Search Results for: ice cream sandwiches
Tuesday To Do List — what to buy, spy, and try! (or sometimes cry about)
Tuesday To Do List is my newest attempt at bringing you tidbits from the gluten-free world each week. This will continue until my mind-that-doesn’t-rest comes up with another way to entertain you guys. You can read my very first to-do list here. Cross your fingers I am back here next Tuesday with another list.
I want to try…
- The gluten-free fish fry at The Cheel in Thiensville.
- Tom & Chee in Brookfield, anyone been?
- This turmeric latte from Shutterbean — I tried a turmeric smoothie recently and have been looking for other ideas.
On my list to buy…
- My friend Johnna is always on the lookout for fun GF items when she’s out and about and posted about these thin, crispy, gluten-free cookies from Trader Joe’s (she’s says they are like Tate’s) that would be perfect for these two ingredient ice cream sandwiches!
- An Inspiralizer. Yes? No? Do you have one? Tell me everything.
I spy…
- Another recipe from Elizabeth Barbone that I must make — just turned her blondie recipe into bourbon blondies for Mr. CITC last week and we’re still talking about them.
- Two cases of “are you freaking kidding me?!” reported to Gluten Free Watch Dog — I sometimes feel like a crazy person the way I check, double check, and triple check on foods, even those that come in a gluten-free package, to be sure they are safe. I guess I’m not the only one. I won’t lie, I feel more nervous as a celiac eight years in than I ever have before. Shouldn’t things be getting better?
I almost cried (tears of JOY!) this weekend when I had fried chicken for the first time since being gluten free. (I just celebrated my EIGHT year GlutenFreeiversary recently!) AND apple fritters! When you are gluten-free in Nashville, be sure to check out AMOT. Their entire menu, minus a couple of beers on their beer menu, (where they distinguish between gluten-free and gluten removed beers, impressive!) is gluten-free! And don’t worry vegetarian friends, that black eyed pea falafel sandwich pictured below is for you! My.kind.of.place.
We landed late Sunday night from our adventures celebrating Mr. CITC’s #bigbourbonbirthday… and now I’m leaving on a jet plane to meet my Mamasita in Tucson to visit my brother and soak up some rays! (if you have any Tucson, AZ recommendations, let me know in the comments!)
EnJOY your week.
xoxo
As much as I wish I were getting paid big bucks to add these links to my page, I’m not. They are not affiliate links. I’m just sharing to share.
NEWS FLASH: finds & photos
Hi.
What’s new?
A Gluten Free Halloween
Join in on the Teal Pumpkin Project to celebrate an allergy friendly Halloween with non-food treats.
For more non-food Halloween treats from 100 Days of Real Food, click HERE.
Looking for traditional treats? HERE is the gluten free Halloween candy list.
Gluten Free in Milwaukee #glutenfreeinMKE
The new BelAir Cantina location is now open on Downer Avenue. (just four blocks from my office at UWM = DANGEROUS!)
Gluten-Free Mondays and Wednesdays at Transfer happen every single week: no up charge for GF pizza or apps and 2 for 1 taps of New Grist. Join us THIS Wednesday for our October GF Get Together at Transfer.
I have told you guys in the past about my love for the minestrone at Sala, (also near UWM) but I may have a new favorite — their Pumpkin Sage soup is my go-to lately.
NEW to the collection:
Chrystal was kind enough to send two copies of her new book to give away at our monthly GF Get Together events — the GFF (gluten free friend) who won last month was thrilled at the idea of simple recipes with ten ingredients or less. And if you’re joining us this month (RSVP here) you will have the chance to win the second copy!
I know many of you will love Chrystal’s definition of an “easy” recipe: 30 minutes or less to prepare, less than an hour to bake, and has 10 ingredients or less. Sweet and simple, yes? 😉
Any time a new baking book comes out, I head straight to the table of contents to see if there is a chocolate chip recipe. You’ll be happy to know her book does have a chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe and with just nine ingredients! We made them up north when some non-GF friends were visiting, and they gobbled them up — even before I could snap photos, shocking, I know. We also used them for ice cream sandwiches that weekend.
