Choco Banana Pie

“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” -David Mamet

Ingredients:

  • 2 bananas, sliced
  • 8 oz. low-fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese
  • 2 6 oz. Chobani Greek Yogurt Vanilla Blended
  • 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1/3 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 Mi-Del GF Chocolate Snap Pie Crust

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Combine greek yogurt and cream cheese in mixing bowl. Mix with hand-held electric mixer. Add the vanilla extract and nutmeg while mixing. Place approximately half of the thinly sliced bananas to cover the base of the pie crust.

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Then evenly pour the greek yogurt and cream cheese filling on top of the bananas. Layer the top with the remaining sliced bananas. Put the pie in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of four hours. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cans of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin Puree
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
  • 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 loaf of GF cinnamon raisin bread, sliced*
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins

First, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the sliced bread and raisins in a baking dish ( 11 by 7-inch should be fine). In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, spices, and vanilla and mix. Then, mix in the pumpkin puree. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the bread. Cover with foil and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until pumpkin pudding has set. Serve warm with ice cream (or just by itself) and enjoy!

Happy holidays!

*I recommend using Glutino’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/pumpkin-ginger-bread-pudding-recipe/index.html

Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Karo Light Corn Syrup
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cups pecans
  • 1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie crust (we always use GlutenFree Bakehouse Pie Shells)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Stir the corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Mix in the pecans. Pour this mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 60-65 minutes. Remove pie before it blackens. When tapping the center of the pie lightly, the center should spring back up if the pie is done. Cool for about 2 hours and store in the refrigerator.

Recipe modified from karosyrup.com.

 

Candied Sweet Potatoes (Yams)

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (29 oz.) Sweet Potatoes
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small slabs/pieces
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place sweet potatoes in a baking dish. Place the slabs of butter evenly over all of the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Evenly place mini marshmallows. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes (or until all of the marshmallows have melted and sweet potatoes are tender).

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

  • 2 (16 oz.) packages of French Cut Green Beans
  • 1 bottle (16 oz.) of Ragu Alfredo Sauce (or any other of your favorite Gluten-Free Alfredo Sauces)
  • 3/4 cup low-fat milk
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 pound of sliced cheese (Velveeta, Kraft Singles, etc.)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Apply cooking spray to a casserole dish. In a bowl, combine Alfredo sauce, milk, and cheddar cheese and mix well. Layer the bottom half of the casserole dish with 1/2 of the green beans and pour half of the Alfredo mixture over it. Cover that with half of the sliced cheese. Repeat the layering (green beans, Alfredo mixture, and then remaining sliced cheese on top). Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Teikoku

I dined at a wonderful Japanese restaurant to celebrate my friend’s birthday two weeks ago. Why I haven’t written this post until now, honestly I couldn’t tell you! I had a great meal and a delightful evening, so I don’t want to postpone any longer.

It can be tricky when you’re dining with friends and not hosting the group. You may be unfamiliar with the restaurant, its service, and how accommodating they are or can be. I was fortunate enough to have my friend call the restaurant before hand to scope out the options. Whether it’s the host or yourself, someone should contact the restaurant to ensure that gluten-free choices can be prepared.

Teikoku had a gluten-free menu with many options! The menu also accommodated for those with peanut or shellfish allergies. We started off ordering warm edamame with sea salt. I think I ate about ninety percent of it (we were a group of eight); it is my favorite appetizer of an Asian cuisine! For an entrée, I had a Vegetable Mix House Roll that consisted of avocado, carrot, asparagus, and cucumber. If you haven’t tried sushi before, I would highly recommend it. If you have eaten sushi and weren’t a fan, I would recommend giving it another chance at his restaurant. And if you love sushi, by all means order it!

Although the veggie roll was excellent, the cherry on the cake was the homemade gelato. I ordered the Mocha, but I was very tempted to go for the Green Tea or White Chocolate Raspberry! I would say it’s even better than Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino Ice Cream (believe me, that’s saying something!).

Please do try out this restaurant! And recommend it to your friends who are peanut-free and shellfish-free as well!

Cheers,

Anika

Diwali: Festival of Lights

For those of you know did not know, today is the end of the Indian holiday called Diwali! Diwali is a week-long festival of lights. Traditionally, small clay lamps are lit all around the house to ward off evil. Brightly colored flowers are arranged in festival patterns as a decoration. In addition to lighting up and decorating the house, sweets and snacks are shared between family and friends.

Although there are a variety of gluten-free choices when it comes to Indian food, some specific treats for the holidays may not be suitable. For example, in my family, we make homemade Gulab Jamun (these are comparable to soft, spongy cakes in the shape of Dunkin Donuts’ munchkins served in a sweet syrup). Another great gluten-free treat we make at home is Kalakand (a dense milk cake served in small pieces). Check out my recipe!

