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Appetizers anyone can make

Appetizers anyone can make
Figs stuffed with parmesan and wrapped in bacon

Breads/Rice/Dumplings/Gluten Free Recipes

Breads,Rice, Dumplings, etc.
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Recipes on this page include:
Cheese Puffs-Parmesan Cheese Puffs
French Baguette
French Toast
Gluten Free Pepperoni Pizza
Gluten Free Vegetarian Pizza
Hungarian Spatzle 
Rice, Steamed Rice a new way
Spatzle-a dumpling, a Hungarian treat
Tortillas-Taco Shells, soft or crunchy tonight? why not both in one?Vegan French Baguette
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Gluten Free-see below
Gluten Free Pizza Dough
Gluten Free Substitutions
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Today’s Recipe:
We're always adding new items, please check back

Cheese Puffs-Parmesan Cheese Puffs
No, not your out of a bag cheese puff, yummy light creations, like cream puffs.  These are Parmesan puffs.


Ingredients:
1 cup water
4 eggs
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine (butter makes them better)
1/2 cup of Parmesan

1 extra cup of Parmesan to fill them with after first baking

 
Melt the butter in the water over medium heat, and bring to a boil.

Using a whisk, mix in the flour, don't worry if it looks like it wont' mix, it will.


Mix until it starts to form a ball.  Next you will add in the eggs all at once.  I have done this with a whisk in the same pan, but have found a mixer will save you worry and trouble.


Place pan ingredients into the mixer, adding the eggs all at once. Mix a few minutes until smooth as shown below.




You can use a pastry bag to get these perfect, but I really enjoy the rustic difference once they're cooked.  I flatten slightly with a spatula, but not necessary.
     Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes.




Using a bread knife or serrated knife, cut in half.




How they look inside.


Add a pinch of the additional Parmesan you put aside.


Put tops back on trying to match them up from how they were baked.
At this point you can put in the refrigerator until ready to eat them.
when you are ready for them, heat oven to 350 degrees F, and reheat for 8 minutes. 

Super light and decadent at the same time.

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Cheese Puffs-Parmesan Cheese Puffs
No, not your out of a bag cheese puff, yummy light creations, like cream puffs.  These are Parmesan puffs.


Ingredients:
1 cup water
4 eggs
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine (butter makes them better)
1/2 cup of Parmesan

1 extra cup of Parmesan to fill them with after first baking

 
Melt the butter in the water over medium heat, and bring to a boil.

Using a whisk, mix in the flour, don't worry if it looks like it wont' mix, it will.

Mix until it starts to form a ball.  Next you will add in the eggs all at once.  I have done this with a whisk in the same pan, but have found a mixer will save you worry and trouble.

Place pan ingredients into the mixer, adding the eggs all at once. Mix a few minutes until smooth as shown below.


You can use a pastry bag to get these perfect, but I really enjoy the rustic difference once they're cooked.  I flatten slightly with a spatula, but not necessary.
     Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes.


Using a bread knife or serrated knife, cut in half.


How they look inside.

Add a pinch of the additional Parmesan you put aside.

Put tops back on trying to match them up from how they were baked.
At this point you can put in the refrigerator until ready to eat them.
when you are ready for them, heat oven to 350 degrees F, and reheat for 8 minutes. 

Super light and decadent at the same time.

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French Baguette (can be made Vegan)
     Ingredients:
1 ½ cups mildly warm water (not cold, not boiling, warm to activate yeast properly).
4 cups flour (all purpose flour is fine)
1 Tablespoon sugar (vegan, use organic sugar)
1 ¾ tsp salt
2 Tablespoons of butter (vegan-use vegan margarine-Earth Balance is a good choice)
1 ½ Teaspoons-Active dry yeast

Use your Kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook and prepare per unit instructions, or put into a bread machine-selecting the dough mode.  When done in the machine-usually about an hour and a half, place into a greased bowl, flip over, cover with cling wrap and a clean towel
and place somewhere warm to rise for 1 ½-2 hours. Then with a little flour on your cutting board,
Cut into 4 equal pieces.  Take each piece and roll it up jellyroll fashion, trying to roll it tightly,
and pinch the ends seams to seal.  If you have time, let rest again for 30 minutes, otherwise continue
to next step.  Create a salt wash for them-really adds a lot of flavor-1 teaspoon salt and ¼ cup of water.
Brush onto the baguettes.  Using a knife, but diagonal slashes every 2 inches or so across the top. 
See the picture.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (450 degrees if using a stone).  Throw a pan with a
few ice cubes into the bottom of the oven.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, and cool on a rack for
10minutes-1 hour if you can wait that long with the smell of fresh bread in the house.
Hope you enjoy them.

