Archives for “salad”

Fried Calamari with Pico and Avocado Dressing Plus Pina Coladas

February 28, 2010 · Filed Under GAHIGF, appetizer, beverage, bread, dairy free, easy, entree, gluten free, recipe, salad, seafood, vegetarian ·21 Comments

When Bean over at Without Adornment announced her theme for this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free! carnival, I was completely on board. Tropical Vacation meal … oh, yeah. We had plenty of snow at the time and our Key West vacation seemed long ago. One of our favorite appetizers that often turns into a meal is Fried Calamari. We’ve eaten calamari all over in our travels from our favorite waterside restaurant “down the road”—Dockside—to much more exotic, tropical spots. Going gluten free meant giving that pleasure up. Oh, sure, I’ve heard of some restaurants that serve gluten-free calamari, but we just haven’t had the good fortune to find and visit one. So making calamari has been in the back of my mind for some time.

My goal has been to make calamari as good as what is served as that favorite local restaurant. And, it’s not just calamari. It’s delicious calamari served on a bed of shredded lettuce topped with a sweet pico de gallo and a special dressing. Here’s a photo of Dockside’s calamari.

I’ve mentioned that our grocery store is pretty basic. While I was happily surprised to find squid in the freezer case recently, I was less pleased to find out that it was a package of whole squid. Opening the package, the squid didn’t look too intimidating, but once I thawed them out, many soulful eyes stared back at me. Maybe I was having flashbacks to images of the giant squid in The Beast, starring William Petersen (before his rise to fame as Gil Grissom on C.S.I.). (Mr. GFE and Son had watched and recorded that movie and we’d watched it more than once.) In the end, I just couldn’t deal with those squid. They plain ”weirded” me out. However, I still wanted to make calamari.

So we made a trip into town to the upscale Wegmans and headed to their seafood counter. And, there they were … beautiful, headless squid bodies and tentacles. Not an eye in sight—thank goodness. The folks at the seafood counter were happy to slice the squid into rings for me while we chatted. The staff member who assisted me shared that her mom had been recently diagnosed with gluten intolerance. She added that she was also trying to eat gluten free, but she expressed frustration over the high cost of gluten free products. Of course, I shared my gfe approach. Seems like I was meant to go to that seafood counter.

Once home, it was easy to prepare the squid. I used the breading mix that I used recently for the chicken tenders and fried oysters. Sometimes if you find something that works with one application, it makes sense to try it with others. There is no need to reinvent the wheel all the time. I breaded the squid exactly the same way I had done the chicken tenders … with no egg wash. The result was very lightly breaded, melt-in-your-mouth calamari. I served them over romaine leaves cut into smaller pieces topped with pico de gallo (pico is easy to make; here’s one recipe I use) and a thick, creamy, and slightly tangy avocado dressing. It’s a great dish. But, truthfully, it’s different than our favorite calamari from Dockside. Not bad different—this calamari dish is really very good—but it is different. I will make the remaining calamari in two batches. For one I’ll use this breading, but also do the egg wash like I did for the fried oysters. I’ll also do a batch to test some gluten-free breading that I purchased a while ago. I’ll keep you updated on both.

Fried Calamari
(Click here for a printable version of this and the following recipes.)

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup gluten-free flour*
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
cooking oil (I used a mixture of grapeseed and olive oil)
2 lbs fresh, raw squid—rings and tentacles

Mix cornmeal, gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl (or paper/ziploc bag for shaking).

Dredge squid through cornmeal breading (or shake in bag). Fry in hot oil (about an inch deep on medium-high, about 375 degrees if using an electric skillet). The calamari will only take a minute or two, at most. Flip pieces when brown on one side. Remove once browned on both sides. To prevent tough calamari, do not overcook.

*I can’t tolerate many of the healthier, gluten-free flours; e.g., sorghum, buckwheat. Therefore, my gluten-free flour mix is 3 parts Asian white rice flour and 2 parts cornstarch. I gently mix three one-lb bags of the Asian white rice flour and two one-lb boxes of cornstarch in a very large bowl and then store the mix in several airtight containers (like large glass jars). It’s a very economical mix that works well in most recipes. No refrigeration is needed. If you’re interested in a complete tutorial on gluten-free flours, please read Amy’s (Simpy Sugar & Gluten-Free) post here. As always, if you are not gluten free, you can substitute all-purpose (wheat) flour instead of gluten-free flour.

