Mortar and Pestle

About two weeks ago my roommates and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond in order to get a new clock. We switched cable companies, and our new cable cox sadly has no clock.

While at Bed Bath and Beyond, I browsed some of the kitchen items. I've been meaning to get a mortar and pestle for a while, and found a relatively cheap ceramic mortar and pestle.

From what I've read, mortar and pestles are wonderful for crushing vegetables and spices, so I tried making some pesto with it.

In order to make the pesto, I first crushed some fresh basil, garlic, and pine nuts. I then blended some cheese and olive oil with it, and made some fresh pesto!

If you have any fun ideas for recipes involving a mortar and pestle, let me know!

Gluten Free Mascarpone Cheesecake

Hey everyone! Here's a recipe that I have for gluten free mascarpone cheesecake. It takes inspiration from these two recipes: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mascarpone-Cheesecake-108903 and http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mascarpone-cheesecake-with-almond-crust-recipe/index.html

This recipe makes 3 4 inch cakes, which is great for portion control! Also, if you don't want to pay as much for the mascarpone, feel free to substitute sour cream for it! I hope you enjoy!

Servings: about 8-12
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: Overnight
Requires: 3 4 inch spring form pans or 1 9 inch spring form pan

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup gluten free graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla



Steps


Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix the crumbs, sugar, and butter, and evenly distribute the mix in the spring form pans. Tightly line the perimeter of the pans with aluminum foil, and place them into a 3 inch deep baking dish. Bake for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the cheeses, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Distribute evenly throughout each pan, and fill the baking dish with water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the pans. This water bath will help the cakes bake evenly. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes, or until the centers gently jiggle when agitated.

Remove the pans from the oven, and let the pans sit on a cooling rack for an hour. Remove the aluminum from the sides, and refrigerate overnight. Serve with fresh whipped cream or your favorite fruit sauce!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

I hope that everyone is having a pleasant weekend so far. This past week I made some gluten free versions of Tagalongs, and my friends loved them! These are perfect to make for friends on a gluten free diet or for kids! Hope you enjoy!

Makes: 2 dozen cookies

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Cookie

2 sticks butter, room temperature

4 oz sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

6 oz white rice flour

1 1/5 oz tapioca starch

3 oz potato starch

1 1/2 oz almond flour

Peanut butter filling:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/3 cup gluten free graham cracker crumbs

Chocolate Topping

2 cups milk chocolate

2 tbsp shortening

Steps: 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Slowly add the flours and starches to the butter mix until a dough has formed.

By the tablespoon, scoop the dough onto the sheets. Use your finger to make a small dip into each cookies. These will be used for the filling. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, and let them cool completely.

For the peanut butter filling, combine all the filling ingredients in a small pot, and heat over medium low heat until totally combined. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Scoop spoonfuls of the filling onto the tops of each cookie.

In another small pot, melt the chocolate and shortening. Stir until the chocolate is totally melted and combined with the shortening. Pour the chocolate over top each cookie until coated. Refrigerate for an hour to let the chocolate set. 

Pressure Cooker Pork Ribs

As what seems to be the trend the past few months, life has been super busy. Here's the recipe for pork spareribs cooked in a pressure cooker, to go along with my fritters from last week. With a pressure cooker, they're super easy to make, and take less than 30 minutes. For this recipe, follow the manufacturer's instructions for properly handling your pressure cooker.

Serves 4-5
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time  20 minutes

Ingredients
2-3 lbs pork spareribs
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tsp coriander
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar


Steps
Place your pressure cooker, without the lid on, onto the stove. Preheat to medium high.

In a small bowl, mix all of the spices. Rub the pork ribs with the spices.


Once the pot is hot, pour a tbsp of olive oil on the bottom, and brown all 4 sides of all the ribs, spending about 1-2 minutes per side.

Add the onion, vinegar, ketchup, and cider to the pot. Cover, and turn the heat up to high. Once the pressure cooker is whistling or pressurized, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 16 minutes.

Carefully release the pressure per the manufacturer's instructions.

Server with fritters or something else that is zesty and delicious, and enjoy!

Sweet Pepper Fritters

This month for the Gluten Free Ratio Rally, the theme is Fritters and Doughnuts! As I've mentioned in a few other posts this past month, work has been super crazy for me. That's one reason why I always look forward to the beginning of the month, is the great variety of awesome themed recipes.