 

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French toast with thick homemade bread

Ingredients:
4 slices of thick french bread
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp water
powdered sugar or syrup

Mix the eggs, vanilla, and water in a flat pie pan. Soak the bread slices on both sides, and place into the frying pan with a little bit of butter over medium heat. Cook until the bread starts to crisp on each side. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I also really like thin sliced bread for french toast, gives you more crisp bread. Serve with some fresh fruit.
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Gluten Free Pepperoni Pizza, worked well
Ingredients:
2 cups of Gluten free rice flour ( I like EnerG)
3/4 cup warm water (not cold, not hot, you want it for the yeast) *
1/2 tsp sugar
7/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp butter *
7/8 tsp active dry yeast

I used a bread maker and used the dough mode.  It takes 1 hour and 30 minutes.  This dough is a little dry, so while the machine is mixing it, check on it many times, and pull back in any dough that is sticking to the side of the pan, and help it mix it a little.  Remove from the machine, and place in a greased bowl.



Cover with a cling wrap and a clean towel, and place in a warm part of your kitchen.  Let rest for 1 hour.  To be honest, I'm not sure this step makes a difference, as gluten free dough doesn't rise the same as regular dough.


  Cover your board in flour and begin to roll out into a rectangle or circle. All you're really trying to do is get the dough to be even across it and the thickness you desire.  In this case, I was making mini pizzas so I made them a little thinner.


I used a biscuit cutter and then a smaller one to make the mini pizza look like it had a crust like a larger one.



Next Make the pizza sauce:


Top with pizza sauce, a pinch of grated cheese.
(I used a mixture of 1 cup grated Romano,4 ounces of Fontina, 9 ounces of Mozzarella, and 1 cup of Parmesan-way too much cheese, probably because they were mini-but mix up the cheese, and put a pinch on each pizza. 


Romano cheese
Grated Romano cheese





Grated Parmes



Fontina Cheese grated



Grated Mozzarella. 



Add your favorite toppings.  Shown here are 6 vegetarian pizzas and pepperoni pizzas.  
I was tickled to find these mini pepperonis in the grocery store.
I thought they were prettier before they were cooked, but tasty so I'm happy.  This is my first gluten free cooking.





*A discussion on gluten free dough making.  Well, I tried a mix from a health food store, and it was a total flop. Gluten free without the gluten in the regular flour works differently.  So, then I went back to my usual pizza dough recipe and substituted the gluten free rice flour and it was so dry, it looked like it wouldn't work.  So I adjusted the water amount and butter amount, and it came out well (already shown with these additions in the ingredients list).  The crusts could be crunchier if you pre-bake them for about 3-4 minutes before you top them, then proceed like shown above and cook for 12-15 minutes more.
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Gluten Free Vegetarian Pizza, worked well
Ingredients for Dough:
2 cups of Gluten free rice flour ( I like EnerG)
3/4 cup warm water (not cold, not hot, you want it for the yeast) *
1/2 tsp sugar
7/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp butter *
7/8 tsp active dry yeast

I used a bread maker and used the dough mode.  It takes 1 hour and 30 minutes.  This dough is a little dry, so while the machine is mixing it, check on it many times, and pull back in any dough that is sticking to the side of the pan, and help it mix it a little.  Remove from the machine, and place in a greased bowl.



Cover with a cling wrap and a clean towel, and place in a warm part of your kitchen.  Let rest for 1 hour.  To be honest, I'm not sure this step makes a difference, as gluten free dough doesn't rise the same as regular dough.


  Cover your board in flour and begin to roll out into a rectangle or circle. All you're really trying to do is get the dough to be even across it and the thickness you desire.  In this case, I was making mini pizzas so I made them a little thinner.


I used a biscuit cutter and then a smaller one to make the mini pizza look like it had a crust like a larger one.



Next Make the pizza sauce:


Top with pizza sauce, a pinch of grated cheese.
(I used a mixture of 1 cup grated Romano,4 ounces of Fontina, 9 ounces of Mozzarella, and 1 cup of Parmesan-way too much cheese, probably because they were mini-but mix up the cheese, and put a pinch on each pizza. 
Romano cheese
Grated Romano cheese



Grated Parmesan



Fontina Cheese grated



Grated Mozzarella. 