Thick and Creamy Avocado Dressing

one half of an avocado, mashed
2 – 3 tbsp of Greek yogurt (to taste)
one garlic clove (I used ½ tsp minced garlic)
2 – 3 tbsp olive oil (to taste and/or consistency)
1 tsp honey

Add all to blender and blend on high a minute or two until well blended. Dollop over salad mixture and calamari as desired.

Shirley’s Notes: This dressing has more of the thickness of mayonnaise or a spread versus a true dressing. If you want a true dressing consistency, you’ll want to add more liquid: olive oil, milk, lemon juice, water, etc.—your preference.

As Bean shared on her Tropical Pork Pineapple Kabobs post, a tropical vacation meal requires a tropical drink. My faves are margaritas and pina coladas. This time I went with a pina colada. This one is gluten free and dairy free, and uses no processed mixes either. I basically took the idea of a Southern Living recipe that I’d enjoyed years ago and just revised it to use whole food ingredients, including coconut milk. Easy and luscious!

Luscious Pina Coladas

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup rum
4 tbsp sugar (or other sweetener)
1 banana
1/4 cup shredded coconut
8 or more ice cubes
additional shredded coconut, if desired

Blend coconut milk, pineapple juice, rum, sugar, banana, 1/4 cup shredded coconut, and ice cubes to desired consistency. Top with additional shredded coconut, if desired.

Inspired by Southern Living

Shirley’s Notes: I like to use a frozen banana (I always have frozen baking bananas on hand), which provides a nice, thick consistency—the luscious factor in this pina colada.

If you want to stay in the tropical vacation mindset a little longer, be sure to check back at Without Adornment for the complete roundup of recipes. Thinking sunshine, turquoise blue water, warm breezes, bare legs, and wonderful tropical fare … so nice. Special thanks to Bean for hosting this month as well as ongoing thanks to Naomi (Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried) for originating the always fun and helpful Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free! carnival.

By the way, be sure to visit my Out and About page to find out who won the recent giveaway. And, we’re now into the final week before the Academy Awards presentation, more fondly known as the Oscars. Be sure to check out the complete roundup–either recipes inspired by Oscar nominees or others just right for throwing your own viewing celebration. They are definitely all award-winning caliber! My own contributions were Veronica’s Pumpkin Soup and the already mentioned Southern Fried Oysters. You can the listing of all the Gluten-Free Progressive Dinner Party recipes at our gracious hostess, Diane’s, blog events page at The. W.H.O.L.E. Gang.

Enjoy!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Post a comment · 21 Comments
Tags: bananas, beverage, bread, calamari, coconut, dairy free, easy, GFE, gluten free, recipe, seafood

Thanksgiving–The GFE Way

November 23, 2009 · Filed Under Progressive Dinner, Slightly Indulgent, Thanksgiving, What can I eat ..., bread, breakfast, crockpot, crustless, dairy free, dessert, gluten free, pumpkin, recipe, salad, slow cooker ·29 Comments

WhatcanIeatbutton_thumb2 This post is linked to What can I eat that’s gluten free? at The Gluten-Free Homemaker.

With Thanksgiving on Thursday here in the U.S., I thought I’d do a quick roundup for folks who are still not sure what dishes they’d like to make. Of course, these dishes are all gluten free, but many are free of other allergens (or adaptable in that regard—notes included). These gfe recipes may be made without certain ingredients that folks have come to expect in foods, but they are never short on taste. These are recipes that everyone will love! Oh, and they are gluten free easily, gfe—meaning they are naturally gluten free or easily made gluten free by a simple substitution or two.