The other recipe I made was the apple crisp. Good news: Chrystal is sharing her apple crisp recipe with all of you!
Before I share the recipe, let me tell you a little “keeping it real” baking story from my kitchen: I forgot the flour. Yes. The entire 1/2 cup of flour that is called for in the apple crisp recipe. I had it out, measured, ready to add into the ingredients, and then I forgot it. I thought the topping seemed kind of off, but figured it was a new recipe, and who was I to judge? I realized my mistake when it was almost done baking and I pulled it out of the oven to find a pretty liquidy situation in the baking pan. Then it dawned on me — I didn’t add the flour!
I was determined to save it though, so I did at a few sprinkles of GF flour mix and kind of mashed it in with a fork, I didn’t want to mix it all together, but it did help soak up some of the extra liquid. I then just cooked it for longer than called for and the apples softened up and the topping came together just fine, it even got a crispy on top — it was delicious!
So there you have it. I mess up in the kitchen all.the.time. But I keep baking. And you should too.
Why not start with this simple recipe for apple crisp?
APPLE CRISP
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 30 minutes
SERVINGS: 8
INGREDIENTS
4 medium granny smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend*
1/2 cup gluten-free quick oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup butter, softened
METHOD
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Position the oven rack in center of oven. Lightly spray or grease a 8x8x2-inch square pan.
Spread apple slices evenly on the bottom of the pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Evenly sprinkle the topping over the apples.
Bake for 30 minutes or topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. If desired, serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Store at room temperature.
*For this recipe, Chrystal uses her all-purpose gluten-free rice flour blend that has been prepared in advance. Rather than making a whole batch, you can scale it down to ¼ cup white rice flour + 2 tablespoons tapioca flour + 2 tablespoons potato starch.
SARAH’S NOTES: After realizing I had forgotten the flour, I did add some Pamela’s GF baking mix on top and mashed it down with a fork and it turned out just fine. I may just omit the flour in the future and just cook longer to absorb liquid. I am going to try it with coconut sugar next time. In her book, Chrystal uses garbanzo bean flour in one of her flour mixes, I am not a fan of the distinct bean flavor it has, so be sure to try out this flour first to see if you like it before making a whole batch of the flour mix.
This book really is sweet and simple — perfect for someone new to GF baking or for kiddos who like to help in the kitchen.
Bake on!
Recipes
BEVERAGES
SNACKS & APPETIZERS
Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Nachos
Pizza Totchos (pizza + tater tots + nachos)
Celiac Sista’s Slow Cooker Applesauce
MAIN MEALS
Italian Chili with Garlic Parmesan Biscuits
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash: Lasagna Style
Maple Nut Zucchini French Toast
Simple Shrimp Skillet with Smashed Chive Potatoes
Pan Toast with an Iced Cafe au Lait
SOUPS
Potato Leek Soup aka Tayden’s Mashed Potato Soup
BAKING & DESSERTS
Powdered Sugar Doughnut Muffins from Elizabeth Barbone
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Banana Nut Breakfast Bites (breakfast cookies!)
Snowflakes (aka Crinkles aka Pixies)
Pumpkin Spice Cookies with RumChata Cream Cheese Frosting
Grandma EdithAnn’s Banana Bread
Chocolate-Banana-Peanut-Butter Mock Ice Cream
2 Ingredient Ice Cream Sandwiches
SALAD DRESSINGS
Talenti gelato and sorbetto (YES! It’s gluten free.)
The high temp is 86 degrees here in Milwaukee today.
In the morning, there is usually a cool breeze near the lake. If you have the windows open, it will cool the house for hours. But not today. When I just stepped outside, I could already feel the heat that is to come later today. Anyone have a pool I can come take a dip in today?
