holiday cocktail party

last saturday we threw a little holiday cocktail party. living in a place where movers laugh at you when you unpack a snow shovel, we didn't anticipate the little snowmageddon that started that same day. giving credit where credit is due, every guest that we originally expected trudged through the snow and made it to our house. remarkable!

in addition to wine of the white, red, and mulled varieties, we also had some tasty treats.

i'm a sucker for a good cheese platter.

and i made some moroccan-style lamb meatballs.

we also had delicious corn dip (hand-prepared by dave!) based on tom stuart's recipe

and then there was some spinach-artichoke dip

i forgot to take a picture of the pastry-wrapped baked brie with caramelized onions and apples, but it was yummy, too. 

then, we had two desserts. one was "better than sex" chocolate cupcakes (i take no credit for the name!) which are NOT gluten-free, but ARE delicious.

this photos is from the day after. we added berries and ice cream on day two!

the other dessert was mini chocolate mousse pies. the mousse is gluten-free, but the pie crust is not. i threw some mouse in small glasses for me to enjoy and i didn't miss the pie crust.

on monday i whipped up the double-tomato bruschetta we considered having on saturday (but we had too much food as it was). sadly, this delicious french bread is not gluten-free....but i did snag a bite or two (or three or four).

our party was a success and as it turned out, we were glad we had all that food laying around. sunday was NOT the day to try to go grocery shopping. neither, for that matter, was monday, tuesday, or probably today!!

okay, so for some recipes:

the moroccan-style meatballs are from a williams-sonoma recipe:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, very finely chopped
1 lb ground lamb
3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp bread crumbs (i used gluten-free crumbs)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2+ tsp freshly ground black pepper
lemon wedges for garnish

directions: heat the oil in a shallow pan. saute the onion until it's very soft - about ten minutes. set aside in a bowl and let cool.  once cool, add the remainder of the ingredients and mix thoroughly with your hands. lightly roll mixture into walnut-sized balls and place into a very lightly oiled baking sheet or a foil-covered cookie sheet. broil on high heat approximately four inches from the heat source for about five minutes per side. drizzle with fresh lemon juice and garnish with lemon wedges. serve immediately.
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for the corn dip:
this one isn't my recipe to share. i'll check in with dave and find out if i can share this one!!
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for the spinach artichoke dip:

8 oz cream cheese (slightly softened)
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup romano cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp salt
1 (14oz) can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
mozzarella cheese for topping, if desired (and actually, i thought it was too much)

directions: mix together all the ingredients except the spinach and artichoke hearts until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. stir in artichoke hearts and spinach. place mixture into a slightly greased baking dish and bake on 350F for 20-25 minutes.

*if i did this again, i would do a few things differently. for one, i think i'd completely leave out the mozzarella topping, or at least scale it down a lot. i also think i'd add a handful of chopped water chestnuts for some crunchiness. besides that, this recipe is delish.
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for the better than sex chocolate cupcakes, i got the recipe here.

basically what you do is make a packaged devil's food cake. while it's cooling, poke holes into the cake, being sure not to go all the way through. pour seven ounces of condensed milk and about six ounces of caramel dessert topping onto the cake, letting it soak in. refrigerate for a few hours, at least (i think overnight is best). top with thawed cool whip topping refrigerate again for an hour. before serving, sprinkle with crushed heath bar.
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for the chocolate mousse, i got the recipe here but i adjusted it a bit. i did the following:

about 7 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups marshmallows
1/2 cup milk (i used skim)
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks
pie crust, if desired

directions: heat the chocolate, marshmallows and milk in a sauce pan over low heat, stirring constantly, until all ingredients are mixed. let cool (the cooling is important!) before folding in the whipped cream. put it into a pie crust if desired, or just put it into serving dishes. refrigerate at least three hours. yum.
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i've been making the double-tomato bruschetta for a while now. it's really really yummy and it's from here.

6 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
1/4 fresh basic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 french baguette
shredded or sliced mozzarella (about 2 cups)

combine the first eight ingredients in a bowl and let sit 10-20 minutes, minimum. slice the baguette into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and broil in the oven until just brown and slightly crunchy, about 1-2 minutes. add mozzarella to the slices and return to the broiler until melted. top with tomato mixture.

rosemary chicken with zucchini and cherry tomatoes

found a really delicious chicken recipe from williams sonoma today. it has tomatoes, shallots, zucchini, rosemary and some white wine.