Some folks balk at anything green on the table for Thanksgiving (other than the ubiquitous green bean casserole, which Mr. GFE adores and I’ve made gluten free several times), but serve up this Great Salad and folks who never eat salad will be sampling it, and enjoying it. Trust me … I’ve seen it happen numerous times.

great-salad-for-blog-rev1

If you serve a turkey breast (or even a small turkey or roaster chicken), my super easy Traditional Turkey Breast (two ingredients—one is the turkey breast) and Special Turkey Breast recipes, both cooked in the slow cooker, are wonderful options. Son popped in for a visit yesterday and ended up taking the rest of the Special Turkey Breast home with him. He initially declined my offer saying he didn’t want to cut us short, but when I packed him up for him, he said “that turkey is so good!” That was after I’d fixed him a plate.

Special Turkey Breast 116

Special Turkey Breast

Another main dish option is Susie’s Crab Casserole–a real treat for the seafood lovers.

Crab Casserole 037

Then there’s stuffing, or dressing as some folks call it—Surprise Stuffing. I confirmed that wonderful stuffing can be made using tortilla chips. Now there’s no need to find the perfect gluten-free bread or make bread in preparation to make stuffing/dressing. (Note: This recipe is linked to the Slightly Indulgent roundup over at Amy’s Simply Sugar & Gluten Free blog. You’ll want to see her homemade, healthy ketchup recipe! By the way, the Slightly Indulgent roundup is moving to Tuesdays next week.)

Tostito Stuffing 028-1

Even with stuffing on the table, folks often want a “bread” as well. My personal favorites are popovers and cornbread:

popovers-on-table3

Desserts can be made gfe by focusing on flourless cakes and crustless pies. You won’t believe it, but you and others won’t even miss the flour or the crusts. There’s the classic Flourless Chocolate Cake (no special ingredients like almond flour or even separation of eggs required for this one) and Mediterranean Chocolate Cake (a classic chocolate cake flavor, also naturally dairy free). There’s even Flourless Chocolate Banana Honey Walnut Cake for those who are gluten free, dairy free, grain free, and refined sugar free. This latter flourless cake gives you enough chocolate and sweetness, but doesn’t leave you wanting more.

flourless-chocolate-cake-014

april-meeting-052

Flourless ChocBanHonWalnut-2

For the crustless pies, usually only a small amount of gluten-free flour is needed. Take your pick: pumpkin, coconut, or apple. Most likely you can use the concepts in these recipes to adapt your own favorite pie recipe to crustless and gfe.

Pumpkin Pie 142

CoconutPieCloseup

apple-pie-on-mothers-day-024

Do you have guests staying over? Consider making one or more of the following for a very special breakfast: Banana Maple-Nut Muffins, Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole, or Volcano Pancake. Your guests will be so grateful and none of these breakfast dishes are hard to make. The muffins and casserole can be made ahead, and the puff pancake (which also can be made into a cheesy side dish) comes together in minutes. It’s a visual delight and huge crowd pleaser! Some friends recently confessed that they make this on a whim all the time–just as a decadent afternoon treat. (They are not gluten free, so they just use standard all-purpose flour.)

banana-maple-nut-muffins-001

hash-brown-casserole-003-1

volcano-pancake-006-1

If you are still looking for more recipe ideas, please look at Diane’s (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang) summary of the Progressive Dinner Party we held last week. There are 15 fabulous recipes in all—from drinks to desserts—courtesy of myself and seven other top-notch bloggers: Diane (the “Engergizer battery” originator of this dinner party roundup), Stephanie (A Year of Slow Cooking), Karen (Cook4Seasons), Ali (The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen), Shauna (Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef), Jean (Gluten-Free Organics and More), and Seamaiden (The Book of Yum). Their recipes will wow you with flavor and beauty, but not necessarily difficulty—I love that! Plus, they’re all gluten free, but look for other allergen accommodations as well. Head over to The W.H.O.L.E. Gang … Diane has all the individual links right in her post for you! Plus, you’ll get to see her Thanksgiving menu plan … what the heck is Spatchcock Turkey anyway? Diane will tell you. If you’re planning to cook a whole turkey, this recipe might be a Thanksgiving blessing you didn’t expect.

