Oven Baked Chicken

Chicken is my default protein. I have a handful of ways of making it, but after a while, it just gets boring. I'm not going to lie, I started looking at oven baked chicken recipes just so I could get out of the kitchen and watch some TV while dinner cooked itself. I checked out this recipe from food.com and loved the simplicity of it. Throw together some spices, rub on chicken thighs, throw in oven, remove 50 minutes later.

No joke, this is the most flavorful chicken I've had! And some of the fastest to prepare! The spice rub is really basic: ground cumin, paprika, ground tumeric, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and cinnamon with a bit of olive oil. The chicken thighs defrost remarkably well, so there is no reason not to cook a few servings of this and freeze the rest to add with some greens and grains for a healthy meal in no time!

I'm glad I got out of my chicken rut with this recipe! What's your surprise new favorite way of cooking meat?

Wilton Flowers and Cake Design - Class 2

The second lesson in the Wilton Flowers and Cake Design class was all about royal icing flowers. I'm an expert at making royal icing - two pound bag of powdered sugar, 6 T meringue powder and 10 T water, put in a stand mixer, walk away for 7-10 minutes. My kind of recipe!

In class, we were only supposed to make rose bases and rose centers, but our instructor taught us how to complete the rose so we have three solid weeks of practice making the Wilton Rose. My rose bases and rose centers leave a little something to be desired - they do not stand up as straight as the instructor's do, but I was able to finish the rose much better than the ribbon rose from Decorating Basics.

We also made apple blossoms (small flower) and primroses (larger flower with yellow star) with our decorating nail. Once I got the hang of the curving motion, these were a breeze to make.

I had the most difficulty with the rosebud - I'm left handed so have to create it essentially backwards and I couldn't wrap my head around it as easily as everything else I was doing. And then the sepals started looking like octopus legs until my instructor pointed out how to correct that.

Afterwards, I had a lot of royal icing flowers that I do not intend to use on my final cake, so I brought them to work on Valentine's Day and shared roses with people in my department and primroses with some of the attorneys. What a nice sugar rush to start the morning!

Wilton Flowers and Cake Design - Class 1

This February, I started the second class in the Wilton cake decorating series: Flowers and Cake Design. New instructor, new classmates, and thankfully a lot less baking than the first course. (In the Decorating Basics, we brought in baked goods for four weeks in a row; this time we only need to bake a cake for the last class.)

What I really like about this class is that it is much more technique based. We only made two flowers in two hours, but now I know how they made the flowers on the cake at the bakery outside my bus stop! (Bonus points for applying my knowledge in the real world!) This was my first time ever working with Gum Paste and Fondant. I was transported back to childhood while working with the fondant - it is just like working with clay. After all the manipulation (kneading it, rolling it out, pressing it), it kind of makes me paranoid about cakes from designer bakeries. (Are you sure they washed their hands?)

The first flower we created was the button flower. The supply list called for the neon fondant multi-pack, but the store was sold out so I went with primary colors. The button flower was really basic - roll the fondant out, place it in the mold, and ever so carefully, remove it and let it dry in a flower forming cup so it does not dry flat. I swear, I had a kit that I used that was very similar to the flower press for paper flowers when I was a kid. I guess I can credit my beautiful flowers with years of practice.

Next up was the pansy. After forming the flower shape with a cookie cut, you mold the petals edges with the ball tool. They turned out really cool, but I am partial to the monochromatic pansies. Oh well, at least I can show my (grade) school pride with my color choices!

T's Bar in Andersonville

Dining out in a large group can sometimes be a pain. I've learned to flag down the waiter on his first trip to the table (while everyone else is just picking up the menu) and hand over my Triumph dining card, explain that I'm gluten and lactose intolerant, and ask for suggestions. It's a rhythm I'm used to at this point. When dining out with a large group after church one Sunday, the rhythm was interrupted. The waiter said the head chef just stepped out but as soon as she returned, she'd be over to talk with me. A few minutes later, the head chef and I were talking about food I liked and how she was going to prepare it! Normally, I'll settle for a plain chicken breast and veggies when out, but she was getting excited about the flavors and her excitement was contagious. We talked through a dish - salmon over a bead of steamed spinach with tomatoes and roasted pumpkin seeds. About ten minutes later, she stopped by the table again and asked if I would like a plain potato - she was making them for mashed potatoes and at that point in the process they were safe for me to eat. The food arrived along with everyone else's and was delicious. I had a colorful plate with food that was created with me in mind. The food was wonderfully seasoned and I cleaned my plate. And when the check came, I was pleasantly surprised by seeing my order as "chef's special" - listed at the same price of the other entrees.