No pool?
No worries. There are other ways to stay cool when the temps rise this summer.
I would love to tell you that the new ice cream maker has been up and running. But it hasn’t. Not yet. Way too many things going on right now. But it will make an appearance soon.
Instead, you can grab some Talenti gelato or sorbetto from the store. It’s amazing. And almost all of their flavors are gluten free. (caramel cookie crunch is a no-go for us)
Thanks to Shelby at Talenti, I was able to try several of their flavors. That may or may not have been the period of time when my jeans stopped fitting right.
Hands down, my top pick was the Mediterranean Mint gelato.
It is rich and creamy with bits of bittersweet chocolate in each bite. Every time I opened the freezer I had to grab a bite or two. There is nothing that says you cannot enjoy this early in the morning. Or if you need a little afternoon snack. Or after dinner.
You get it. It’s that good.
A close second was the Caribbean Coconut gelato.
I’m a big fan of coconut. You remember how I raved in a post about my love for Coconut M&M’s don’t you? Come to think of it, those M&M’s would be perfect with this ice cream. (Shelby… I might need another delivery!)
Because I didn’t think of M&M’s at the time, I paired it with the Double Dark Chocolate gelato.
(the very-chocolatey flavor also goes perfect with the Tahitian Vanilla Bean gelato And the vanilla made delicious ice cream sandwiches when scooped between two Liz Lovely Triple Chocolate Mint cookies.)
You thought I was kidding about the jeans didn’t you?
Not everyone is a gelato fan. And although I find that hard to believe, it is nothing to worry about. They have sorbet too.
Like this Hill Country Peach Champagne sorbetto.
I wish I still had some of this left in the freezer. It was perfect on its own, but also went well with the Blood Orange sorbetto.
My new mission is to try the rest of the flavors this summer. It’s already 78 degrees and it’s not even 9:00.
I will probably start the mission today.
Are you a gelato or sorbet fan? What are your go-to GF treats to stay cool this summer?
Dining Out
GLUTEN FREE IN WISCONSIN and BEYOND!
NOTE: this page needs an update as I make a return to tending to my blog, please bear with me and do your due diligence to vet places… especially now with so many changes frequently, be sure to call ahead to make sure the places are even still open and if they still offer safe options.
Adding my GF in MKE & Beyond Google map for more ideas/locations.
Remember to ask questions and be an advocate for yourself for a safe meal! If something is fried, be sure they have a separate GF fryer. Is the kitchen knowledgeable? Stress and then stress again if you are a severely sensitive celiac like me, because GF has become so popular, there are many restaurants who say they have a GF menu, but aren’t prepared to serve those with serious, severe dietary needs. This list is a compilation of places I have personally been and places recommended by local GF friends — menus, staff, chefs all change over all the time, and as hard as I work to keep it current, ALWAYS ask questions, every single time!
Gluten Free in Milwaukee (and surrounding areas)
Wauwatiki – Wauwatosa – only dedicated GF (menu items, some bar drinks contain gluten) restaurant in the Milwaukee area
Cubanitas Cuban food, have a “Celiac Friendly” menu
Cafe Manna – Brookfield – vegetarian restaurant
Maxie’s – Milwaukee – “oysters, bbq, fresh fish”
Beans and Barley – east side, North Ave – don’t let the name fool you, they have all kinds of options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. pesto eggs, toast & jam, burritos, cheesecake and other desserts, soups, salads, sandwiches. also have market in the restaurant with many GF choices.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries (multiple locations, no buns but only fries go into fryer)
Stack’d Burger Bar – Water Street/Third Ward – burgers, fries, tots, chicken tenders, sandwiches, GF beer
Jose’s Blue Sombrero – multiple locations – Mexican *be sure to ask for corn tortillas to be warmed on clean surface!