Have a wonderful gfe Thanksgiving all! Best,

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Post a comment · 29 Comments
Tags: bananas, bread, breakfast, chocolate, cornbread, dairy free, easy, GFE, gluten free, honey, maple, muffins, recipe, salad, slow cooker, turkey

Special Turkey Breast

November 18, 2009 · Filed Under Crockpot Wednesday, Progressive Dinner, What can I eat ..., appetizer, beverage, crockpot, dairy free, dessert, easy, entree, gluten free, recipe, salad, slow cooker ·29 Comments

Special Turkey Breast 095

Today is Wednesday, which means it’s the Main Dish day of our Thanksgiving Progressive Dinner Party! Eight of us gluten-free bloggers are having a fine time with this event and we hope you are, too. If you just found out about this event and haven’t been following along to date, you’ll want to catch up. Please visit The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen to check out Ali’s beverage and then head over to Jean’s (Gluten-Free Organics and More) to see what she’s pouring for her guests. Once you take a sip or two, you’ll feel the need for an appetizer to munch on. Jean has some divine almonds and another little taste treat for you olive lovers in the crowd—all shown here. Now when you are ready to savor more wonderful flavors, stop by The Book of Yum and try Seamaiden’s pumpkin kabocha soup, or perhaps Karen’s (Cook 4 Seasons) beautiful holiday appetizer that includes cucumbers, goat cheese, and arils (pomegranate seeds)—you’ll want to take a look (and a bite!).

All caught up? Then it’s time for the main course. You can find a fabulous entree at Ali’s site (hint: her recipe features one of my favorite foods). And, now you can just read on to find out what’s so special about this turkey breast of mine. Update: By the way, this post is also linked to What can I eat that’s gluten free?, Linda’s weekly roundup over at The Gluten-Free Homemaker and Crockpot Wednesday over at the Dining with Debbie blog.

This recipe is another one that I spied somewhere, tried it, loved it, and I’ve been making it ever since. I have no idea where the recipe came from originally. (If only I’d known I was going to blog, I would have saved all my recipe sources and also would have taken tons of food photos along the way.) I actually have two turkey breast recipes that I cook in the crockpot (slow cooker). One is the turkey breast that everyone expects—traditional, moist, and juicy with typical flavors and only two ingredients. (I will share that one with you for sure, but not today.)

The other—the one featured here today—still has simple flavors, but its flavors pack a punch. Son always refers to it as the “special” turkey breast. He’s been enjoying this recipe since he was much younger. So, although you will see that this turkey breast has strong flavors, it is still possible for kids to love it. (Of course, he was also the kid asking for Swiss cheese at the deli counter when he was three.) It is another one of those recipes like my fabulous pork butt (aka pulled pork) where you’ll want to stand by the crockpot and get a fork and just eat until you are satisfied, then you’ll leave, then you’ll return and eat some more, then you’ll leave, then you’ll return … you get the picture. Of course, you won’t do any of that if you are making this dish for guests. When anyone approaches the crockpot, you’ll brandish your large fork “spear” and say very firmly, “Step away from the crockpot.” I’m serious. You’ll need to do that to protect this turkey from being eaten and/or contaminated from family germs before your guests arrive. Of course, first time out, you might be safe. They won’t know that this is a special turkey breast. But, after the first time you cook it, all bets are off … brandish the kitchen utensil—trust me on this. Now when you look at the ingredients below, you’ll never believe that they will produce a turkey breast so irresistible that you will have to defend it, but it’s true.

Special Turkey Breast 118

Special Turkey Breast
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)

One 4- to 6-lb turkey breast

¾ cup fresh parsley, chopped and divided—1/2 cup and ¼ cup; or 4 tbsp dried parsley, divided—3 tbsp and 1 tbsp (Note: My conversion to dry is not exactly equivalent to fresh, but it works best for measuring and doesn’t alter taste; in fact, if you are running short on parsley, just use whatever you have. I keep dried parsley on hand for this recipe at all times.)