I am extremely happy to have such a positive dining experience at a neighborhood bar restaurant - especially one that my church friends frequent! T's Bar and Restaurant is located at 5025 N Clark in Chicago in Andersonville. Their menu is awesome and inspiring - I'm planning on making chili tots myself so I can have a gfcf version! Even as just one face in a group of over a dozen, I had amazing service and I cannot wait to return!

Other restaurants take note - this is how gluten free dining should be!

Butternut Squash Soup

I needed a hands-off meal today, so I turned to my underused slow cooker. I found a great recipe for Butternut Squash soup that is dairy free, gluten free, and incidently, allergen free! The inspiration for the meal started before the recipe, so I made it without apples and cloves, but it still tasted great!

The ingredients are simple enough: chicken broth (straight from my freezer), 1 butternut squash, olive oil, onions, apples, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, coriander, and cinnamon. For the recipe, visit A Year of Slow Cooking's entry. My struggle with slicing the squash was the same as with spaghetti squash - take the biggest knife I have and cut the squash on my lowest workable surface (my kitchen table is several inches lower than my counters so is my go to spot for dangerous knife skills) and carefully try to not cut my hand off. I feel like a guillotine would be appropriate for this task...why hasn't someone made it?

About four and a half hours later, the soup was done cooking. I used my immersion blender and it took only a minute or two to transform chunks of squash and onions into a thick yet creamy soup. Topped with Italian parsley, this soup truly hit the spot on this chilly night. And can I mention how cheap this was to make? It probably cost less than a dollar for each generous serving!

Ian's Fish Sticks

Growing up, I HATED Friday's in Lent. We were Catholic so that meant my mom cooked fish. I only tried fish sticks a few times and then refused to ever eat fish again. That lasted from probably the age of six or seven until I was in my mid twenties and about to take a cruise with my family. I was newly gluten free at the time and realized I better learn quickly if I was allergic since my dining options would be limited. Turns out I absolutely love fish and I had a ton to eat (including some of the freshest fish) on the cruise.

Ian's Fish Sticks are gluten, wheat, milk, casein, egg, nut and soy free. Phew - what a mouthful! They are delicious and the ingredient list is only familiar ingredients - no fancy, hard to pronounce, chemical names here! The fish sticks are beyond easy to prepare - they heat up in the microwave in about a minute. I've had them with salads and just by themselves - either way - they are tasty! It is a bit of a financial splurge ($5.99 for an 8 oz box at Whole Foods), but the product is great. And I'm sure much better than the fish sticks of my childhood!

Their website is super helpful - you can search for products that are free of your allergens. When I searched for gluten, wheat, milk and casein free, there are 16 products listed - all of them were foods I thought I would never be able to have gfcf and still taste great!

Dairy Free Cookie Exchange: Fudge Balls

This year, I was thrilled to participate in a dairy free cookie exchange. Bloggers nationwide were swapping recipes in holiday cards (those travel much easier than actual cookies). My recipe came from Steph at DairyFreeOmnivore.

When I got my card, I nearly cried: I've never made Gluten free cookies before & it took me a while to get this right. A complete stranger was adapting a recipe for me so I could enjoy one of her holiday favorites! That's the epitome of the holiday spirit right there! Receiving the card with a hand written recipe on an index card was a true delight. Along with baking the Fudge Balls. (Steph wrote an entry on this recipe - the instructions are great and are super easy.) She had great success with Gluten Free Pantry's all purpose flour. I used the Silvana Nardone blend from Cooking for Isaiah.

I took this dessert to a New Years Eve party. Since the powdered sugar can get a little messy, each ball was placed in a mini cupcake liner. So simple yet so delicious! Everyone at the party loved it! This is a great way to get a dairy free and gluten free chocolate fix!