North Star American Bistro – Shorewood & Brookfield locations
Transfer Pizzeria – pizza, appetizers, GF beers and ciders
Motor Bar and Restaurant @ Harley Davidson Museum
Marty’s Pizza – Delafield location – pizza, garlic cheese bread, salads, pasta
Glass Nickel – Brookfield – pizza
Screaming Tuna Sushi & Asian Bistro – sushi, Asian fusion dishes *update: they now have a “Lil’ Tuna” location in the Mequon Public Market
Cooper’s Hawk – Brookfield – extensive menu, warm rolls!
The Rumpus Room – downtown Milwaukee (currently closed since covid)
Sala (across from UWM) (the best minestrone around!)
City Market – Shorewood, Whitefish Bay – salads, soups
Odd Duck – Bayview – small plates, farm fresh, interesting flavor combos, amazing!
Libby Montana – Mequon
Pacific Bistro – Delafield – Asian fusion dishes, curry, sushi
Zin – Delafield
Belfrē Kitchen – Delafield
Hop Harvest & Vine – Pewaukee
Molly’s Gluten Free Bakery – dedicated gluten-free bakery with ALL the treats!
The Cheel – Thiensville – “fresh flavor altitude and farm-to-fork attitude, from the himalayas to the rockies” *unfortunately they had a horrible fire, but working to rebuild! (check out their Daily Taco cantina where they are still serving their GF fish fry)
David Alan Alan’s Smokehouse – Mukwonago – smoked BBQ, dedicated fryer, GF beers/ciders
Fork in the Road – Mukwonago
Espresso Love Coffee – Mukwonago – coffee/cafe food
Bee Well Cafe – Mukwonago
Centro Cafe – River West
Onesto – Third Ward – “modern fresh Italian”
Rodizio Grill – downtown Milwaukee – Brazilian Steakhouse
Beerline Cafe – downtown Milwaukee/Hot Yoga building – “vegetarian fast-casual”
Lazy Susan – Bayview
Fishbones – Delafield – cajun & creole
La Reve – Wauwatosa – French cooking with local twist and WI size portions AND macarons!
Jalapeño Loco – near MKE airport – Mexican
Tofte’s Table – Waukesha
MOR – dedicated GF bakery
Uncle Harry’s – Waterford – have dedicated GF waffle cone maker and take precautions for allergies/intolerances
Skinny Vic’s – West Bend
GLUTEN FREE FISH FRY LIST (created 2.3.23)
**ALL places listed have stated they have a DEDICATED GF fryer, 100% GF only, no gluten items go in, even when super busy.**
DAILY TACO & CANTINA
105 W. Freistadt Rd.
Thiensville, WI 53092
262-302-4030
OIL USED FOR FRYING: Vegetable
DAIRY FREE? NO, yogurt as base
UP CHARGE FOR GF? No
FRIDAYS ONLY for FISH FRY? Yes
ANY BAKED/OTHER COOKING METHOD FISH AVAILABLE? No, but could be accommodated for special request
FISH USED: Meagre (essentially a Grecian sea bass)
GF BONUS POINTS: “About 98% of our menu is GF with the exception of the buns for tortas and flour shells for burritos.”
