11 years ago the hubby and I discovered an incredible restaurant when we moved to the metro DC area. The Melting Pot. Here one could enjoy the most fabulous swiss cheese fondue and other tantalizing treats. We ended up frequenting this place so often that when I asked the manager about where I could purchase my own pot and fondue forks, he went to the back and brought me a bag with a pot and 8 forks. Score!

Ttraditionally, fondue is made with cheese and flour and one uses french bread as a dipper. At the Melting Pot, they also served granny smith apples and carrot and celery slices. These dipped into hot melted swiss cheese? Sublime.

I learned to make fondue from our many, many visits to the Melting Pot. So when my gluten-free life began, it was a simple matter of a few substitutions and voila! Gluten-free swiss cheese fondue that was as good as, if not better, than the Melting Pot.

Fondue is ever so easy to make… pretty much fool proof. If you can grate cheese and heat wine, then you can make fondue. There are various different types of fondue pots one can purchase. Electric pots, double-boilers, pots that require a liquid or gel fuel source, and I’m sure many others. The Melting Pot used the double boiler and that’s what I have. I’ve owned an electric pot as well as a pot requiring the fuel and of the three, I much prefer my double boiler.

The bottom pot is very heavy and the top is just a small, thin metal bowl. The is easy to make the fondue in and serve from. Because this requires a burner to use, we usually stand around the stove to enjoy this. I find this to be fun and our guests enjoy the fondue so much, no one minds being in the kitchen.

When making gluten-free swiss cheese fondue, dried up bread is *perfect* as a dipper. Cut into cubes and toss it into a 350F oven for 5 minutes or so just enough to warm it up. This typically softens bread and makes it perfect for skewering and dipping. In this case, I used the sourdough bread I made in the post below. It was a bit stale but that quick trip in the oven softened it just enough that it was *perfect*. And delicious.

Whether you’re making your fondue on the stove and then pouring it into your fondue pot or eating it directly from the stove, this is something that needs to be enjoyed as soon as it’s ready. Once 5-10 minutes has gone by, the fondue is finished. Enjoy this immediately.

Gluten-Free Swiss Cheese Fondue
any white wine will do!

3/4 cup white wine
1 tsp fresh chopped garlic
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups shredded swiss or gruyere cheese (or combo of both)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup gluten-free flour

Place wine, garlic, lemon juice in saucepan or in top of double-boiler (with water that has come to a boil and then turned down to med to simmer) and heat until bubbly. This will cook off the alcohol content and make for a smoother, more mellow fondue. If you’re into bold, smack-you-in-the-face flavors, heat the wine just until hot.

While wine is heating, toss the shredded cheese with the remaining ingredients and set aside.

Once wine is heated thoroughly, place a handful of the cheese mixture into the wine and stir until cheese is moist. Using a fork, fold the cheese with the wine until the fondue is fully incorporated and smooth, adding more cheese mixture as required to reach desired consistency. When finished, fondue should be smooth and just thick enough to stay on the bread when dipped in.

Serve immediately with bread cubes or cubes of apples, celery, carrots.

YUM!

A few weeks back I posted about my desire to conquer gluten-free sourdough bread baking.

That day I set out my first batch of sourdough starter and the following week attempted my first loaf of bread. I wanted to go traditional so that first batch consisted of the starter, gluten-free flour, salt, eggs. Um, no. lol. Not unless my goal was to create bread bricks for building purposes.

After feeding the starter and setting it aside, I let the colonies in there bubble away while I thought about my next loaf.

I decided that I needed to do two things this time – break with tradition and add a packet of yeast and use less flour so the starter and yeast could give the dough a better rise.

So it was with great excitement as I viewed the rise of the sponge as it did its thing in a warm oven. A bit more flour, salt and a few eggs later and it was back in the oven to rise before baking.