So here's the recipe:

2 tbs olive oil
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 shallot, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes (halved, if they're large)
1 tsp+ chopped fresh rosemary
salt and pepper (to taste)
4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup dry white wine

directions: on medium-high heat, warm 1 tbs of olive oil. add the zucchini and cook until lightly browned - about six minutes. add the shallot and cook until softened - about 1 minute. add the tomatoes and rosemary and cook until tomatoes are heated through but not collapsed, about two minutes. season with salt and pepper and set aside.

add remaining 1 tbs of olive oil. season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through (about 8 minutes). set aside.

add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil. return the veggies to the pan and cook for 1 minute to reheat...or until most of the wine has cooked/evaporated. transfer to a plate or serving dish and top with chicken breasts.

goes well with white rice or sauteed potatoes (pictured).

burger tuesday (with some sweet potato fries)

i woke up yesterday morning and wanted a burger. no joke. i wanted a burger at 7am. so by midday you can imagine how much i was craving some good ol' american goodness. dave called sometime in the afternoon and i mentioned we were having burgers for dinner. he was momentarily stunned silent. i don't think i've ever made burgers unless we were grilling out on our DC roof deck on a hot day. it's definitely not hot here these days.

when i went grocery shopping, i identified my burger inspiration: sweet potatoes. they're everywhere this time of year, and there are few side dishes out there better than baked sweet potato fries. turns out what i was REALLY craving was sweet potato fries.

easy fix: we had both.

i love caramelized onions.

we had a salad, too. you know, to make ourselves feel better.

vegetable curry

i'm trying to embrace this whole english thing. while the brits aren't known for their food (which i'm learning is truly an unfair stereotype), they are known for their indian food. one of my favorite restaurants here serves indian food and i'm doing my best to learn how to make it at home.

i did a vegetable curry last night that was pretty good. i won't call it stellar (because it wasn't), but with the addition of extra spices, this could be a pretty solid meal.

the recipe came from waitrose magaine, which generally has some pretty good stuff:

2 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 onions, sliced
1 tbsp curry powder
2 green chillies, halves, deseeded, chopped
3 tbsp ground almonds
6 potatoes, peeled, cut into small cubes
6 carrots, peeled, cut into 2cm rounds
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 tsp garam masala
1 cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 handfuls of toasted cashews
2 tbsp coriander, chopped

directions: heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pot and soften the onions for about 5 minutes. add the curry powder, chillies, and almonds and cook for 2 minutes. add 1/2 tbsp oil, the potatoes, and carrots; stir to coat in the spices. add the tomatoes and enough water to cover the vegetables. bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes. about 5 minutes before the curry is ready, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in another pan. add the garam masala, cauliflower and nuts; cook on a high heat for 5 minutes. stir into the curry with the coriander. serve with rice or naan and plain yogurt.

**i really think you could just about DOUBLE all the spices on this recipe...but that's up to you.  

(mostly homemade) chicken and rice soup

when you're not feeling well, you want chicken soup. after returning from a thanksgiving adventure in turkey (an update to follow shortly in SIE), dave was pretty sick. we're talking third-sick-day-in-seven-years sick. he stayed in bed all day. so of course i made him chicken rice soup. gluten-free noodles don't hold up that well when overcooked, as noodles in soup tend to be, so rice was more out of necessity than desire. the result was still tasty.

i used a semi-homemade kind of recipe i found on allrecipes for the base:

2 quarts chicken broth
1 quart water
1 store-bought roasted chicken
little bit of vegetable oil
2 large onions, cut into a medium dice
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
2 large stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick

directions: bring broth and water to a simmer. separate meat from skin and bones of chicken and set meat aside. add skin and bones to the liquid and simmer about 45 minutes. strain broth into a separate container and discard skin and bones. add a drizzle of oil to the pot and add onions, carrots, and celery. saute until just soft. add chicken and broth. simmer 15 minutes or so, then add any additional ingredients you'd like.

