Symphony of Flavours

Symphony of Flavours

I don't normally post "meals", but this one came together so beautifully both in flavours and visual impact. I confess I have been watching a lot of Masterchef lately, and it is inspiring me!
The meal above is pan-seared chicken with parsley-chimmichurri jasmine rice, cauliflower and corn puree, and a peach/red onion and cilantro salsa.

Cauliflower-Corn Puree: The puree was the starting point for me and I built the meal around it. In the blender: one whole cauliflower, broken into florets and steamed until tender. One can of corn (yes, fresh would be even better!) sautéed first in a pan with a few nobs of butter, one clove of garlic and a pinch of salt. About a cup and a half of cream/milk mixture, scalded. Add about half the cream/milk at first, then adding just enough to make a puree (you don't want to turn it into soup!).
Pulse in blender until smooth, adjust seasoning.  Silky and so flavourful!!

Chicken:  Breasts seasoned simply with garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, sautéed over medium high heat to get nice colour.

Rice: I was concerned that the plate would look too monotone so I whipped up a parsley chimmichurri and stirred that in to the Jasmine rice, along with some chopped fresh parsley.

Chimichurri: Chopped parsley, toasted walnuts, a touch of cilantro, a touch of chilli sauce, olive oil,  touch of lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Place all in blender and blend until smooth.

Salsa: Diced peach, red onion, and fresh coarsely chopped cilantro,  tied together with a touch of olive oil, fresh lemon juice and salt.

I LOVE fruit salsas to go along with chicken and fish, and will use whatever fruit I have on hand: mango, peach, nectarine, apple, etc  I will also sometimes use parsley in place of the cilantro, and sometimes add corn...It becomes a beautiful bright note on the plate, and adds some wonderful texture as well.

Pecan Pie, Oh My!

Pecan Pie!

My first ever attempt at Pecan Pie, and it turned out beautifully. The crust was firm but flakey, and the filling was sweet, nutty and gooey. I fancied up the crust by cutting out star shapes from the pastry scraps, then cutting them in half, and "glued" them down with a bit of egg white. 

My husband has declared it his 'new favourite pie" and my mother-in-law(who is also celiac) could not stop exclaiming how good this was between mouthfuls.

I think this was a success.

The pastry shell, pre-bake,

I liked how the embellishment on the crust looked like little crowns!

The oh so simple ingredients for the caramel. White sugar, brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup and butter. I think this was one of the simplest pies to make, with the most impressive presentation!

Pastry recipe is on this site, again amended slightly from Mennonite Girls Can Cook. 

Cupcakes...

...are delicious, right?
These are too, even if they are gluten free.
I have amended this recipe to be gluten free, and my kids (who are not gluten free ) love them anyway, which many can appreciate is, well, amazing!

Many thanks to the original recipe, found here:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/extreme-chocolate-cake/detail.aspx

Extreme Chocolate Gluten Free Cupcakes

• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 + 1/8 cup rice flour
• 3/4 + 1/8 cup tapioca starch
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 tsp xantham gum
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
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• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Pre-heat oven to 350

Grease cupcake pans and dust with cocoa powder (or use Cupcake liners).

Fill kettle and boil water.

Combine dry ingredients, and mix well.

Add all wet ingredients (except for boiling water), and mix for 3 minutes*.

Add boiling water, and mix BY HAND (I use a whisk) until just combined. Pour into prepared pans.

Cupcakes: bake for about 20-22 minutes. Test with a toothpick, if it doesn't come out clean, bake for a few more minutes and test again. 

*Don't overmix, as this can prevent the baking powder and soda from adding airiness to your final product!

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Apple Pie Creation, in pictures

Time again for Apple Pie!  Hubby's birthday yesterday, and that was the request. Went to 3 different stores before I could find Granny Smith Apples, but it was worth it!