½ cup vegetable oil, any kind (I use olive oil these days, but I’ve used all kinds successfully)

2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp ground black pepper

1 cup apple cider vinegar (Note: Apple cider vinegar is gluten free, but beware of an apple cider-flavored vinegar that is not gluten free. Personally, I’ve only read about this product on no-no lists; I’ve never actually seen it in stores. Always read labels, of course.)

Remove any packaging carefully. (I’ve been surprised by gravy packets before and I’ve been grateful that I didn’t accidentally puncture them with my kitchen shears.) Rinse turkey breast. Remove any contents from cavity of breast. (If gizzards and liver are included, you can cook those or freeze for another use later.)

Place breast in crockpot and pat dry.

In glass measuring cup (which holds 2 cups or larger), add oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and ½ cup of fresh parsley (or 3 tbsp dried parsley). Mix well and pour over turkey breast.

Special Turkey Breast 067

Special Turkey Breast 070

Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup of fresh (or 1 tbsp dried) parsley over breast.

Special Turkey Breast 076

Cook for 4 to 4 ½ hours on high or 8 to 8 ½ hours on low. If your turkey breast is larger than 6 lbs, you will need to cook longer. I cooked a 6 ½ pound turkey breast and it took about 9 hours. If I’m home, I often cook the breast for an hour on high and then switch to low for the remaining time. (An hour on high equates to about 2 on low.)

Special Turkey Breast 116

Shirley’s Additional Notes: I use a 6-qt oval crockpot. Bone-in turkey breasts work best, but I’ve used boneless before and enjoyed them. If the turkey breast poundage is significantly less, just adjust amounts accordingly. If the turkey breast is larger, these ingredient amounts will probably still be sufficient. I used a 6 ½ pound turkey breast this time around and used the amounts as shown. Sea salt is my preference, but I was out of it. Fresh ground pepper is also wonderful, but it takes a while to grind 2 tbsp, so I went with already ground pepper. The salt will naturally settle to the bottom in the measuring cup, so stir even as you are pouring the oil mixture over the turkey breast. However, if some salt does settle and remains in the cup after you’ve poured the oil mixture over the turkey, just pour the remaining salt evenly over the breast (you may need to use a spatula). After your breast is cooked, spoon a small amount of the “juices” over the breast meat that you’re serving. It will keep the meat moist and flavorful. Likewise, remove some of the juices to save with the leftover meat to keep it moist and flavorful. This is a very moist, juicy breast, but if you don’t save any of the juices with the meat, the meat can dry out.

I encourage you to give this recipe a try, even if you have a vinegar “phobia.” When you walk through the door at the end of the day, the somewhat pungent smell of this turkey breast will greet you. When you bite into this turkey breast, you’ll discover that it’s rich, briny, and peppery all at the same time … and more than slightly addictive. I’m eating some cold for breakfast right now. Just delicious.

It’s best to have a plan for your leftovers (if there are any), and this special turkey breast makes leftover ideas easy. I’ll make turkey quesadillas for one meal. This meat makes excellent quesadillas because of the outstanding flavor. I also love topping a salad with this turkey breast. I’ll have a nice salad today using a variation of my great salad recipe (in this case, spinach, romaine, cole slaw mix, walnuts, and dried cranberries) with just a tiny bit of salad dressing on top. Divine. It’s the best salad you could possibly have. Another day will be a turkey salad just chopping the breast meat and adding some mayo, sweet relish, finely chopped onion, and a tad of Dijon mustard. The turkey breast adds amazing flavor to this basic salad.

I will be making this turkey breast and the traditional one on Thanksgiving. Because we typically eat in the early afternoon, I usually just get up very early, throw the turkey breasts in the crockpot as directed and then go back to bed. It works for me. Even when I arise, I can attend to other matters because the turkey breasts will not need any additional attention. I don’t know about you, but I love that!

Don’t forget to visit Diane, Stephanie, Shauna, and Ali tomorrow for side dishes. Friday is the last day of our Thanksgiving Progressive Dinner Party. Desserts! Karen, Jean, and Ali will be performing the honors that day. Can’t wait for the rest of this great party! I only had to cook one thing, but I’m getting to enjoy so much more.

Enjoy!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!