Fresh Tart

It actually hurt me a little bit to bake a pan of popovers for the photo. I don't miss many things since giving up gluten - mostly good beer, honestly - but oh, popovers! Truly the world's most perfect butter delivery vehicle, soft and eggy, steamy and crusty, marvelously ragged with melted-butter-pooling crevices. In college, I would make myself a batch of twelve, eat eight hot out of the pan - with soft butter - then save four to fry the next morning - in melted butter.

I long for those days.

Make a gluten-free batch, you say? I've tried. They're fine but not holy, not like real popovers, so I'm trying to make my peace with remembering how they taste. I was home alone with the batch pictured, so I just smelled them, watched them cool, put them away, and fried them in butter for my son the next morning to eat with maple syrup.

Ouch.

If you're not as maniacal about butter as I am, keep in mind that popovers are phenomenal with roast beef, particularly beefy pan drippings. If you make a lovely roast for the holidays, use a bit of fat from the pan to grease the muffin tin and call them Yorkshire puddings.

Recipe for Popovers at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

As I mentioned below, I had the pleasure of chatting all things leftovers on Saturday morning, on the Fresh & Local radio show, with host Susan Berkson and Mike Madison of local hip hop group Unknown Prophets. While Mike is a musician by trade, he is also a fantastic cook. His passion for teaching children about good food is completely contagious. We had a great time talking about cooking fresh food, reaching out to chefs like Mike DeCamp at La Belle Vie for ideas and tips, and how involving children in meal preparation is The Way to encourage them to try new and different foods.

Since I had a nice amount of cranberry sauce leftover, I made up a batch of muffins and took them with me to AM950. Despite the fact that I forgot to put sugar in them - I baked them at 6:30 am, hey - the muffins got the thumbs up from Mike and Susan, and from my family, to such a degree that I've made them twice more.

Reicpe for Cranberry Sauce Sour Cream Muffins at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Thanksgiving kicked off when my dad pulled up to the house last Tuesday afternoon, fresh from a quail hunt in Tennessee. My stepmom Susanna flew in a few hours later from Sheridan, Wyoming, their now home.

My house and kitchen were immediately improved. Dad sharpened my knives and starting halving and marinating quail in buttermilk and hot sauce. Susanna started washing dishes, straightening the house, and running loads of laundry. I felt a huge weight lift from my over-scheduled shoulders that can only come from guests who don't ask what needs to be done, but just find things and jump in. Usually those guests are family members, but not always.

Whoever the hell they are, they are always welcome in my home.

Sasha came by for dinner Wednesday night, just home from her freshman year at Wellesley. It was so good to see her! While we all chatted, Dad fried the quail: After their buttermilk soak, he dredged them in flour (gluten-free AP for me, which worked like a charm), let them rest on a rack for 15 minutes or so, then fried them in a couple of inches of hot oil.

My god. Tender-crispy-sublime. We devoured them.

Later that night David, Etta, and my cousin Craig arrived in various shifts from NYC and DC. I had big plans to stay awake to feed them late dinners. I even went for an almost-midnight walk, giddy in the balmy air, but upon return...I totally fell asleep.

Which was probably for the best, given my early-Thursday-morning playdate with butter and herbs and the big ol' turkey that I had brined overnight Tuesday, then let dry out in the fridge overnight Wednesday. That one-two punch always yields ridiculously crispy skin, lightly salty, perfectly buttery. I hit it pretty hard while Dad carved the bird.

In fact, if I could eat just crispy turkey skin and a pile of stuffing and call it Thanksgiving dinner I'd be so happy.

Which is why I am in fact I am happy, because that's exactly what I did.

OK, I - as well as my uncles Bruce and Jim, aunts Mary and Marge, cousin Craig, brother David, sisters Stacey and Etta, John, Mom, Dad, and Susanna - also inhaled these amazing Melissa Clark sour cream mashed potatoes, prepared by Stacey & Susanna. They have earned a do-ahead spot on my Thanksgiving table, for sure. The chives are a particularly lovely addition, as is Parmesan cheese on top. We skipped the called-for breadcrumbs and didn't miss them.