Add your favorite toppings.  Shown here are 6 vegetarian pizzas and 1 pepperoni on the edge.   
 See below for how to prepare the vegetables.
I thought they were prettier before they were cooked, but tasty so I'm happy.  This is my first gluten free cooking.
*A discussion on gluten free dough making.  Well, I tried a mix from a health food store, and it was a total flop. Gluten free without the gluten in the regular flour works differently.  So, then I went back to my usual pizza dough recipe and substituted the gluten free rice flour and it was so dry, it looked like it wouldn't work.  So I add to the water amount and butter amount, and it came out well (already shown with these additions in the ingredients list).  The crusts could be crunchier if you pre-bake them for about 3-4 minutes before you top them, then proceed like shown above and cook for 12-15 minutes more.

How to prepare the vegetables:
Ingredients:
1 beet, peeled and diced
1 baby bok choy
1/4 of large sweet onion, diced
l ear of corn
l small portabello mushroom
salt and pepper


Firstly, if you don't want red hands, I suggest either gloves or paper towels between you and the beet, and I cut it on a separate board so it doesn't stain my butcher block.
Use a potato peeler to peel the outside of the beet.  I leave the greens on while doing this to help you hold onto it. Then cut off the greens (they are edible I do believe, but didn't use them in this recipe). 


Peel and dice the Beet


Place 1 can of vegetable broth in a sauce pan over medium heat.  
Add the diced beets to the broth and cook until they are soft and to your liking.    
Use a slotted spoon and remove the beets to a medium size bowl.
Next, dice up the bok choy.  Here I tend to separate the greens from the whitish stem as they cook in a different amount of time.  Heat up a fry pan over medium heat, add olive oil to the hot pan.  Stir fry the vegetables separately for best results adding salt and pepper to each batch.  You can tell when each is perfectly done this way.

Sauteing the onions. When soft and caramelizing, remove to the medium size bowl with the beets.  By the way, I learned the other day, that when you want to caramelize and get all those nice browned bits off the bottom of the pan, you should not use not-stick pans as they "don't stick", shown my old way here.
Cut corn off the cob by standing it on end and cutting off with a sharp knife.
Saute the corn kernels.
Saute the mushrooms.
Not shown, but saute the bok choy white stem part for a few seconds, add the greens, a few more minutes.

Mix the vegetables together.  Not only is it a pretty mix, but the more colorful the vegetables, the better for you it is.

Mixed up and ready to top your pizzas.

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Rice, steamed rice a new way


1 cup rice
1 1/2 cups water or stock
Follow your rice cookers instructions, usually about 20-30 minutes depending on how much you're making.

Try placing the cooked rice in a decoratively shaped bowl, then place a plate on top and flip over for a different look for steamed rice, besides a mound.

Pyramid Shape on the left, and the round bowl on the right.  Try it with your unique shaped bowls and molds.

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Hungarian Spatzle-a dumpling, a Hungarian treat


Ingredients: 
 2 eggs slightly stirred
1/4 cup milk
1 cup flour (to be authentic, use cream of wheat)
dash of pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp of rosemary
1 whole head of roasted garlic (see chicken pot pie recipe for how to roast garlic)

First roast the garlic as described on the chicken pot pie recipe, then mix all ingredients together to make your spatzle dough.  This can be used atop chicken stews, but I like it best with melted butter and salt as a side dish to a nice meat dish.


This is a spatzle maker, it will create small noodles in your boiling water.

Although I love having the spatzle maker, I prefer how my mom taught me, which was to put the dough on the board and push off with a butter knife into the salted water.  I can then control their size, which I prefer 3 inches long and about 1/2 an inch wide.  Boil in salted water for about 5 minutes and then drain, put back in the pan with a few tablespoons of butter.
  These are the ones created with the spatzle maker.  I will later put up the larger ones which I prefer.  Still Delicious, I just like a little more dumpling in each bite.

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Tortillas-Taco Shells, soft or crunchy tonight?  
Why not both in one?

   
I found a new way to "fry" my tortillas. For years it's been, what do we want, soft
tacos or crisp? and had to decide. This is cool as it's both.

Brush both sides of your tortilla (flour shown), and place into a taco holder (oven safe holder) and bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  They end up soft taco like on the bottom, and crispy along the tops, a super nice compromise, gets you both tastes and they're lower calorie and less fat.
Serve with your favorite toppings, shown here are pork botana below and
   
Cheddar Cheese,    Limes,           Roma Tomatoes,  Sour Cream with Pepper and Dill

 Lettuce or cabbage adds a nice green too.  
Pork Botana                                                                                 Finished Botana tacos.
Taco Bar 
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Vegan French Baguette  
     Ingredients:
1 ½ cups mildly warm water (not cold, not boiling, warm to activate yeast properly).
4 cups flour (all purpose flour is fine)
1 Tablespoon organic sugar
1 ¾ tsp salt
2 Tablespoons vegan margarine-Earth Balance is a good choice
1 ½ Teaspoons-Active dry yeast