This time – success. Not nearly as heavy as the previous loaf and with a more pronounced sourdough tang. This came out of the oven just as we sat down to eat home fries and bbq chicken so I was able to try it out on my family. One of my sisters and her husband were here and she gobbled down her fair share. At one point I asked her if she thought it has enough sourdough flavor and she looked at me and responded with a very sarcastic… “this reminds me of something. What is it? Oh, I know. sourdough bread.” Haha. Guess that answered my question.

This loaf has a nice texture, is soft and a bit dense. Think rustic sourdough. Sister commented that she could barely tell it was gluten-free and that it would be *perfect* with cheese fondue. Good thing to know since I’m making fondue this weekend.

Unfortunately, I did not really measure when I made this loaf. That being said, I think that it’s not really necessary. This is more about using your hands and going by feel. Adding flour until things feel right. This might take some practice but I’m not master bread baker and if I can do this, so can you.

Creating a sourdough starter
start this a good 3+ days before you want to make your bread

2 cups gluten-free flour
2 cups warm water

Mix flour and water together until smooth and well-blended. Place in sterile glass container – I like to use wide mouth quart jars. I have a plethora of these for canning purposes and they are super handy.

After pouring into jar, cap with plastic wrap and the outer ring. You don’t want this sealed shut. Set the jar in a warm place (I keep mine in the laundry room. it’s a small, closed room and warmer than the rest of the house, especially when the dryer is running.)

Once a day, you’ll want to remove approx 1 cup of the starter and discard it, replacing with another 1 cup water/1 cup gluten-free flour blend.

After 3 or more days, the starter should be smelling tangy and yeasty and you should be seeing some bubbles. Maybe it’s separated and there is some “water” in there. That’s fine! Give it a stir. Don’t be drinking this… yurgh.

The longer this is allowed to “sour”, the better the end result will be. Patience is like the third ingredient here…

Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread
this will make one round loaf, approx 1.5 pounds

2 cups sourdough starter
gluten-free flour
salt
1 cup warm water
1 Tbl yeast (or 1 packet)
3 eggs

Measure sourdough starter into a good size mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of warm water and the yeast and mix well. Set aside in warm oven or area and cover with a towel. Let rest an hour or so. This should rise up and develop some nice bubbles throughout.

Remove towel and add 2 eggs, salt, and enough flour (1/2 cup at a time) until the dough is thick and *just* holds it shape. You only want enough flour to maintain the shape of the loaf – no more. Adding too much flour will result in a heavy brick. Remove small pieces of the dough as you’re adding flour and see if it will maintain a shape. Once it does, you’re good to go.

Grease a pie plate or round cake pan. Scrape dough into prepared dish and shape into rounded loaf. Cover with wax paper and a towel (wax paper keeps the dough from sticking to the towel) and set in warm over to rise. Approx 30-45 minutes. Loaf should rise up a bit.

Remove from oven and set to 350F. In small bowl, beat remaining egg with a few tablespoons of water. Brush on top of loaf – this will help it to brown. Return to oven and bake 40-45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. If using a clear pie plate, you’ll be able to see if it’s browning underneath. Give it a nice push and see how it feels. If not sure, bake at 5 minute increments until it reaches desired doneness. Mine went for 45 minutes.

Let cool a few minutes and then slice and serve. We enjoyed ours with butter and honey. Yummers!

You should have some leftover starter left. Perfect! Feed it again (1 cup gluten-free flour/1 cup warm water), cover and place in frig. It’ll keep in there for a very long time. If you remember, pull it out and remove a cup or so and feed every few days or week. This can be used in biscuits, pancakes, and more!

I’ll be creating this again and next time I’ll make an attempt to record exact measurements. Unfortunately, I am not a by-the-book baker so I typically remember after the fact that I was supposed to be keeping track of how much of a specific ingredient I was using. Whoops. lol.

Today we have a lesson in the ultimate in comfort home cookin’. Chicken fried steak. Typically a gluten laden meal, ours is entirely gluten-free and safe for our restricted diet. In fact, this is also corn free and soy free. And can even be made dairy free. Free of everything basically – except a full serving of YUM.