WAUWATIKI
6502 W North Ave
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
414.323.7555
OIL USED FOR FRYING: 100% Canola, if unavailable they use soybean oil
DAIRY FREE? Yes. Also DF: slaw and crack fries. CONTAINS DAIRY: tartar sauce, cornbread
UP CHARGE FOR GF? No. (entire menu is GF)
FRIDAYS ONLY? Yes, but everyday have coconut curry salmon dish and an Ahi tuna crudo dish
ANY BAKED/OTHER COOKING METHOD FISH AVAILABLE? Yes. Baked options: plain, blackened, lemon pepper seasoning
FISH USED: Cod (fish fry is 3 pieces)
FORK & TAP
203 East Main Street
Port Washington, WI
262-235-4878
OIL USED FOR FRYING: Soy
DAIRY FREE? NO
UP CHARGE FOR GF? No, all fish fry GF
FRIDAYS ONLY? Yes
ANY BAKED/OTHER COOKING METHOD FISH AVAILABLE? No
FISH USED: Atlantic cod
ARCHIVES BAR & GRILL
356 N Pine St, Burlington, WI 53105
262-716-0073
OIL USED FOR FRYING: Soybean
DAIRY FREE? No
UP CHARGE FOR GF? No (unless replacing bread/bun)
FRIDAYS ONLY? Yes (for now)
ANY BAKED/OTHER COOKING METHOD FISH AVAILABLE? Not yet, but hopefully in the future
FISH USED: Atlantic Cod
GF BONUS POINTS: “Everything on our menu is gluten-free or can be made gluten-free easily by switching out buns, taking off croutons, avoiding the caesar dressing which is not gluten-free and we don’t make in house, avoiding tomato soup for the same reason. All of our sauces other than the caesar and balsamic vinaigrette are made in house including the ketchup, mustard, mayo. Our beer batter is 100% gluten-free using Lakefront New Grist beer meaning that our homemade pull apart cheese curds, chicken tenders and jalapeno poppers are very popular with the gluten-free community! Fish fry is gluten-free just please tell your server or bartender you are gluten-free so they can ring the food in properly and someone won’t accidentally throw a piece of rye bread on top, contaminating the meal. Our kitchen does have gluten containing items (that are prepared and cooked separately) so we definitely have a disclaimer on the menu for that but our entire staff is careful and aware of the correct methods to not cross-contaminate!”
OIL USED FOR FRYING: Canola, but there are dishes that contain ALMOND flour that get fried in fryers, so for NUT allergy, take note! One fryer has duck fat just for fries. Fun fact: ALWAYS dedicated fryers!! “There’s not a single thing that gets fried in the entire restaurant during any service that is not gluten free.”
DAIRY FREE? No, dipped in buttermilk, BUT can do OAT milk for dairy free. (Celiacs who avoid oats, FYI. But they can also do coconut milk.)
UP CHARGE FOR GF? $3 up charge
FRIDAYS ONLY? Yes
ANY BAKED/OTHER COOKING METHOD FISH AVAILABLE? Can do baked fish if requested!
FISH USED: Always have cod and then one other weekly rotating fish, often walleye or blue gill
NOTE from Blue Bear: Specify GLUTEN ALLERGY (their words) to get the buttermilk style coleslaw, otherwise a MALT vinegar (not GF, contains barley) is used for their slaw. (so be sure to specifically state you have celiac or “gluten allergy” and you do NOT want the malt vinegar slaw!)
GF BONUS POINTS: “So much on both our brunch and dinner menus are offered as gluten free. Right now we are planning a Valentine’s 3 course dinner (all available GF) as well as a pop-up bakery for Valentine’s with GF dipped chocolate and other desserts. And on 2/25 we’re doing a wine dinner completely gluten-free!”
TJ’S HARBOR RESTAURANT
7098 S US Hwy 45
Oshkosh, WI 54902
920-688-9047
OIL USED FOR FRYING: Canola. Fryer is in a different part of back kitchen to avoid CC! 😊
DAIRY FREE? No
UP CHARGE FOR GF? No (only for bread/sandwiches)
FRIDAYS ONLY? They bread and freeze the perch, so technically could have any day of week if they have some available. Baked haddock and fried catfish on Fridays. Walleye is on everyday menu and always GF. “People love the walleye!”
ANY BAKED/OTHER COOKING METHOD FISH AVAILABLE? Baked haddock available on Fridays.
FISH USED: Perch, haddock, catfish, walleye
GF BONUS POINTS: CHEESE CURDS!!!
ALLGAUER’S BISTRO
11600 W Park Pl Milwaukee, WI 53224
OIL USED FOR FRYING: Canola
DAIRY FREE? YES! “Usually when guest ask for the dairy free and gluten free, we walk them through our buffet to explain what is gluten free and dairy free and how we do it.”