Fritters use a similar batter to pancakes, and are normally fried. For this recipe, I didn't have enough oil when making them, so I went with the lower-calorie approach of cooking them on a pan (giving them a similar appearance to pancakes).

I served them with some pork ribs that I cooked in a pressure cooker, which I'll post the recipe to later Wednesday.

Thank you to Meg for hosting the Ratio Rally this month! Her site is Gluten Free Boulangerie, which has a pretty awesome looking doughnut recipe.

Serves 12 fritters
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients
2 oz pancetta
1 small sweet pepper
4 oz white rice flour
2 oz potato starch
2 oz tapioca starch
2 tsp chives
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
8 oz milk
2 eggs

Steps
Dice the pepper and pancetta. In a small pan, cook the pancetta until it is crispy. Add the pepper to the pan, and cook for about 3-4 minutes, removing the items from the heat when cooked.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, starches, spices, powder, and salt. To this whisk in the eggs and the milk. Once everything is whisked together, add in the peppers and pancetta.

Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Pour the fritter batter by the quarter cup, and flip after about 2 minutes. Cook for another 2.

I hope you enjoy, and be sure to check the rest of the Ratio Rally posts!

Britt of GF in the City | Blueberry Fritters

Brooke of B and the Boy! | Apricot Fritters

Caleigh of Gluten Free[k] | Beetroot Fritters

Caneel of Mama Me Gluten Free | Thai Fried Bananas

Charissa of Zest Bakery | Picarones (Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Fritters)
Claire of Gluten Freedom | Chocolate Coconut or Cinnamon-Glazed Vanilla Cake Doughnuts
Gretchen of Kumquat | Peach Cider Doughnuts
Jean of Gluten-Free Doctor Recipes | Cinnamon Apple Fritters
Jeanette of Jeanette's Healthy Living | Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts
Jenn of Jenn Cuisine | Mini Raspberry Doughnut Cakes
Lisa of Gluten Free Canteen | Apple Butter Maple Syrup Doughnuts
Mary Fran of Frannycakes | Raspberries and Cream Doughnuts
Mrs. R of Honey From Flinty Rocks | Jelly Doughnuts
Pete & Kelli of No Gluten, No Problem | Jelly Doughnut Holes
Rachel of The Crispy Cook | Chocolate Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze
Silvana of Silvana's Kitchen | Vanilla-Glazed Chocolate Chip Doughnuts
Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl | Glazed Yeast Doughnuts
Tara of A Baking Life | Brioche Doughnuts with Italian Plum Jam

Butter Poached Chicken

I hope that everyone is enjoying their Labor Day Weekend in the U.S., here's a easy way of making some tasty, moist chicken. I like to serve it along with oven roasted potatoes with rosemary and some green kale. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

And apologies for the less frequent posting over the past few weeks, life has been rather busy with work.

Serves: 3-4 people

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

3/4 lb chicken breast

32 oz chicken stock

2 sticks of butter

3 tbsp rosemary

2 tsp oregano

1 tbsp sage

salt and pepper

Steps

Pour the butter and stock into a deep pan, and heat over medium high heat. Once the butter is melted, check the temperature of the liquid with a thermometer. You'll want liquid that is about 170F.Add the rosemary, oregano, and sage to the liquid. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts, then immerse them in the liquid. You'll want the chicken full submerged. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the breasts is 165F. Remove the chicken from the liquid and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Roasted Potato Ingredients

10 small red or yellow potatoes

2 tbsp rosemary

1 tsp garlic powder

3 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Steps

Preheat the oven to 400F, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Quarter all of the potatoes, and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle the rosemary, garlic, and salt and pepper over the potatoes. Bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until tender when inserted with a fork. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and have a good start to the week!

Oven Cherry Tomatoes

This is a great side dish for fall - tasty, quick and easy!

What you need:
- 1 quart cherry tomato
- 2 tbs Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbs Olive oil
- 2 tbs Italian herbs
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 small oven-safe dish
- 1 tupperware container w. lid

Pre-heat oven to 450F.

In the tupperware container combine all ingredients and shake to mix. Pour into dish, ensuring that the tomatoes are in only one layer. Pop into oven for 10 min or until skin on tomatoes begins to crack.

Serve and enjoy =)