Use your Kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook and prepare per unit instructions, or put into a bread machine-selecting the dough mode.  When done in the machine-usually about an hour and a half, place into a greased bowl, flip over, cover with cling wrap and a clean towel
and place somewhere warm to rise for 1 ½-2 hours. Then with a little flour on your cutting board,
Cut into 4 equal pieces.  Take each piece and roll it up jellyroll fashion, trying to roll it tightly,
And pinch the ends seams to seal.  If you have time, let rest again for 30 minutes, otherwise continue
to next step.  Create a salt wash for them-really adds a lot of flavor-1 teaspoon salt and ¼ cup of water.
Brush onto the baguettes.  Using a knife, but diagonal slashes every 2 inches or so across the top. 
See the picture.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (450 degrees if using a stone).  Throw a pan with a
few ice cubes into the bottom of the oven.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, and cool on a rack for
10minutes-1 hour if you can wait that long with the smell of fresh bread in the house.
Hope you enjoy them.


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Gluten

My experience with Gluten free is new. Here was my experience making gluten free pizza dough.
Well, I tried a pizza dough mix from a health food store, feeling surely it would be better than my first try at it, and it was a total flop. Gluten free without the gluten in the regular flour works differently.  So, then I went back to my usual pizza dough recipe and substituted the gluten free rice flour and it was so dry, it looked like it wouldn't work.  So I add to the water amount and butter amount, and it came out well.  So now, I have my own gluten free pizza dough recipe.

Substituting Gluten

see alternatives below:
Gluten, a protein found in wheat flour, is what gives structure to baked goods. It traps air while breads, muffins, and cakes bake, giving them their soft spongy texture. To replace gluten, you'll need to use other thickeners like xanthan gum or guar gum in your baking.

For each cup of gluten-free flour mix, add at least 1 teaspoon of gluten substitute.
Xanthum Gum
This comes from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called Zanthomonas campestris. It is formulated in a laboratory setting. This works well as a gluten substitution in yeast breads along with other baked goods. You can purchase it in health food stores and some supermarkets.
Guar Gum
This powder comes from the seed of the plant Cyamopsis tetragonolobus. It is an excellent gluten substitute and it is available in health food stores and some supermarkets.
Pre-Gel Starch This gluten substitute helps keep baked goods from being too crumbly. This, too, can be purchased at most health food stores.


Making Substitutions at home for gluten:
Personally, I would probably go back to the rice flour I used in the pizza dough along with a couple extra 2tbsp of butter, and 1/4 extra water.  My experience with gluten free is new, but I like learning new cooking things.

 

Start with recipes that use relatively small amounts of wheat flour like brownies or pancakes. Gluten-free versions taste almost the same as their wheat-based cousins. These two gluten-free flour mixtures can be substituted for wheat flour cup-for-cup:

  • Gluten-Free Flour Mix I1/4 cup soy flour
    1/4 cup tapioca flour
    1/2 cup brown rice flour
  • Gluten-Free Flour Mix II6 cups white rice flour
    2 cups potato starch
    1 cup tapioca flour

 You can purchase gluten-free baking mixes at health food stores and some supermarkets.



Potato Starch Flour This is a gluten-free thickening agent that is perfect for cream-based soups and sauces. Mix it a little with water first, then substitute potato starch flour for flour in your recipe, but use half the amount called for. It can be purchased in a health food store.

Tapioca Flour This is a light, white, very smooth flour that comes from the cassava root. It gives baked goods a nice chewy texture. Try it in white bread or French bread recipes. It is also easily combined with cornstarch and soy flour.

Soy Flour This nutty-tasting flour has a high protein and fat content. It's best when used in combination with other flours and for baking brownies, or any baked goods with nuts or fruit, which will mask any "beany" flavor.

Cornstarch A refined starch that comes from corn, it's mostly used as a thickening agent for puddings, fruit sauces, and Asian cooking. It is also used in combination with other flours for baking.

Corn Flour This flour is milled from corn and can be blended with cornmeal to make cornbread or muffins. It is excellent for waffles or pancakes.

Cornmeal Cornmeal can be ground from either yellow or white corn. This is often combined with flours for baking. It imparts a strong corn flavor that is delicious in pancakes, waffles, or muffins.

White Rice Flour This is an excellent basic flour for gluten-free baking. It is milled from polished white rice. Because it has such a bland flavor, it is perfect for baking, as it doesn't impart any flavors. It works well with other flours. White rice flour is available in most health food stores, and also in Asian markets. Look for types called fine-textured white rice flour.

Brown Rice Flour Made from unpolished brown rice, brown rice flour retains the nutritional value of the rice bran. Use it in breads, muffins, and cookies.