Aprons, Shirts, Mugs and More!

Playing online today I came across some fun gluten free goods on a pretty cool website called Cafe Press.  They have a wide selection of aprons, t shirts, mugs and more.  Some are really funny.  I have to say my favorite is the skull and cross bones that says gluten sucks!

Enjoy.

Peanut Butter Cookies (Paula Deen's)

Gluten Free - Flour Free Peanut Butter Cookies from Paula Deen (www.foodnetwork.com)



1 large egg

1 cup peanut butter (smooth/creamy)

1 cup sugar

In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients until a dough forms.

Make small balls of dough and place on a cookie sheet about an inch, inch and a half apart.

Press the tops of the cookies down in a criss cross patter with a fork.

Bake at 350 ° for 10 minutes.

Citrus Chili Chicken with Roasted Grape Tomatoes

Citrus Chili Chicken with Roasted Grape Tomatoes



Roasted Grape Tomatoes
1 pint grape tomatoes
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp salt

Roast at 400° for 10-15 minutes until they start to split open
In a bowl combine roasted tomatoes (with any juices on the pan) and 1/8 cup crumbled feta cheese

Citrus Chili chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast - butterflied
1/4 cup Williams Sonoma Citrus - Chili Finishing Sauce

Marinade the chicken in the sauce for 30 minutes
Cook on in a sautée pan for 4-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear

Cheesecake

I had a huge craving for cheesecake the other day. I've made some mini crust-less ones in cupcake pans before but never a full cheese cake. I figured I have the pan, why not try it. I'm so happy I did. I have to say it came out pretty tasty for being my first attempt at it. Best part, its 100% gluten free!
Crust:
1 bag of the Trader Joe's Gluten Free Ginger Snaps (about 1 1/2 cups of the crumbs)
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of melted unsalted butter

Mix the melted butter, sugar and cookie crumbs together in a bowl and then press into a 9 inch spring form cheese cake pan. Make sure that the crumbs come up a little bit on the sides.

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375° - COOL

Cheesecake:

3 packages (8 ounces each) of cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tbs Lemon Zest
3 eggs, at room temperature

Mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until creamy and smooth in an electric stand mixer
Add eggs (one at a time) until blended
Pour mixture into cooled crust
Bake at 325° for 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool and then refrigerate for a minimum of three hours or over night.

Serve with fruit or your favorite topping!

The not so GF, GF Menu

Today for lunch I went to Islands Grill and ordered off of their Gluten Free menu.  The list is small but they have some really good grilled fish tacos, so I went for those.  They come with a side of "ranch beans".  Just an FYI to anyone who is GF and ordering off of this GF menu...the beans are NOT GF.  They contain WHEAT.  It is not listed anywhere on their printed menus however its listed online.  For more info on items that contain WHEAT/GLUTEN please click here.

After being sick, I called the restaurant and the person I spoke with said they were "officially gluten free".  I explained very nicely that on their website it lists them as not being gluten free and containing wheat.  He kindly went and checked again and had his manager come on the phone who also looked online and sure enough the website is correct.

Also their french fries (which I didn't order) aren't coated in anything, however the oil they are fried in contains flour so those are also not gluten free.

I've started to find it harder and harder to eat out.  In a way its a good thing because it saves money and forces me to be even more creative with my GF diet, however every once in a while you want to eat out.  So i suggest doing some research before venturing out.   Many more places are starting to list allergens on their website and printed menus.  Don't always trust what your server tells you.  If you have any doubts, don't risk it.

Betty Crocker to the rescue...

Oh happy day!  Hopefully they are actually in a wide variety of grocery stores this summer.  Check out Betty Crocker's website.   Here is a link to some gluten free recipes on their site.

Risotteria Restaurant NYC

Risotteria A little piece of gluten free heaven found in NYC!!!

I did a little bit of research before going on my trip to NYC and came across this place and said to myself...I have to go there. The menu looked really good and I have to say it was better than I expected. Its a tiny little place on Bleecker Street in the Village.

Bryan and I went and there was about a 30 minute wait (but I think it was a bit less), when you get seated they come over with a cup of bread sticks. These were the best bread sticks I've ever had. Better than even the Olive Garden ones. (You can buy the mix for these bread sticks and a bunch of other gluten free goodies - there is no form online however, you can call them for a phone order). So after drooling over the menu we both ended up getting panini's his a regular one and mine a gluten free (The menu consists of Pizza, Panini's, Salad, Risotto's, and Pasta all of which come in regular or GF, you can also get many of the options Vegetarian and Dairy Free!) The serve a selection of GF beers, wine etc.

The service was great, the employees were very friendly and helpful. The food was amazing. It was cute, and little and flat out one of the best parts of my trip. Can't wait to go back again.

I still can't stop thinking about this place. I brought home a bag of the bread stick (and pizza crust) mix and plan on making them this weekend. So if you are ever in NYC and looking for a great little GF place this is it!! They are open from noon -11 7 days a week. http://www.risotteria.com/

(Thanks to Bryan for being such a great sport and trying new things with me!)