The What's For Dinner Tonight Chat

[IrishHeart]

I have always found the title "better than sex cake" to be a flat out lie. No cake is that good

and that's a high bar to set lol.  But I bet it's dang tasty.

Say Happy Bday to your son for me!

 

Thanks, Guys.

Yes, it sure is good to be alive and kicking instead of dead. 

 

Now, gimme a piece o'cake.

[Celiac Mindwarp]

I am not sure what a silly birthday is, but I am up for celebrating anything which involves cake

[GF Lover]

Happy 3rd to Irish  Having a cup cake in your honor

 

Colleen

[Adalaide]

Happy 3rd to Irish  Having a cup cake in your honor

 

Colleen

 

You were gonna have a cupcake anyway.

[IrishHeart]

I am not sure what a silly birthday is, but I am up for celebrating anything which involves cake

 

Clever Ski made it up. It marks the day we stopped eating the poison. It's the first day of our new life. 

11/1/10....so, I'm 3 today. And yes, I feel like a happy toddler.

It also marks the beginning of "birthday month" and the holidays, our anniversary, J's bday, yadda yada yadda.

We get carried away with  these celebrations in our home. A giant festival from 11/1---1/1.

 

 

You were gonna have a cupcake anyway.

 

oh come now....don't be throwing your celiac sister under the bus that way.   She was using it for an excuse.

Coll---eat another one for me! xx

Wish I had a cupcake.....damn it! 

[GF Lover]

Addy busted me.  I admit it, I was gonna have one anyway   But it was way better knowing I was celebrating good health!!

 

Love you guys

 

Colleen

[Adalaide]

Addy busted me.  I admit it, I was gonna have one anyway   But it was way better knowing I was celebrating good health!!

 

Love you guys

 

Colleen

 

Hey, whether or not it was going down the hatch anyway a reasonably good excuse isn't a bad idea. I do things like that to justify some of my bad habits.

[IrishHeart]

 Truth be told, I never feel like I have to justify anything I do. 

[Marilyn R]

We had chicken wraps with avocado, ranch dressing, romaine, water cress, onion and cheese with sides of potatoes roasted in rendered duck fat and  steamed sugar snap peas.  Never got around to dessert .  Beloved dumb dog that is faster than a speeding bullet ran away.  (She's back.)  Lucky me.

[GF Lover]

Help needed from my fine foodie friends. 

 

I am determined to make a great Thanksgiving feast this year.  I'm going to make that crock pot stuffing.  I'm going to use both corn bread (I have a Hogson Mills mix) and some packaged bread.  I don't have a mixer so can't make my own).  I'll toast it all first but I can't tear the bread into chunks so ill just cube it.  Does all that sound okay so far?

 

I'm also going to attempt a pie.  I know there's a Pillsbury crust ready made and I saw where Bob's. Red Mill has a crust mix or should I attempt a home made one?  Also I want to make both pumpkin and apple.  Any good recipes you guys have would be great.  Please keep in mind I have more cooking failures than successes.   I need very detailed instructions or I will hunt you down and make you eat what I made . 

 

Thanks, 

 

 

Colleen 

[Adalaide]

If you have literally never made a pie crust before, you should either get practice or go with a package instead of making your first one on a holiday. I'm not saying you'll fail but apparently I've been told it's a difficult thing to master. I wouldn't have a clue, having grown up in my Grammy's kitchen I could roll a pie crust by the time I was 5 and I think I was 12 the time my grandfather told my Grammy that he thought the pie he was eating was the best she'd ever made. She informed him that his granddaughter had made it. Thankfully for him they were beyond the age or pettiness where he would have ended up on her s$#& list. Anyway, I make all my pie crusts from scratch and exclusively with lard as the fat. A lot of people have trouble getting a feel for exactly how much water to add I guess is where the problem is. If you've done it before, I would recommend doing that or maybe BRM. If you haven't, do Pillsbury or a frozen crust that has a good reputation.

 

A frozen crust will be fine with apple pie, don't worry about the top. Why? Because apple crumb pie is about 1000% better than one topped with a crust. As a matter of fact I can't remember ever topping one with a crust in my life. I guess maybe that makes me biased? But it frees up your options too. And, my flavor and bias aside, a crumb pie looks more "fall-ish" than a crust topped pie.