UP CHARGE FOR GF? NO!
FRIDAYS ONLY? Yes (and Ash Wednesday)
ANY BAKED/OTHER COOKING METHOD FISH AVAILABLE? Baked cod
FISH USED: Cod loins
NOTE: This is an all you can eat buffet – they do keep GF items separate and “not only will chef and his team work with sensitive celiacs, they’ll invite them to the open kitchen to watch!”
GF BONUS POINTS: Chef noted, “they’ve noticed an increase in GF guests and the team enjoys meeting them, and seeing them return and become not just repeat customers, but also friends!”
CLEAN CRUISINE (FOOD TRUCK)
414-482-5566
cleancruisine@gmail.com
OIL USED FOR FRYING: Canola
DAIRY FREE? YES
UP CHARGE FOR GF? No, all fish fry is GF
FRIDAYS ONLY? Yes (for now)
ANY BAKED/OTHER COOKING METHOD FISH AVAILABLE? No
FISH USED: Cod loins
GF BONUS POINTS: “The only thing on our truck containing gluten is the tortilla wrap used for the wraps and if there’s an item with a bun or the bread for grilled cheese (which we keep in their bags and separate from the food items) however, we do have gluten-free wraps and buns available for an upcharge. If you order a wrap or bun item let us know you are celiac so we can change our gloves along with washing down the area as a precaution to make sure there’s no cross contamination. Besides our Fish Fry, we are especially known for our Avocado Fries, Fried Pickles, and Avocado Caprese which are all 100% gluten-free!”
SKINNY VIC’S
804 W Paradise Dr, West Bend, WI 53095
262-353-9238
OIL USED FOR FRYING: Soybean
DAIRY FREE? “we carry to dairy allergy as well”
UP CHARGE FOR GF? Yes, $3
FRIDAYS ONLY? Yes
ANY BAKED/OTHER COOKING METHOD FISH AVAILABLE? Baked lemon rosemary
FISH USED: Haddock
GF BONUS POINTS: Hand cut slaw, house made slaw dressing and tartar, all breading made in house and GF and ALL soups GF
Gluten Free in Madison, WI (and nearby)
Madison Chocolate Company — Dedicated GF bakery and cafe — THE best weekend waffles, they have mastered hand pies and pain au chocolat!
Bartaco – our family favorite, VERY allergy aware, only a couple items on menu contain gluten
Bunky’s Cafe – sadly they closed their restaurant biz in 2016, BUT still do catering and private events!
Bloom Bake Shop – Monroe St in Madison (not dedicated, but they take gluten-free safety seriously)
Miko Poke GF and DF menu, also have Dole Whip!
Ice Cream Social – DEDICATED GF (they do use GF sorted oats for oat items so be sure to inquire about ingredients if you only do purity protocol oats or no oats)
Eno Vino Downtown — small plates perfect for sharing
RED – sushi
Gluten Free in Wisconsin Dells
Survivor’s Bar & Grill @ Wilderness — has GF menu, dedicated fryer for fries
Gluten Free in La Crosse, WI
Piggy’s – BBQ (we eat in the pub, not the fancy dining room, where you can order from both menus)
The Freight House – steak house
Gluten Free in Wausau
The Bar – all the bar food! (they have had some mixed reviews, proceed with caution at that location)
Gluten Free in Door County
*this list for DC is not up to date, stay tuned!
Island Orhard Cider House and Tasting Room
Wild Tomato Pizza is a NO for celiacs (MANY have gotten sick there)
Gluten Free in Green Bay, WI
Graystone Ale House – pizza and pub food
Hagemeister Park – sandwiches, fries, pub food
Naturally Delightful – organic/GF/vegan bakery!
Soup Sister — everything is GF!
Gluten Free in Appleton/Oshkosh
Happy Bellies Bake Shop – dedicated, delicious bakery!