My aunt Mary brought green beans - no, not those green beans. Her version was fresh and simple - fresh beans tossed in an anchovy vinaigrette. Delicious.

I was thrilled with the way the (gluten-free) cornbread stuffing turned out. I added both spicy and sweet sausage, mushrooms, plenty of fresh sage, and Parmesan cheese. We've been frying the leftovers for the last few days, to top with poached eggs... Goodness do that.

My stepmom Susanna was the first to bring this gorgeous wild rice salad to the Thanksgiving table, sometime in the mid-90s, and one of us makes it every year, this year my aunt Mary. The citrus dressing is a welcome sweet-tangy palate cleanser in the midst of lots of buttery sausagey richness.

My mom made a cranberry-orange sauce and The Curry Diva herself, lovely Heather Jansz, gifted me a jar of her precious chutney. Both were stunning with the turkey, at the dinner table and on many sandwiches afterward.

I got too busy eating, talking, and drinking wine to snap a pic of my aunt Marge's perfect pumpkin chiffon and pecan pies! No! Needless to say, they were attacked as usual. Gone baby gone. She is a master.

I made this Michael Ruhlman oven stock from the carcass. It's the best stock I've made and so easy! With the stock, turkey, and leftover mashed potatoes I made a shepherd's pie, which we dug into last night. And turkey wild rice soup and latkes, which we ate Saturday night. And I'll be making this Mark Bittman turkey & spinach coconut curry for tomorrow. (I'm taking a break from turkey today...I need a little breathing space. Uff.)

Mom's cranberry sauce has appeared in three batches of muffins, one of which I brought with me to AM950 on Saturday morning, when I was on the Fresh & Local Show with Mike Madison of Unknown Prophets. We talked leftovers for an hour with host Susan Berkson and barely scratched the surface! The whole conversatoin left me starving so I came home and made myself a big batch of turkey nachos. I do so love turkey with chiles.

What fun have you been having with leftovers? I hope you all had a terrific holiday!

Last Thanksgiving was my first since giving up gluten, so to keep things easy, I just skipped eating my favorite part of my favorite meal...the dressing. Boo! I really missed it, as much as I dig turkey and mashed potatoes.

Which is very, very much.

This year, particularly since I'm hosting, I decided to play around a bit and see if I could come up with a gluten-free dressing. Even though it's not my family's tradition, I'm a big fan of cornbread dressing, loaded with sausage and fresh sage; given that cornbread can be made gluten-free quite nicely, it seemed a particularly tasty place to start.

The beauty of this dressing - and all dressing - is that you can add in whatever you like. Apples, nuts, wild rice, cheese, mushrooms, oysters, pork in any form, any herb, on and on.

Recipe for Cornbread Dressing at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

I worked out this decadent, completely over-the-top (gluten-free!) dish with the help of friends Andrew Zimmern, Scott Pampuch, and Ken Okumura.  A delicious, collaborative blast.

Recipe for Poached Egg, Crispy Pork Belly, & Watercress on Rice Flour-Potato Pancake with Bacon-Maple Vinagrette (whew!) at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.  Have at it!

PS I realize that's two poached egg posts in a row.  I'll give it a rest for awhile, I promise.

Corner Table Restaurant chef/owner Scott Pampuch's recipe for Roast Chicken Sandwich with Pickled Marmalade, on Sunstreet Breads baguette, from Corner Table's Farm & Table Community Supported Kitchen (CSK) box, at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Say that 20 times after a glass of champagne...

Recipe for Orange Yogurt Pancakes at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

This is a recipe from the excellent blog Elana's Pantry.  Since giving up gluten, I've been mining her extensive recipe database, feeling inspired and thrilled.  Elana is an expert at baking with almond flour, a delicious and nutritious substitute for wheat flour (unlike other gluten-free flour concoctions, which are fine once in awhile, but are for the most part highly refined starch and fillers).