 

Look up whatever Alton Brown says to do with a turkey, then when you cook it put it in an oven bag. I use rice flour, but any old AP would probably be fine too in it. They tell you to put a small amount of flour in the bag, hold it closed and shake it to coat the inside of the bag so it doesn't pop while cooking. If you don't like his spices and such, you can find literally hundreds of recipes out there for different ones, but I've never been steered wrong by Alton. This may not even be his only turkey recipe, idk, but I like it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

 

You have to be pretty specific on what types of veggies and sides you want to do if you want help with those from me. I'm a plain old candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, creamed corn casserole, green bean casserole kind of person. I'm sure that there are plenty of other brilliant ideas floating around here though.

[Adalaide]

Oh right, so I made chili last night and I didn't know how it would turn out because I've never made chili before. Apparently chili is idiot proof, and it was amazing. I think though the recipe didn't want enough beans, I wasn't thrilled with the meat:bean ration so I'll have more beans handy next time. I also don't seem to be having any ill effects at all from the kidney beans. I don't know if it's because I didn't have a lot or because there is something inherently different about them than pinto but no problems so I'm pretty thrilled.

 

And, when I mixed in the chili with the mac & cheese... omg! It was so good.

 

Tonight we're going to just have the rest of the chili. I think I'll go to the store and fetch some more beans for it. I'll also make some cornbread, and with any luck my timing will be good enough for it to be fresh and warm just when my husband gets home.

[shadowicewolf]

I intend to do a crumble topped apple pie. I got some of the Pillsbury pastry and pie crust, so i will try that.

 

For those who have used it, does it have to be rolled out? I'm asking because i do not have a rolling pin or anything similar that i could substitute. When i made the pizza, i just estimated with my hands.

[GF Lover]

If you have literally never made a pie crust before, you should either get practice or go with a package instead of making your first one on a holiday. I'm not saying you'll fail but apparently I've been told it's a difficult thing to master. I wouldn't have a clue, having grown up in my Grammy's kitchen I could roll a pie crust by the time I was 5 and I think I was 12 the time my grandfather told my Grammy that he thought the pie he was eating was the best she'd ever made. She informed him that his granddaughter had made it. Thankfully for him they were beyond the age or pettiness where he would have ended up on her s$#& list. Anyway, I make all my pie crusts from scratch and exclusively with lard as the fat. A lot of people have trouble getting a feel for exactly how much water to add I guess is where the problem is. If you've done it before, I would recommend doing that or maybe BRM. If you haven't, do Pillsbury or a frozen crust that has a good reputation.

 

A frozen crust will be fine with apple pie, don't worry about the top. Why? Because apple crumb pie is about 1000% better than one topped with a crust. As a matter of fact I can't remember ever topping one with a crust in my life. I guess maybe that makes me biased? But it frees up your options too. And, my flavor and bias aside, a crumb pie looks more "fall-ish" than a crust topped pie.

 

Look up whatever Alton Brown says to do with a turkey, then when you cook it put it in an oven bag. I use rice flour, but any old AP would probably be fine too in it. They tell you to put a small amount of flour in the bag, hold it closed and shake it to coat the inside of the bag so it doesn't pop while cooking. If you don't like his spices and such, you can find literally hundreds of recipes out there for different ones, but I've never been steered wrong by Alton. This may not even be his only turkey recipe, idk, but I like it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

 

You have to be pretty specific on what types of veggies and sides you want to do if you want help with those from me. I'm a plain old candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, creamed corn casserole, green bean casserole kind of person. I'm sure that there are plenty of other brilliant ideas floating around here though.

 

Ok.  Got the turkey recipe book maked.  Thank you.

 

I'll go with the Pillsbury pie crust like Shadow.  So here is my intended menu:

 

Turkey by Alton Brown

Crock Pot Stuffing

Creamed Corn Casserole, Addy ... can I have your recipe?

Green Bean Casserole, Addy ... recipe please?

Candied Sweet Potatoes, Addy?

Mashed Potatoes

Rolls

Cranberry salad, recipe needed

 

Apple Pie with crumbled top, recipe needed

Pumpkin Pie, recipe needed

 

That's it right now.  I'm really excited to do this up right.  I kinda missed the Holidays last year for health reasons.

 

Thanks Guys

 

Colleen

[IrishHeart]

Colleen,

To answer your question about cubing the bread? yes, sure! I cube mine sometimes. It does not matter.

 

I can give you a pie dough recipe that is awesome and not that hard to make. 

Do you have a rolling pin? Not being a wise guy, here, I am just asking.

 

 or I can give you a pumpkin pie recipe with ginger snap cookie crust

and an apple crisp recipe so good you will not care about conventional pie crust.

 

But before we continue, you have to promise me that you will stop saying you cannot cook or bake and that you suck at it.