The Free Market
Gluten Free in Racine/Kenosha
Gluten Free in Chicago area
Chicago’s Pizza (deep dish pizza)
Da Luciano – River Grove, IL – separate GF kitchen, AMAZING Italian, lasagna, pasta, chicken parm, fried mozzarella, and frozen foods you can take home. Italian cookies, Nutella filled cookies, desserts
CheSa’s Bistro & Bar entirely GF menu!
Weber Grill – multiple locations – extensive menu, burgers, sandwiches
Sweet Ali’s – GF bakery
Gluten Free in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (and beyond)
Twin City Grill – in Mall of America – huge GF menu, warm rolls, many choices
Twigs – Rochester — dedicated kitchen, full menu of choices, AMAZING!
Gluten Free in Nashville
Mas Tacos Por Favor – little taco shack, go early, double check what’s GF, enJOY every bite!
Peg Leg Porker – amazing BBQ, we go every time we’re in Nashville
Vegan Vee – dedicated vegan and GF bakery
Wild Cow – vegan/vegetarian
Crema – coffee break!
Gluten Free in Boston
Legal Seafood – separate fryer for all things fried seafood and fries, knowledgeable staff, celiac safe protocol for handling orders and food prep
Boston Public Market – all kinds of fresh food finds and my favorite cookie of the trip was from Jennifer Lee’s Allergen Free Gourmet Bakery
Papa Razzi – Italian – Separate menu, knowledgeable server, manager delivered food. Fried mozzarella, pasta, chicken parmesan, desserts.
Gluten Free in Washington, DC
Zaytina – small plates of BIG flavor, inspired by Turkish, Greek and Lebanese cuisines, and creative craft cocktails
La Colombe – coffee shop – get a “black & tan” latte
Rise Bakery – had some tasty treats, some a little crumbly, but a dedicated place that is 100% gluten free and also has dairy free, egg free, soy free, nut free options. They had croissants, which I wanted so badly, but they used Bob’s Red Mill oat flour and I’m avoiding any and all oat products except those grown via a purity protocol that are truly gluten-free.
Olivia Macaron – I’ll take macarons over other sweet treats ANY day. These did not disappoint. Fun shopping and atmosphere in Georgetown.
Plan B Burger Bar in DC – wow. just wow. burgers & fries. amazing!
Oyamel Cocina Mexicana – came recommended by my girl Johnna as THE best margarita she had ever had. plenty of options and one heck of a margarita.
Christmas Baking, Take 2 (this is a long one, grab your coffee)
As you now know, Up North means good food. We can’t help ourselves. Most of our time is spent in the kitchen. (allowing time to hot tub of course) This past weekend was no exception. This time I even had a plan.
My first attempt at Christmas cookies was not so successful. I tried making Spritz cookies without a cookie press, the dough was too wet to deal with. No worries though, Elizabeth Barbone’s glutenfreebaking.com newsletter just arrived featuring a recipe for Spritz Cookies. (check back soon, it’s on the agenda for tomorrow) So, for this trip, I stuffed our bags full of baking ingredients. I was on a mission. Last year was my first GF Christmas, and I didn’t do any baking really. Luckily, I was taken care of from Mark’s mom, but I wanted to do more myself this year.
It can be intimidating. Who has heard of sorghum flour? Xanthan gum? Flour blends? It’s all part of the gluten free baking process. I paged through my GF baking books and decided on Easy Gluten Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone, Jules Gluten Free Flour eCookbook, and my fave lemon bread recipe from Mark’s mom.
Before starting on holiday goodies, I wanted to see if I could pull off homemade gf bread. Just white bread. The recipe even has EASY in the title, how could I go wrong?
