozzarella
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Thaw the raviolis, if frozen, by placing them on a baking sheet with non-stick foil. Cover them with plastic wrap to keep the moisture in to avoid cracking. (It’s not a big deal if they do.)

Preheat the oven to 400° .

Blend the tomatoes in a food processor or blender, then pour them into a large bowl. Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper (to taste.)

Spread the spinach out in the bottom of a large baking pan. Take a ladle full of the sauce and mix it with the spinach to soften it and give it moisture.

Dunk the raviolis in the sauce, then lay them on top of the spinach, one by one. Then pour the sauce on top of the raviolis. (If you use tortellini, you can mix them right into the sauce, because they’re sturdy.)

Cover the raviolis evenly with the mozzarella, then with the Parmigiano Reggiano. Dust some dried oregano on top.

Bake until the cheese melts and turns golden, and the sauce is all bubbly. Let it cool a bit before serving.