I tend to enjoy savory breakfasts (eggs, eggs, eggs!), but once in awhile pancakes are exactly what I'm hungry for, usually on Sundays.  Not only are these pancakes gluten-free, they're also naturally low-carbohydrate and deliver a nice serving of protein.  I found them to be incredibly adaptable - add water to create the consistency you like.

I made fluffly silver-dollar pancakes, and then thinned the batter to make a few crepes.  Both versions turned out beautifully.

Elana's recipes call for blanched almond flour, which I ordered online (here are her recommended resources).  The Bob's Redmill almond meal you can find at grocery stores will not work for her recipes.  The bag I ordered, from Honeyville, is large and will be lasting me for many months! 

In the spirit of the holiday season, leave your name in the comments below, and next Sunday I'll draw a name to give away a bag of Honeyville's blanched almond flour.  If you have no interested in gluten-free baking, leave your name on my Fresh Tart Facebook page, where I'm giving away Dorie Greenspan's latest cookbook, Around My French Table!

On a non-food-related note - a huge thank you to the kind person who nominated me as a Twin Cities Top Ten Titan in Social Media 2010.  I feel like the cutest boy in high school just asked me on a date, squee!

Oh, and one more - if you blog about food (a little or a lot, for yourself or for others) and you live in the land of Uff Da, check out (and add yourself to!) the Minnesota Food Bloggers Facebook page.  And be sure to pencil in a networking event at 128 Cafe on February 7, 2011!  Follow on Twitter #MNFoodBloggers.

And yet one more!  I used the same Honeyville blanched almond flour to make these decadent (gluten-free) Almond Triangle Christmas cookies for the LoveFeast Table cookie exchange.  Buttery caramel almond-crunch heaven.  Yeah.

Almond Flour Pancakes
From Elana's Pantry
Makes 16 silver dollar-size pancakes

3 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. agave nectar (optional)
1 1/2 c. blanched almond flour (see note above)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
water
oil for cooking (grapeseed or almond)

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and agave nectar (if using).  Add almond flour, salt, and baking soda and mix until thoroughly combined.  Add enough water to thin batter to desired consistency (I started with 1/4 c. and kept adding until I achieved pancake batter consistency).

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add a little oil and when it's hot, cook pancakes (2-3 Tbsp. of batter each) until browned on both sides.  Serve hot.  (Cover and chill remaining pancakes.  Reheat in the microwave, or use cold for sandwiches.)

Here's a...thing.  Due to health problems I'd been experiencing for the last couple of years (puffy eyes/hands, fatigue, joint pain), and given that I'm otherwise totally healthy (blood pressure and cholesterol-wise), I started experimenting with eliminating various foods from my diet.

I started with nuts, then eggs, then dairy.

I felt exactly the same.

And then...I eliminated gluten/wheat, about a month ago, and I haven't looked back.

Puffy eyes - gone.  Fatigue - gone.  Joint pain - gone.  I feel fantastic, I look like myself again, and so far at least, it's been the easiest dietary change I've ever made.  It helps that I'd developed a subconscious aversion to pasta, bread, and even beer, because it was making me feel like hell.  I watch my son & stepdaughter tear into a baguette, and while they're happy as clams, I feel sick to my stomach for them.

For those of you who feel not only fine but great eating wheat and other grains, don't worry - I'm still going to include the same variety of foods here on Fresh Tart that I always have.  The rest of my family eats plenty of grains without consequence, and it's not hard for me to make them the dishes they still love and just adapt them for myself.

I'm personally coming to the conclusion that there is no one right way to eat, that diet is very individual.  Some people thrive on grains, others feel awful (like me!). Some are sickly without meat in their diets, some can't tolerate it at all.  (Everyone likes fruit and veggies, right?  Ha!)  I think we should all skip daily doses of sugar, soda, and processed and junk foods, but I've always felt that way (therefore this blog!).