(i added 3/4 cup rinsed long-grain rice and simmered for 15 minutes and added 1 cup of frozen peas just before serving.)

for a sick person, a good grilled cheese on fresh french bread makes this even better!! (french bread obviously isn't gluten free!)

chicken with raspberry sauce, sweet potato & squash mash

i'm really trying to embrace autumn. i've always loved fall, but i don't know that i've ever actively tried to incorporate it into my meals. the other night i made cashew-encrusted chicken breasts with mixed veggies and an combo of sweet potato and butternut squash mash. YUM. a double thumbs up goes to the mash and the raspberry sauce i put on the chicken.

a carrot cake NOT to try

while my step-dad was in town, he celebrated his birthday. i thought it fitting to make him a fabulous gluten-free cake, and since his favorite is carrot cake, i went in search of a recipe. i found one in an allergy cookbook (that will not be named since the result was....well, i'll tell you in a minute) and i set to work. the recipe included some cooked mashed carrots, some raw shredded carrots, coconut, raisins, and a whole host of other ingredients - notably, a lot of oil. i was surprised and extremely disappointed after happy birthday was sung and the candles were blown out to find that the cake was DRY. it had the flavor right...but it was most definitely lacking. gluten free fail.

i will say that the frosting was excellent.

peanut butter vegetable chicken soup

yes, i'm serious. i made peanut butter vegetable chicken soup last night and it was delicious! neither dave nor i are feeling top notch so i was in the mood for soup. i found this recipe and had to give it a try. i know it sounds a bit odd, but it ended up being a great meal for us. for one, it has a ton of veggies in it. and two, who doesn't love peanut butter?! (though i must be honest: the flavor at the end isn't really peanut buttery...it has an overall nutty essence.) please forgive the photograph - nothing looks good in green bowls!

the recipe (slightly modified from this one):

8 cups chicken broth
one cup chopped onion
one cup chopped celery
two cloves garlic, roughly chopped
two chicken breasts, cooked and chopped or shredded
one cup peeled and diced carrot
one cup peeled and chopped potato
one cup diced zucchini
one cup broccoli florets
1 can whole tomatoes (including juice), broken up
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

directions:
in a little drizzle of olive oil, saute the onion, garlic and celery until translucent and set aside. meanwhile, in a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil. add the carrot, chicken, and potato, return the broth to a boil, and then simmer for ten minutes. add the onion, garlic, and celery mixture as well as the zucchini, broccoli and tomatoes and simmer for another ten minutes or so. add the peanut butter and mix until the peanut butter has dissolved. i find it best to let the flavors work in for another ten minutes or so. if needed, add a little salt and pepper and/or parsley.

enjoy!

easy tasty turkey chili

when the weather gets cooler, i usually break out the crock pot. last week dave mentioned he'd like some turkey chili and i was happy to oblige. it is, after all, just about the easiest thing to make! (and it's heathy to boot!)

here's the recipe (one of the few almost-all-from-a-can recipes i'll endorse!):

1 package ground turkey (500g or 1lb or 1.25lb...the recipe is forgiving)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 can cannellini beans, drained
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
1 can sweet corn, drained
1/2 to 1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
a few twists of fresh black pepper
salt to taste

to make: saute the onion in a bit of olive oil until soft. add the ground turkey and brown. then dump everything except the corn into the crock pot on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. add the corn about an hour before serving and garnish with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, green onions, or any combination thereof. i often adjust the seasoning a bit towards the end and add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper as needed.

this stuff freezes well as is great as leftovers over a baked potato or as part of a taco salad.

soy honey grilled salmon and grilled vegetable salad

beautiful day = grill time in england.

we marinated some salmon, cut up some veggies, and fired up the grill.

for the marinade (adapted from an allrecipes recipe called 'grilled salmon skewers'):

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

pinch of ground ginger (or fresh if you have it)

after marinating the salmon for about 45 minutes, i got the salmon ready to grill and threw the rest of the marinade in a sauce pan for about five minutes or so to simmer. when the salmon was finished grilling (about 5 minutes per side), i drizzled some sauce over top. 

for the grilled veggies, we used onion, corn on the cob, red and orange peppers, and zucchini. we brushed a little olive oil, soy sauce and honey over them all before throwing them on the grill. once they were adequately blackened (you know what i mean), we cut them up into bite-sized pieces and mixed them all together. 

yum.

for dessert we have gluten-free brownies from the gluten-free girl's blog. anything with a bar of chocolate in it is delicious.

quinoa with black beans with spinach salad

we wanted to keep it quick and light for dinner on sunday night, so i threw together a salad and some dressing i just recently discovered and made my favorite quinoa dish, quinoa and black beans.

