gluten-free Archives - Page 19 of 23

Lunch Misadventures

“So, is anyone here a picky eater?”

The question from a co-worker came as our department sat down at a dim sum restaurant. The restaurant was busy with a lunchtime crowd, and our group took up two large round tables in a private dining room. Already the lazy Susan was laden with dumplings, and another cart filled with delicious food was being wheeled into the room. Everyone was grabbing steamer dishes and exclaiming over flavors.

“Because,” my co-worker continued, “this is not a place for picky eaters.” Then he looked directly at me, like he’d found a picky eater. “Aren’t you going to eat anything?” Continue reading “Lunch Misadventures”

Beef with Broccoli

If there’s one thing I miss about my pre-gluten-free days, it’s going out for Chinese food. Sure, even then, I could make it for myself, but there’s something about the way restaurants prepare the food that had me going back, time and again.

Yeah, that’s generally a solid clue what I ordered wasn’t the most healthy choice on the menu. Except when I ordered beef with broccoli. Done right, it’s a fairly healthy dish. And, it turns out, it’s so easy to make at home.

Which is perfect for those times when I want to treat myself with my favorite food!

Praising the Art of Braising

When a friend hosted a potluck, another friend and I met at happy hour for the sole purpose of hashing out what dishes we would bring to the party. This made perfect sense to us. I was inclined toward chili, particularly since the weekend promised to be on the cool side.

My friend, however, wanted to make traditional goulash — a naturally gluten-free dish. As she described her plans, including making the dish the day before for maximum flavor, I had the most intense craving for the smoky, sweet, addictive dish. While I knew my chili would be excellent, I planned to, well, camp out by her goulash and eat until I burst.

Then disaster struck, and my friend had to change her weekend plans. No goulash from her. Life would go on, and my craving for goulash would remain just that. Except, except, except…

I’d planned to make a chicken chili to balance her beef goulash. I had a boatload of onions — and this dish requires a lot of onion — plus, well, I just happened to have sour cream and lots of paprika in the house. It didn’t take long before my chili morphed into chicken paprikash, a relative of goulash.

The secret to goulash, chicken paprikash, and so many other dishes is braising. Braising uses a combination of moist and dry heat to make delicious foods. The technique is pretty simple: brown your choice of meat in a hot Dutch oven or other suitable dish; saute vegetables as a base for your sauce; add liquid such as stock, scrape up the brown bits in the pan, and get the liquid hot; finally, nestle the browned meat on top of the veggies and liquid and cook, on the stovetop or in the oven, low and slow for a good long time.

Needless to say, braising is a great choice for tough cuts of meat. The long cooking process breaks down the tough connective tissues in the meat, resulting in fork-tender meats. Braising is also perfect for dishes you make in your crockpot. The long, slow cooking process is perfect for party dishes. While the dish is cooking, you’re enjoying your guests.

When you’re ready to serve, just reduce the liquid into a sauce, and, voila!, dinner.

Tip of the Week

Traditional Western braises usually call for stock/broth or wine as the braising liquid. If you want to mix it up or try new flavor ideas, use gluten-free beer, cider, orange juice, or vinegar to add additional flavor to your dish. I particularly love adding orange juice when I’m making Caribbean dishes.

Menu of the Week

Since I’m half Hungarian, I’d like to pretend that I’ve been making this dish since birth. The truth is I’ve only been making it for a few years. While you can make it spicy with the addition of cayenne or hot paprika, I like the way the onions and paprika mellow into a slightly sweet and smoky dish.

Chicken Paprikash
Wilted Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette (saute the kale for about five minutes in a bit of water to wilt the kale)

Chicken Paprikash

This version uses chicken on the bone (I generally use thighs because they are so good and relatively inexpensive), but you can substitute boneless meat. The volume of onions will seem huge, but they cook down pretty quickly. The longer the onions braise, the more they melt into the sauce.

If you’re making this for a party, transfer the browned meat and onions to a crockpot and cook on low for several hours. I prefer using cut-up boneless thighs if I’m making this for a party.

In a Curry

Confession: my idea of a relaxing Sunday afternoon involves chopping, grating, and mixing. When I making curry pastes, there is plenty of all those activities going on. Plus it’s an oddly fast activity, but that’s probably because I don’t hand-grind my spices in a molcajete, or large, rough-surfaced mortar and pestle.

(Of course, even as I type those words, I’m looking on Amazon for the perfect molcajete, because, well, every kitchen needs one!)

Curries are great for weeknight meals because, once you have the paste on hand, it’s a matter of simmering meats and vegetables in sauce and steaming some rice to sop up the delicious curry. My favorite curries have their roots in Indian and Thai cooking, meaning they have lots of flavor. Curries can be mixed with coconut milk, broths, or even water, making them that much more flexible. Continue reading “In a Curry”

Chicken Vindaloo

Vindaloo is a tangy, spicy curry with origins in Portugal — the vin in vindaloo stands for “vinha de alhos”, or wine vinegar. The spiciness comes from a mix of warm spices such as cumin and coriander, as supplemented by a bit of cayenne. My husband would probably eat this dish every day if he could.

If you have time, marinate your chicken — or lamb, beef, pork — in some of the curry paste before cooking. If not, no worries. I prefer chicken thighs over chicken breasts because they carry more flavor. If have breasts on hand, they’re a fine choice.

As with most curries, this recipe is naturally gluten free. The list of ingredients is long, but don’t let that daunt you. The whole thing comes together very quickly!

One of Those Weeks

Most of the time, my weekday life is boring and predictable. I like it that way. Get up, go to work, bang my head against my desk, go home. My meals are under control — if it’s not something I’ve made myself, then it’s likely a meal from a restaurant that I’ve vetted and trust.

There is great comfort in knowing your lunch won’t make you sick for the next week or two.

Sometimes, life is less controlled. Maybe I’m traveling. Maybe I’m attending a conference. Maybe I’m involved in a work situation that doesn’t allow the flexibility of my normal life. Whatever the circumstance, I can’t rely on my safe, gluten-free kitchen or familiar restaurants with familiar options, and bringing my own meals is challenging. Continue reading “One of *Those* Weeks”