To begin, place a nice size frying pan on the stove and pour approx. 3/4″ of oil into it. Turn heat on to medium/medium high (or in between if you’re able) and let heat while preparing the steaks. If you have a splatter guard, you’ll want to pull it out for this meal. This is one messy fry-up and that guard is all the stands between a somewhat clean stovetop and a mile wide splatter of hot grease. Trust me on this one…

The key to a crisp and delicious chicken fried steak is a triple breading process. This begins with an initial dip into the breading mix (recipe below). You want to make sure the meat is coated well – this is the foundation of the breading and it’s this step that will help keep the meat inside the breading during the entire process – resulting in a thick and deliciously crisp outer shell.

Hmm… I should probably back up one step. You’ll want a nice cube steak from your butcher. This is typically already tenderized and ready to go. No special handling or processing required. Just open the package and it’s ready to go.

So once you’ve thoroughly coated your steak with the breading mix, you’ll want to move it to the egg bowl. I’m a big fan of buttermilk in fried food so I do a mix of eggs and buttermilk. However, if you’re looking to be dairy-free on this, you can skip the milk. Thoroughly dredge the steak in the egg, coating each side and all nooks and crannies. Use your fingers for this. It’s part of the process and the messiness makes for a better end result. At least that’s my opinion!

Remove from the egg mixture and place back in the breading mix. Again, you want to thoroughly coat the steak. Turn over and dust liberally with the flour blend until the breading is no longer moist.

Place back into the egg mix (this is the final time here) and flip over once or twice until nice and soaked. Then back again into the flour. This is the last time you’ll be visiting this so you want a nice, thick coating to finish up with. Set aside on waxed paper and let rest while you do a few more steaks.

Once you’ve done 3-4 pieces, place them into your frying pan. They should immediately sizzle and the sounds of frying should be almost immediate. If not, your oil is not hot enough. It’s too late now so you’ll have to continue – but remember for next time. You want a nice hot pan so these fry up quick. This is the final step to a super crisp breading.

Fry on each side until a nice brown color — approx. 5-7 minutes. Once the second side is done, place on a wire rack over a cookie sheet in an oven that is set to 185F. They’ll finish their last bit of cooking in here while you make the gravy. The crown jewel of this meal. Of course, if you were unable to cook all your steaks at the same time (if you have a large family like mine – this could take 3 or even 4 panfuls!) you can finish frying the remainder of your steaks while the finished ones cool their heels in the oven. Don’t worry – being in here even 30 minute won’t harm them and they’ll stay nice and crisp. Ready to be eaten.

Pour out all but 1/4 cup of so of oil once your last steaks are done. Add the seasoned mix (recipe for this gravy below) and stir with a wire whisk (using a non-stick pan? use a rubber scraper or wooden spoon) until the flour is absorbed. This will only take a few second. Dump in the broth/milk mix (directions for dairy free noted below) and stir with whisk (if you’re using non-stick, you might want to invest in a plastic whisk. It’s nearly impossible to make gravy without a whisk…) until mixture thickens and comes to slow boil. Add more broth/milk as needed to create a gravy that is the consistency you’d like.

Pour into a gravy boat and you’re ready. Serve with mashed or scalloped potatoes. If you do mashed spuds, you can pour gravy over the entire plate. And let’s face it – this meal isn’t about counting calories or carbs or even fat grams. This is all about eating until you have to loosen your belt or unsnap your pants. This is comfort food. And it is SO good.

I guarantee you can serve this to even the pickiest non-gluten-free eater and they’ll gobble it right up and then look at you in shock as you begin to eat your own serving… “but I thought you were gluten-free?!” It’s just that fabulously fantastic.

My dad, the original king of comfort food, had this the other day and gave it an 8 out of 10. Coming from him, that is high praise indeed. He is not gluten-intolerant and it was my first time ever attempting chicken fried steak – GF or not. I think with a bit more practice, I could get him to give me a 9 or even a 10. Then I can die happy.

