Saturday, February 20, 2010

Gluten Free Pizzelles





For Christmas this year I received a Pizzelles maker.  I was beyond excited because I have wanted one of these for years.  Pizzelles are by far one of my favorite "cookies" in the world.  I can remember being little and my Grandma Lu would always make these for the holidays.

My grandmother suffers from altzheimers and a few years ago my sister, my Aunt Sue and I took my grandmothers recipes and put them in a cookbook for our other family members.  This is one thing that all her daughters were sure to fight over.  So we thought why not give it to all of us!  My Grandma Lu is amazing, she has taught me so many things over the years.  I miss her terribly and its hard being so far away.  I'm afraid that she will forget me at some point.  Even if she does I will  never forget her, her love, encouragement, support, wisdom and of course recipes and love of food.

As soon as I received this pizzelles maker, I started searching for recipes right away and found a few.  The first one I tried is AMAZING, tastes just like my gram's recipe and I don't plan on trying another one.

Pizzelles #2 Recipe from Celiac.com

1 whole egg

1 egg white

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup sifted all purpose gluten free flour (I use Bob's Red Mill - see link above for their suggestion)

1/2 teaspoon xantham gum

2 tablespoons melted butter - cooled slightly

1/2 teaspoon gluten free vanilla

If too thin and runny, add another spoon of flour or cocoa.  Beat the eggs and salt in a small bowl until well blended.  Beat in the sugar and beat until sugar is incorporated and the egg is has lightened in color, about 1 minute.  Add the flour and xantham and stir slowly until all flour is moistened.   Beat another 15 seconds to remove all lumps.  Add melted butter and stir until well blended.  Do not over mix. Bake using pizzelle iron.

I followed the directions of my pizzelles maker - use the spoon that it comes with and scoop 1 - 1/2 spoon fulls into the pizzelles maker on setting number 3 or 4 and when the green light comes on pull them off with a heat proof spatula and cool on a rack.

Enjoy...these are seriously awesome.  Bryan loved them too and said he couldn't tell the difference from regular ones!!

Garlic-Basil Shrimp



This super simple recipe has become one of my favorites (and Bryan's too I think).  Its from the "So Easy" cookbook by Ellie Krieger.  You really have to give this a try and best part, the original recipe almost 100% naturally gluten free.  The only substitution I have to make is instead of orzo pasta, I use either white or brown rice

Garlic-Basil Shrimp by Ellie Krieger

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 pounds shrimp (20-25 per pound), peeled and deveined (I used tail on frozen shrimp)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or more to taste

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup finely chopped basil

salt and freshly grounded black pepper, to taste

3 cups of brown or white rice (original recipe calls for whole wheat orzo pasta)

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking, then add the shrimp and cook, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes.  Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the oil remaining in the skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the wine and cook over high heat stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and basil and season the sauce with salt and pepper.  Return the shrimp to the pan and cook just until heated through.  Serve with rice (or orzo).