Comment if you would like to see some more Indian recipes on the blog.

Happy Diwali!

Anika

Halloween Candy Popcorn

“Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate.” -Jo Brand

Looking for a way to use up some of the extra Halloween candy leftover from last night? This is a quick, easy, and delicious recipe for you!

Ingredients:

  • About 4-5 cups popped popcorn (original or kettlecorn)
  • 4 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (no seasonal shaped items)
  • 4-8 fun-sized Midnight Milky Way’s*

Directions:

Lay all the popcorn on a baking sheet. Spread it out evenly. Use two baking sheets or more if necessary.

In a small cooking pot, add the halloween chocolate. Use a rubber spatula to move the chocolate around as it melts and cut the chocolate into smaller pieces. Keep breaking the chocolate until it has melted, but not burned. Note: the chocolate will be thick because of the peanut butter filling in the Reese’s and the caramel or nutty filling of the fun-sized bars. After the chocolate has melted to its fullest potential, turn off the heat. Immediately pour the chocolate over the popcorn. Be sure to pour the chocolate sparingly so all the popcorn get’s some chocolate. Using the rubber spatulas carefully transfer the popcorn from the baking sheets to a large bowl (or two!). The chocolate will still be warm and not have dried as yet. Mix the popcorn well in the bowl as to keep spreading the chocolate to each piece. Enjoy!

*You may opt for an alternate, gluten-free, fun-sized chocolate such as Snickers or Three Musketeers. Just be sure to read the labels!

Yangming

Whether it is Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, a celebration or a treat, my family and I consistently return to this Chinese restaurant− Yangming. We always enjoy ourselves filling our bellies and sharing laughs.

As a girl who is gluten-free, it is a bit upsetting that Yangming does not have a gluten-free menu. I am quite familiar with the menu, but the staff is usually helpful in navigating through any new additions and seasonal specials.

As for appetizers, I would recommend the grilled Thai chicken or char-grilled satay lamb. The grilled chicken is essentially the satays that you could find at any Thai restaurant. However, the lamb is different and worth trying! In the entrees, from experience, I know the Spicy Pad Thai with Jumbo Shrimp and Spicy Rice Vermicelli Singapore Style are also gluten-free. But my go-to dish is the Spicy Wild-Peppered Lamb. Just a word of caution, the dish is named rightfully so. This is a rather spicy dish, but with an adequate amount of rice and a few refills of water, it’s quite delicious!

As you can tell, I am a fan of the food here, it never disappoints, but I can’t say the same regarding the waiter’s knowledge of gluten-free foods. About one year ago, when dining at Yangming, I had wanted to try a different dish. I had settled on the Half Peking Duck. I was aware that it is typically served with Mandarin pancakes and Hoisin sauce (the wrap and sauce used in making Mu-Shu Chicken). However, he waiter checked with the chef and informed us the duck would be gluten-free when served without the wrap and sauce. So, I decided to go ahead and order it. And let me tell you, to this day, that is the best duck I have eaten.

But, when I returned to Yangming just over a week ago, I remembered the delicious duck I had eaten and decided to order it again. Since a year had passed, we aired on the side of caution and asked the waiter our usual questions regarding what’s gluten-free. This waiter told us right off the bat that the duck was not gluten-free. He said the actual duck has a coating that would not be suitable. I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to eat the wonderful meal once again, but I was more concerned with which waiter’s words hold truth. In any case, it never hurts to air to the side of caution when there’s even a shred of doubt.

Whether you decide on giving this restaurant a chance or would rather not take the risk, keep in mind that this isn’t the first or last restaurant to make mistakes regarding gluten-free foods. Restaurants can prove to be a bit of a challenge. Just remember, the key lies in staying away from foods that you aren’t certain are 100% gluten-free.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers!

Anika

Tilapia Tortillas

Ingredients:

  • 4 pieces of tilapia
  • Taco Seasoning
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 GF tortillas
  • Romaine lettuce, chopped
  • Medium Taco Sauce
  • 3 ounces blend of Mexican cheeses

In a glass baking dish, line with aluminum foil and place four pieces of tilapia. Evenly coat the fish with olive oil. Then, sprinkle the taco seasoning on the front and back of the tilapia. Simply bake for 15 minutes at 350°.

Meanwhile, prepare your tortilla and toppings. Follow warming instructions on the packet of the GF tortilla. (I used Toufayan Bakeries Gluten-Free Wraps. One of the best GF tortilla substitutes!) Then add lettuce, cheese, and taco sauce on the warmed tortilla. When the tilapia is ready, just place it in the center of your wrap. You may wish to cut the fish into smaller pieces for eating convenience. Roll it up, stick in a toothpick, and enjoy!