the salad was simple: baby spinach, chopped apples, crumbled blue cheese, chopped walnuts, and avocado. the dressing was a raspberry vinaigrette that is really simple (sortof like a semi-homemade deal):

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons raspberry jam
1/3 cup good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
**i halve the recipe when it's just the two of us

i got the quinoa and black beans recipe on allrecipes, which is one of my favorites. here it is:

one onion, chopped

three cloves garlic, chopped

one teaspoon olive oil

3/4 cup quinoa, washed

1 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup frozen corn kernels

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic. saute until lightly browned. add the quinoa, stock, cumin, cayenne and salt and pepper. cover and stir occasionally until the quinoa is fully cooked (about 20 minutes). stir in the corn and let warm through, about 5 minutes. mix in black beans. 

pan fried chicken over noodles

made something quick and simple tonight since i didn't have much time. gluten-free bread crumbs and pasta made this possible. i added some roasted asparagus too. mmmm.

lime coconut chicken

our main grocery store, waitrose, puts out different recipe cards every month. i've picked up several, but i've never attempted a recipe. i changed that last night and made a delicious thai dish with coconut milk and lime. thank you, waitrose!

here's the recipe:

400g chicken breast meat, cut into bite-sized chunks

juice and zest of two limes

160ml of coconut gream

1 tsp light oil

1 green chili pepper, finely chopped (and seeds removed)

3/4 TBLS nam pla fish sauce

20g chopped coriander 

4 spring onions, cut into 2.5cm shreds

- marinate the chicken chunks in the lime juice and zest for at least an hour (reserve marinate when finished)

- stir-fry chicken chunks in the oil on high heat until golden, about 3 minutes

- add the green chili and stir-fry for one more minute

- add lime marinade, coconut cream, fish sauce, and half of the coriander and spring onions, stir-fry for a couple more minutes

- serve over rice with the rest of the coriander and spring onions as garnish.

ginger poached salmon and peanut noodles

a big thanks to sarah for sending me this fantastic salmon recipe from the food network. dave absolutely inhaled everything on his plate. because of timing, i served both the salmon and the peanut noodles warm as opposed to chilled (which were listed as being part of the same menu on the food network site - and of course i substituted gluten-free noodles). i think we'll refrigerate the leftovers and see what it's like tomorrow as well. (that being said, the warm version was excellent.)

i'm going to have to start staking out recipes on this site!  thanks for sharing sarah!

pizza

i've been reading a lot of food blogs recently.  more specifically, i've been reading a lot of gluten-free blogs. across the board, one thing people miss the most when cutting gluten from their diet is bread. that's not much of a surprise though, really. who doesn't love bread? what did surprise me was how many people miss pizza.

epicurious (a great site, if you've never checked it out) had a reasonable looking gluten-free pizza crust recipe that i tried out last night. granted, i had to change some things up since i didn't have chickpea flour or sorghum flour - i substituted with some more rice and tapioca flours - but the end result was...yummy!

we topped the pizza with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, caramelized onions, pepperoni and fresh basil. i tried making the pizza sauce from the recipe but ended up throwing it out. it was just way too salty. luckily i had some store-bought stuff on hand.

lime kabobs with a little heat

for an easy dinner, we grilled on saturday night. i put together some kabobs with chicken, onions, zucchini, and red and yellow peppers and marinated everything for a couple of hours. this marinade has a great lime flavor but with enough chili and cayenne spice to give it a little heat.

curry chicken salad

when we have visitors i often make up some food just to keep in the fridge in case someone gets hungry. this time, i made up some curry chicken salad which always reminds me of my mom's recipe (though i think my version has more fruit in it!).

minestrone soup

i got a great recipe for minestrone soup from a gluten-free blog called the gluten-free girl. (recipe here.) the result was very very tasty, healthy, and of course gluten-free (though dave enjoyed some sliced french bread with his). the recipe was really easy, too, so i'll definitely be making it often!

pot roast and mashed potatoes

it feels like fall around here (though someone in dublin told me i needed to call it "autumn" - always), so i made a meal that works in cold weather - a pot roast. i haven't made one of these in a long time since it takes all day, but a little bit of comfort food was great on a chilly evening. (and i used tapioca flour in place of the wheat flour i would normally use to thicken things up.)