(Pastry recipe is already posted)

 Readying the counter-top for the pastry

 Pastry ready to trim.  It held together so well I was able to drape it over my rolling pin and lift onto the pie plate. (Usually I roll out on parchment but I forgot this time)

 My alternate to a top crust or lattice. Roll out pastry and cut with whatever cookie cutter you choose. This cutter is an old tin one from my childhood, and the top crust took about 20 medium sized hearts to cover .  * Symmetry is good here :) 

 This is the caramel sauce that really is the key to the filling. Toss the sliced apples with the sauce, reserving about 1/4 for glazing the top crust

 The glazed top crust, pre- baking. You can see the first row of hearts at the rim are placed side to side (no overlap), but the following rows do overlap. You can have lots of fun with this.

 The finished beauty!

Yum.

You can see the caramel has set- the key is to let the pie cool off at least a couple of hours before  cutting into. This was so amazing my Mother-In-Law (who is Celiac) could barely contain herself :)

Filling recipe to follow.

Buckwheat Gluten Free Pancakes

I was scrolling around GF sites the other day, and saw a request for GF pancakes, asking which flours work best. Well, the first thing that came to mind was Buckwheat (not actually of the wheat family). However, I have had varying success with pancake recipes. Sometimes they end up too runny, too thick, no flavour etc. I thought I would try a different flout combo and see how it turned out: half buckwheat and one quarter sweet rice flour (which I use in my pastry), and one quarter tapioca starch.
A winning combination in my books- the kids did not even ask if they were GF. The texture was great, the flavour delicious, the even LOOKED like"real" pancakes. Forgot to take pics- story of my life!!
Here it is:

Buckwheat Gluten Free Pancakes

1 cup milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1 egg
2 Tb melted butter

Mix together milk and vinegar- set aside for 5 minutes while you combine other ingredients.
(The milk/vinegar combo mimics buttermilk, a good substitution for me because I never have buttermilk!)
Combine dry ingredients, and blend well.
Add egg and butter to milk mixture. Whisk flour mixture into wet until smooth. Adjust with additional milk if you want a thinner pancake.
Let sit for 10-15 minutes, then cook on griddle over med heat.
HINT: if you have any leftover pancakes (I had one) you can make a nice rustic yet decadent dessert by sprinkling the pancakes with chocolate chips and popping in the oven until melty but still holding their form. Drizzle with syrup.
I do love leftovers...

Pate Sucree, Gluten Free

Pâte Sucrée, Gluten Free

1 1/2 Cups my GF flour Combo (see below)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp guar gum
1 tsp xantham gum

For the flour mix I used the same combination I usually use for regular pastry. This combo makes too much for this recipe, so combine and then store the leftovers for next time:
  1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
  1/2 cup Cornstarch
  1 cup Sweet Rice flour (also called Glutinous flour, but don't worry, it is flour made from Sushi rice!)
  1/4 cup Potato starch (NOT potato flour)

Cream butter in mixer. Add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Add lightly beaten eggs- bit by bit-and continue mixing until well incorporated.  Measure out your 1 1/2 cups of flour in separate bowl, and add salt, guar gum and xantham gum. Mix well.  Add flour mixture all at once to butter mixture and mix until dough forms a ball. Place on sheet of plastic wrap, flatten into a disc, wrap well and place in fridge to chill (30 minutes).

Now, being a Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Pastry), you can just press this dough into your prepared pan.
I wanted to see if it could be rolled for mini tarts, and it does work, but you must wait for the dough to warm a bit.
Roll out on lightly floured (I use sweet rice flour) plastic wrap, as best you can. Don't worry if it breaks- it will!  Simply press back together. Use a 1 cup measure to press the dough into all corners and fluted edges. Trim the top if need be. Prick the base all over gently with a fork to prevent/minimize puffing. Refrigerate, covered loosely, for minimum 30 minutes to reduce pastry shrinkage.
Bake at 400* for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 for another 15 minutes.
Let cool in pan before removing.
* I also gave the tarts a light egg-white wash to prevent the pastry from getting soggy once filled: beat one egg white until frothy, and brush on to pastry when just out of the oven.