I'm alone in that thought in this household, by the way...

Bottom line: You'll still find all varieties of fresh, real foods here.

In the meantime, if you're a coconut lover like I am (obsessed!), check out these grain-free, gluten-free coconut pancakes that I found from the Mark's Daily Apple website (a great resource for grain-free, gluten-free ideas).  They have an almost macaroon-like texture, lightly sweet from the coconut itself, and are utterly heavenly with ripe berries.  I layered in some cottage cheese because that's always how I eat pancakes, but you could easily skip it and just go for the berries.

On another note, I was recently Twitterviewed (interviewed on Twitter!) by Joel E. Carlson, a local social media guru and consultant.  I had coffee with him a couple of weeks ago and he is one of the nicest, easiest to chat with people in town.  Follow him on Twitter @JoelECarlson.

And if you're interested, check out the transcript of my interview on his site, Joel's Views.

Grain-Free Coconut Pancakes
Adapted from a recipe by Adam Kayce on Mark's Daily Apple
Serves 8

2 eggs
1 can coconut milk (not the light version; Taste of Thai brand is nice)
1 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c. almond meal
1/2 tsp. of almond extract (or cinnamon)

sliced berries
cottage cheese (optional)

In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs with a fork.  Add coconut milk, coconut, almond meal, and almond extract, and stir until evenly incorporated.

Cook pancakes on a greased nonstick griddle, keeping in mind that 1) it's easier to handle smaller pancakes; I make them silver-dollar size, 2) the pancakes need to be cooked on the first side until they're almost dry, with nicely browned egdes, before flipping them, and 3) the pancakes are very tender, so flip gently.  After the first one or two, you'll have the hang of them, they're not difficult to handle, just a bit different than a typical pancake.

Serve hot with sliced berries, and cottage cheese (if using).

Note: If you don't use all of the batter, it keeps nicely in the fridge for up to a week.

You might be looking for new, delicious ways to use zucchini right about now.  How did I know?  Crazy right, how I read your mind?

I'm good that way.

These savory pancakes are hardly new, but they are certainly delicious.  Filled with fresh herbs and salty bits of feta cheese, the pancakes pop hot off the griddle tender and eggy, with beautifully crispy edges.  Rarrr.

Make them larger for a satisfying main course, or dial them down for a pretty appetizer.  Either way, serve the pancakes hot, with a cool garlic-yogurt sauce.  (A fresh tomato sauce would be delicious as well).

Turkish Zucchini Pancakes
Adapted from Bon Apetit Magazine, January 1996
Makes about 20

1 lb. zucchini, trimmed, coarsely grated
2 c. chopped green onions
4 eggs, beaten to blend
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. chopped fresh dill (or mint)
1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon or 2 tsp. dried
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
2/3 c. chopped walnuts, optional

1 c. Greek yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. minced dill
1/2 tsp. salt

Place zucchini in colander.  Sprinkle zucchini with salt and let stand 30 minutes to drain. Sqeeze zucchini between hands to remove liquid, then squeeze dry in paper towels.

In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, garlic, dill, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine zucchini, chopped green onions, 4 eggs, herbs, salt, and pepper in medium bowl.  Mix well. Fold in crumbled feta cheese.  (Zucchini mixture can be prepared 3 hours ahead.  Cover tightly and refrigerate.  Stir to blend before continuing.)  Fold chopped walnuts into zucchini mixture (if using).

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.  Place baking sheet in oven.  Cover bottom of large nonstick skillet with olive oil.  Heat skillet over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, drop zucchini mixture into skillet by heaping tabespoonfuls.  Fry until pancakes are golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer each batch of pancakes to baking sheet in oven to keep warm.  Serve pancakes hot with yogurt sauce.