tomatoes and salmon over rice

i first made this dish a few years ago when we were in hawaii and it's been part of a regular rotation ever since. the salmon has dill, paprika, salt and pepper on it, and the whole pan gets a sprinkling of tabasco before it's sprinkled with parmesan. the flavors sound a bit quirky, but it's always tasty over rice!

baked ziti

it's hard to go wrong with baked ziti. unless you're not eating gluten, that is. i went on a limb today and made the traditional bake with rice pasta. dave says he wouldn't have known the difference if i hadn't told him. i only wish i could say the same for the bread i made this afternoon with a combination of rice and almond flours. i won't say that it was bad...it's just that i can't say it was good....in fact, it tasted pretty much as good as it looked.

marcona almonds

i couldn't believe it when i found marcona almonds at the grocery store last week since i've looked before and been unsuccessful. dave popped a few in his mouth when he saw them in the cabinet, made a face and asked me if they had gone stale. Well no, they hadn't, but i also hadn't toasted them yet. i took care of it this morning. they're now dave-approved.

pesto chicken, honey roasted potatoes, and spruced up spinach

yummy! dave didn't love the spinach (though he doesn't really like spinach to begin with), but the chicken and the potato recipes are keepers for sure.

sushi rolls!

there are three delicious foods you can't get in cheltenham: a good steak, decent mexican food, and sushi. to finish off the asian food kick for a while, i took a stab at sushi making today. i made a shrimp and veggie roll, a salmon roll, and a spicy tuna roll. there's no doubt about it - my sushi pales in comparison to even super-market rolls, but it'll have to do for now.

thai spring rolls and peanut noodles

our friends kevin and wendy were in town this weekend and we ended up talking a bit about hong kong and our other travels in asia (kevin and wendy met while they were studying at the hong kong university of science and technology - where i studied as well). it made me decide i needed to make some asian food!

hummus sandwich

i switched up dave's lunch today.  hummus, feta cheese, cucumber, tomato, and carrot on a pita = yummy.

leftover monday

i can't even claim credit for this leftover! this is what was left of my pollo con pesto from zizzi's on sunday night.  dave ate quiche.  easy peasy.

weekend quiche

since we have friends in town, i made up a quiche to have in the fridge for breakfast or for a snack. this one is sans crust and naturally gluten-free.

saturday morning pancakes

one of dave's new favorite breakfasts (for the weekends, anyway) is banana pancakes.  since we had a bit of time yesterday morning, i tried them out using a gluten-free flour they sell at waitrose that is a combination of rice, quinoa, maize, and buckwheat flours. while the flavor is a bit different, the result is still yummy. just in case, i added some chocolate chips to dave's stack.

grilled lime salmon with veggie quinoa

as it's basically turned into fall already (we've turned the heat on), i was pleased and surprised to see the temp hit 68 today. meaning of course that we had to grill (for maybe the last time). though i'll do it, i usually don't like cooking fish - salmon in particular - in the house since it really stinks things up. today was the perfect opportunity to cook outside. i did a veggie quinoa as a side.

gluten substitutes: 1, ashley's assumptions: 0

at the store yesterday i gave in and purchased what appeared to be truly questionable crumpets. the longer i go gluten-free the more i'm beginning to think that it's a good thing for me, so i'm starting to try the gluten-free products out there. one of the five foamy crumpets from the package became the foundation for my turkey sandwich at lunch today.  i took a little nibble before i started and determined it needed a little toasting, but all in all, i'm impressed. it doesn't have the same nice consistency that we're all used to, but honestly it wasn't nearly as bad as i've been imagining. i'll have to revisit the gluten-free aisle at the market.

dave's daily wrap

we were doing some pretty delicious hummus veggie pita sandwiches for a while.  to switch things up, i've been making these turkey wraps for dave to bring for lunch.  because of my gluten-free test i can't eat them, but dave says they're being permanently entered into the lunch rotation.

spicy chicken soup

this turned out to be a tasty, hearty soup that in all honesty is probably better suited for autumn or winter. regardless, we enjoyed ours topped with a bit of cheese and some tortilla chips.  yum! the best part: it's gluten-free!!

for starters

i've been cooking a lot since we've been over here.  toying with new recipes, tweaking old ones, and just having fun.  i thought it might be fun to share.

tonight's meal: spicy chicken soup.