You have to change your view. This ain't rocket science, tootsie and part of the fun and success of kitchen mastery

is to go at it with the idea that you can do this.

okee dokee?

[GF Lover]

Colleen,

To answer your question about cubing the bread? yes, sure! I cube mine sometimes. It does not matter.

 

I can give you a pie dough recipe that is awesome and not that hard to make. 

Do you have a rolling pin? Not being a wise guy, here, I am just asking.

 

 or I can give you a pumpkin pie recipe with ginger snap cookie crust

and an apple crisp recipe so good you will not care about conventional pie crust.

 

But before we continue, you have to promise me that you will stop saying you cannot cook or bake and that you suck at it.

You have to change your view. This ain't rocket science, tootsie and part of the fun and success of kitchen mastery

is to go at it with the idea that you can do this.

okee dokee?

 

Ok.  As of this minute, I will go forward with confidence and the knowledge that I do have the skills to do this.  Thanks Irish, you always know what to say to me.

 

I think the pumpkin pie with ginger snap crust would be awesome, I'm addicted to ginger snaps anyway

I do want to try the pie crust with the apple and I do have a rolling pin

 

Colleen

[Marilyn R]

A very picky co-worker (and good cook) told me the ready made gluten-free pie crusts at Whole Foods are really good.  I don't know the brand, but she told me about them several times.  That would be my recipe, I fail at baking gluten-free too!!!  Pretty much gave up on it.

[IrishHeart]

COLLEEN

Holy smokes! 

 

I see that BRM has come out with a ready-made pie crust.  Well, this may be easier for you than screwing with

mixing a blended flour mix and then assembling a crust. Just a suggestion.  

 

check this out!

 

http://blog.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free/amazing-gluten-free-apple-pie/

 

But, if you want to make it from scratch, I love Pete and Kelli Bronski's recipe for pie crust.

If you have these pantry items on hand, it's easy.

 

Single Batch Artisinal Flour Mix (about 3 cups)

1 1/4 cups (156g) brown rice flour
3/4 cup (88g) sorghum flour
2/3 cup (90g) cornstarch
1/4 cup (37g) potato starch
1 tbsp + 1 tsp (14g) potato flour
1 tsp (3g) xanthan gum

 

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups  of the flour mix above
1 tsp salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold, unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/3 cup ice water
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Steps

• Sift the flour with salt into a large bowl. Cut the butter into half-inch cubes, and use your fingertips or a pastry cutter to blend the butter into the flour until the mix has pea-size butter lumps.

• In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, water and vinegar, using a fork. Then, add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until everything has incorporated.

• Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently with the heel of your hand a few times. Don't overwork the dough.

• Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

 

Peter Bronski notes:

gluten-free dough is fragile, and can be frustrating to work with if you're not patient. Whether you're making a pie crust, forming empanadas, or using it for some other purpose, follow these rules of thumb: When you begin rolling out the dough, place it between two sheets of plastic wrap (both to protect the dough and to prevent it from sticking to and tearing on the counter). Once the dough is rolled out to the width of the plastic wrap, remove the top sheet and place it parallel to and slightly overlapping beneath the first sheet. Then continue to roll out the dough across the second sheet to your desired thickness. If you're making empanadas, you can cut out the discs directly from here. If you're making a pie, leave the dough on the plastic wrap, invert it into your pie tin or Pyrex, and then peel away the plastic wrap.

 

You could use this recipe for apple pie or as a bottom crust for classic pumpkin pie.

 

The G F pumpkin cheesecake with ginger snap crust I love is here:

 

Note: I use Pamela's certified G F gingersnap cookies. 

 

http://www.food.com/recipe/pumpkin-cheesecake-with-gluten-free-gingersnap-crust-257730

 

If you prefer not to have cheesecake, then go with classic pumpkin pie recipe.

 

I assume you know what the apple pie filling involves, but if not, let me know.

Happy Baking!

xx 

[GF Lover]

OK.  I'm having a panic attack !  I'm thinking BRM mix has my name on it, although I'm going to keep the pie crust recipe to try at a later time and I was taking a closer look at the Alton Brown Turkey link and I saw "brining" and my heart stopped.  I seriously though "brine" had to do with shrimp.  I like the pumpkin cheesecake thing so that's locked in now. 

 

Now this is a little embarrassing but, I don't know how to make an apple pie  so yes, I need a recipe. 

 

Thanks Irish...

[IrishHeart]

OK.  I'm having a panic attack !  I'm thinking BRM mix has my name on it, although I'm going to keep the pie crust recipe to try at a later time and I was taking a closer look at the Alton Brown Turkey link and I saw "brining" and my heart stopped.  I seriously though "brine" had to do with shrimp.  I like the pumpkin cheesecake thing so that's locked in now. 