Easy Sandwich Bread from Elizabeth Barbone’s Easy Gluten-Free Baking
Wet Ingredients
1 ¾ cups warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
Dry Ingredients
2 ½ cups brown rice flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1. Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray
2. In a small bowl, combine water and yeast.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add yeast mixture, oil, and eggs. Using an electric mixer, mix dough for 5 minutes on medium-high speed. (If using a stand mixer, use the flat paddle attachment) Your dough should be soft, thick and sticky. The dough will not form a cohesive ball. If you are using a hand mixer the dough will try to climb the beaters; use a rubber spatula to push the dough back into the bowl. If the dough seems tight or dry, add another tablespoon of water and mix for 30 seconds to fully incorporate the additional water. At the right consistency, the dough should swirl delicately around the beaters. It shouldn’t look dry, chunky, or dense; it should not be cake-batter thin, either. If the dough still looks dry, add another tablespoon of water to achieve the correct consistency. ** I had NO issues with this, just made the recipe as stated**
4. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Lightly spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the loaf lightly with plastic wrap. (If you cover the loaf tightly, the dough will have trouble rising.) Allow dough to rise for 1 hour.
5. At least 15 minutes before bread has finished rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Remove plastic wrap and bake for 55 minutes or until internal temp reaches 208-211 degrees. If the crust begins to get too dark before teh internal temp of the bread reaches 208, cover the loaf with a piece of foil.
7. Remove bread from oven and turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature for 2-3 days, or slice and freeze.
Makes one 9×5 inch loaf.
It worked!!!
It came out smelling wonderful. Fresh bread. I had to have some before it was even cool enough to really cut. Perfectly cut pieces did not cross my mind. But grabbing the honey did….
We used the fresh bread later in the evening for skirt steak and cheese sandwiches. And then again Sunday morning for sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches. Homemade bread. Homemade venison/pork sausage.
Ok, back to the baking.
After the regular white bread was a success, I was feeling confident. I got brave and tried out the famous family lemon bread recipe. I just substituted Jules Gluten Free Flour for the flour in the recipe. Another success!
I waited a little longer the cut this one. But only because it was too soft to cut, if the knife had gotten through, I wouldn’t have waited. I took my first bite and was silent. Lemon bread. Oh how I missed you. I won’t have to go without you on Christmas ever again.
I was tempted to make another loaf using a Jules/sorghum flour mix (after eating some myself and sharing with the recipe owner, she gave it approval!!) but decided to hold off. At least until next week.
I was putting off making the cut outs, from the Jules Gluten Free Flour eCookbook, because cut outs have been one of my favorites for a very long time. I wanted them to be just like they were. A little crispy on the edges, but somewhat soft in the middle. Frosted up. Perfect for any holiday. My expectations were set high.
The dough was harder to work with than I planned. It took forever to get them all cut out, but I did it. They turned out pretty well. I need to make them again and experiment with them more. My co-workers tested them out, good reviews from the “normal” people.
Instead of making a buttercream frosting, or being lazy and grabbing a tub of frosting from the store, I decided to go with more of a glaze this time. Just powdered sugar and warm water. Add a little food coloring and some sprinkles, and you’re all set.
Why stop now? On to pumpkin bread. Another delish recipe from Elizabeth’s book. This one was titled Rosie’s Perfect Pumpkin Bread. Just go buy the cookbook. She’s great. It’s worth it. I’m on a mission to make as many recipes from that book as possible. This bread is my favorite adventure of the weekend. Thank you Elizabeth.
And no holiday baking weekend would be complete without dipped pretzels. I used the sticks this year. Glutino. These are the best gf pretzels. Just trust me. My non-gf friends are fans. You will be too. They were dipped in Nestle Premier White Morsels. Melted in the microwave, dipped one by one. Sprinkled. Big fun!
Done.
And in case they aren’t all crowd pleasers, I got a few back-up’s today at Molly’s Gluten Free Bakery. (unless I eat them all tonight) I got a tour, pics, met the nicest people. Made my day. Made my Christmas! Look for a post in the near future all about my visit.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Peace.
Celiac in the City 
