Cliffords Restaurant...

Good morning everyone. I trust you all had a great week. I just wanted to drop a quick line and let everyone who lives in the Evans City, Pa.  and surrounding areas know that Clifford's Restaurant is now serving the gluten free Angel Food cake  made with the recipe I recently posted! What a great privilege to have one of the recipes I recommended to be served at a local restaurant...I feel truly honored.

The manager of the restaurant told me that several of their gluten free guests gave it high compliments, as well as several members of the group that were attending dinner with them, even though they do not follow a gluten free diet.

It truly is one of my all time favorites and I really hope you will also give it a try and make it one of yours. If you live local to Clifford's and would like to visit be sure to make reservations first and tell them ahead of time you would like to try the Angle Food cake when you visit. They have a website with more info posted on the web for your convenience.

I am currently working on a zucchini bread recipe which I hope to have posted soon. I am now also trying coconut sugar in my recipes as of late to try and get the glycemic levels in my desserts down...I am sure my husband, who is diabetic, will enjoy.

So as always, until next post have, a great gluten free week...
Sharon

Ranch baked baby red potatoes...

Hi all. Wow this week sure has flown by. We found out recently my mom is ill and so I have been trying to spend as much time with her as possible. She will be having radiation and chemo in the future weeks to come, and family comes first as you all know. Between work, chores, baking, and all the other stressful things  that life throws at you when you least expect it, I thought I would take a much needed break and share a quick, simple recipe with you all...Well actually three!!!

Being a cashier at a local grocery store I have been seeing a lot of baby red potatoes come through my lane as of late. I remembered a recipe that I have made in the past and it is so simple and delicious that I wanted to share.

Lately I have been making soups and recipes that are easy for my mom to heat up in the microwave, but this will be a nice change. Since I like to make most everything from scratch I will include first the recipe for the ranch dressing mix that this recipe calls for. Although you only use about 1 T ( 1 oz ) of the mix for this recipe you will get about 3/4 cup of mix total, which you can use for salad dressings and also dips...

Homemade Ranch dressing mix:

1/3 cup (Saco brand)  GF Buttermilk blend powder
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
2 T dried minced onion
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Store in a air tight container or jar in a cool dry place for up to 12 months. Recipe makes about 3/4 cup total.

For the Ranched baked baby reds recipe:

2 pounds baby red potatoes, washed (do not peel)
3T olive oil
1 oz homemade ranch dressing mix (recipe above)
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Wash the potatoes and cut in half. (do NOT peel)
In a small bowl combine the ranch mix, fresh ground pepper, and olive oil. Toss gently with the potatoes to coat.
Place coated potatoes onto a parchment lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned.


To use the homemade ranch dressing mix as a salad  salad dressing:
Mix together...
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons milk
1 T vinegar
3 T homemade ranch dressing mix. Whisk all together and let set approx 1 hour in refrigerator before using.


To use as a dip:

To 2 cups sour cream add 3 T of the homemade ranch dressing mix. Mix until smooth and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with fresh veggies or crackers for a great snack...

I hope you enjoy...
Sharon

Angel Food Cake made Gluten free...

Hey everyone. I hope you are all enjoying your summer and taking advantage of all those delicious fresh fruits hitting all the farmers markets in your area. I myself love fresh peaches, strawberries and blueberries, and nothing goes as well with these fresh fruits as a light, fluffy Angle Food cake fresh from the oven!!!

Although this cake is made entirely from scratch and takes only a few minutes extra to make than a box mix, it is well worth the effort. You will definitely not be disappointed. My family didn't even know it was gluten free until I told them.

For starters you will need a old fashioned angel food cake pan. The first few times I made mine I used a dark Teflon coated pan and the cake browned a little too much for my liking, but when I used my old time pan it was light , moist and lightly browned. Most stores carry them, but if you can't find one check out your local thrift stores...

Give it a try and be sure to post a comment, or send me a pic of your results....


Gluten Free Angel Food Cake recipe:

1  1/2 cup egg whites at room temp..( I set mine out for about 1/2 hour ahead of time)
1  1/2 teaspoons cream of tarter
3/4 cup granulated sugar (will be added to flour mixture)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (used when beating egg whites)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup potato STARCH
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted fresh fruit


Directions:

Place the egg whites in a large bowl and let sit at room temperature for about 1/2 hour. Sift the 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, all flours and potato starch and sift together twice. Set aside. Be sure not to add the cream of tarter to this mixture as it will make the cake dry....Been there, done it!!!

Now add the cream of tarter, the salt, and vanilla to the egg whites. Beat on MEDIUM speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar to the beaten egg whites a little at a time, beating on HIGH until stiff peaks form.

Now add in the flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time FOLDING it in with a whisk. This gives the best results as it helps keep the air in the beaten egg whites and insures a perfect rise to the cake.

Gently spoon the mixture into a UN-GREASED Angel Food cake pan. Cut through the batter with a knife to remove any large air bubbles. Bake the cake on the lowest rack level at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and appears dry.

I would not invert the cake to cool as most Angel Food cake recipes say to do, as both times I did the cake just plopped out of the pan onto my counter...It was just fine leaving it top side up until it cooled and then I removed it from the  pan and put inside my cake saver for storage. Make sure it is completely cool before covering.

This cake stays moist and fresh for about a week when covered. It is a monthly must have in my house! I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we do, and will post and tell me how the recipe worked for you.

Until next time....Have a great Gluten free week!!!

Sharon