 

Now this is a little embarrassing but, I don't know how to make an apple pie  so yes, I need a recipe. 

 

Thanks Irish...

 

 

First rule of cooking: DO NOT PANIC (with a nod to Douglas Adams--which Karen will understand LOL)

 

(1)  go with BRM and follow the recipe in the link I posted.

 

(2) I am not a big fan of brining, myself. I know, I know you are all going to say" but it's great."

yeah, okay. A dry brine is just as good. I am old school. LOL

 

(3) Before we get all fancy, try making your turkey like this, hon....look at the pounds to determine how long to cook it, okay? I baste every half hour.

 

http://www.butterball.com/how-tos/roast-a-turkey

[ItchyAbby]

*butts in* Oh hi! Are we talking about pie crust? I am tasked with making the pies for my family turkey day dinner this year and I am excited/nervous. I was also looking at trying out the BRM pie crust mix but I am also wanting to try to make the lard crust from the cookbook Beyond Bacon. I LURRRRRVE lard pie crust! Now I just have to figure out how to make a pumpkin pie without egg yolks since I am still low iodine.

 

On another note: I have been baking/experimenting a lot in the kitchen the past few days after searching for bread recipes in these here forums. The outcomes have ranged from good to hilarious. (gluten-free baking is one thing; gluten-free + LI baking is ridonkulous) I tried a baguette recipe that look promising but tweaked it a bit. It came out of the oven looking pretty darn good. I turned my back on it for a couple of minutes to make the salad and when I turned back around it looked like a deflated balloon. WOMP WOMP. The outside was nice and crusty, the inside was a sticky mess. (As I was mixing it up I thought "That may be too much tapioca". Looks like I was right!) But I wasn't ready to give up yet! By hook or by crook, I was going to eat this thing! So I sliced it in half exposing the inside, brushed a little olive oil over, littered tons of garlic on it and some herbs and passed it under the broiler until it was brown and crispy. Voila! Garlic bread! (This was the recipe I butchered tested: http://www.thedailydietribe.com/2013/01/5-ingredient-mondays-easy-french-bread.html subbing 1 cup almond flour and 3/4 cup tapioca for the white rice flour. Next time I will try less tapioca maybe 1/3 cup and the rest almond flour? Any tips on getting ratios right gladly accepted)

 

I am also working on de-graining the bun in a bowl recipe (pretty good results so far!) and still trying to perfect some muffins sans eggs. This is fun!

 

Dinner tonight:

Shepherd's pie (I use white sweet potatoes on top instead of regular potatoes. So tasty!)

Big ol' salad with my new favorite dressing: Avocado oil, lime juice, a leetle glug of maple syrup, S+P

Chocolate pudding (super ripe bananas, avocado, coconut milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, skosh of salt, blenderized until smooth. It's really good!)

[IrishHeart]

Oh yes! (I have to say this again ) 

 I am "old school" and I use LARD in my pie crust recipe.

 

The Bronski's recipe is about as close as it gets to my Grammy's pie crust. I just sub LARD for the butter.

Not kidding.

I wrote to Pete Bronski and told him so and he was pleased.

 

My Mom, (also gluten-free) is the undisputed pie maker in the family--and she declared it "OMG! this is as good as mine!"

 

The hubs and I (and the cat) were equally dumbfounded. She is cheap with accolades. LOL

[GF Lover]

OK.  I had a cup cake for dinner and feel much better  and "lard" scares me !

 

I feel better about the turkey already.  Irish?  Can you tell me how to make an apple pie?  I would like to use real apples.

 

Pretty Please

 

Colleen

[answerseeker]

I vote we all go to Colleen's for Thanksgiving the menu sounds amazing

 

dinner tonight: mediterranean pasta (penne with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and feta cheese). served with artichokes

[IrishHeart]

OK.  I had a cup cake for dinner and feel much better  and "lard" scares me !

 

I feel better about the turkey already.  Irish?  Can you tell me how to make an apple pie?  I would like to use real apples.

 

Pretty Please

 

Colleen

 

 

Honey, of course we use real apples,,,,what else would we use?

 

Okay, did you read the link to the BRM apple pie recipe cuz, babes...there are real apples in there.   

 

OH, do not fear the LARD! it is shortening. It's good for pies. I promise. But that's a moot point if you are going to follow the BRM recipe, ok?

 

I tell you what. When you come to FL, you visit and we'll make an "old-school"  pie.