Gluten-Free Chicken Fried Steak
this recipe makes 4 steaks – adjust accordingly

4 cube steaks, 3-4 ounces each
3 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
1 Tbl salt
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp powdered garlic
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp powdered sage (optional)
2 eggs (dairy-free? use 3 eggs)
1 cup buttermilk (dairy free? use 1/2 cup of water instead)
vegetable oil for frying

Mix all dry ingredients together in shallow bowl. I like to use a pie plate. Gives a good amount of surface area to work with.

Mix eggs and buttermilk (or water) in second pie plate and beat until well-combined.

Dip steaks into flour mix and coat thoroughly. Move to egg mix and dip both sides until nicely coated. Back to flour to coat – then egg again – then flour. Set on waxed paper when done and finish other steaks.

Fry according to directions above.

Gluten-Free Cream Gravy
dairy free? no problemlo!

1/2 cup flour mix
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk (dairy free? replace with water)
1/4 cup leftover oil

Leave oil in frying pan. When removing the extra oil, don’t take out the bits and pieces that have stuck to the pan or fallen off the steaks. You want these to stay in the gravy – they are little bits of YUM!

Whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour mix that you used for the steak coating. Don’t worry about any lumps or anything else – these will work themselves out and if they don’t, it just makes the gravy *that* much better.

Once blended, immediately pour in broth/milk (or water) mix and stir until thickened and smooth. Too thick? Add a bit more milk or broth.

Enjoy!

Today was a bit overcast and gloomy. My favorite kind of day. This is a baking day. Cold outside but cozy and warm inside with a kitchen in full swing. All types of delicious baked goods are made on gloomy winter days.

However, I’ve been nursing the flu for the past few days so my kitchen has been a bit neglected. Today was no exception – I have a headache that is just a few clicks away from putting me in bed. But before I head there, I wanted to make something that was soul-satisfying and delicious. So as I’ve been lying in the sofa I’ve been running over one idea after another. Each one discarded as not being quite what I had in mind.

Until I thought of pound cake. A citrus type pound cake. I got up and slowly assembled the ingredients. Oh, no lemon juice. No problem, I have fresh key lime juice. And I have mini chocolate chips. Anyone who is anyone knows that chocolate and key lime go together like bread and butter. Hugs and kisses. A bit of tang with little bits of sweet chocolate. In a word – delicious.

So as I type this, two long loaf pans are baking merrily in the oven. Just 30 minutes more and they’ll be out at which point I’ll pour a tangy key lime glaze over the top. The hardest part of this is the wait as they cool. Gluten-free baked goods don’t do too well when cut immediately. A bit of a rest period is just what they need.

ooey gooey center of cake is from the glaze on top, seeping down through the cake via the holes I made.

This recipe comes courtesy of Land O’ Lakes with just a bit of tweaking by yours truly.
http://www.landolakes.com/mealIdeas/ViewRecipe.cfm?RecipeID=13299B

Key Lime Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
use bundt pan or TWO loaf pans

1 cup of butter, partially melted
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbl vanilla
1/4 cup key lime juice
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups gluten-free flour
3/4 cup milk
1 – 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

In large mixing bowl combine sugar and butter and beat until well combined.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add key lime juice, vanilla, and baking powder and continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy.

Add flour 1 cup at a time, followed by 1/4 cup of milk, mixing well after each addition. Continue until all flour and milk are incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into greased and floured (with gluten-free flour, of course!) pan(s) and bake at 350F for 40-50 or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool for 15-20 minutes in pan(s) before inverting on cooling rack and removing pan(s). Poke holes in top with skewer or toothpick and pour glaze over loaves. Cool thoroughly before cutting and eating. Enjoy!

Key Lime Glaze
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup key lime juice

While cake is baking – combine all ingredients in small saucepan and bring to bowl over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat. Let cool until ready to use.