Anything with Cheese and Prosciutto.. I'm there!

I made Paula Deen's Chicken stuffed with Prosciutto and Fontina Cheese (from foodtv.com)

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 (4-ounce) piece imported Italian fontina cheese
2 slices imported prosciutto
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sliced portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bunch baby arugula
1/2 fresh lemon, juiced

Directions: Place each piece of chicken between 2 sheets of waxed paper and pound them thin with a mallet, the flat of a large knife, or a rolling pin. Trim the rind from the cheese and cut it into 2 thick sticks. Wrap each stick with a slice of prosciutto and place in the center of each flattened chicken breast. Roll the chicken breast around the prosciutto and cheese to make a sausage shape and secure with toothpicks or butcher's twine. Season the rolls with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy skillet. Quickly brown the chicken rolls over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low, and scatter the mushrooms into the pan, sprinkle with wine and rosemary. Cook, turning the chicken rolls frequently, 10 to 15 minutes. When the first bit of cheese begins to seep out, the chicken is done. Remove it from the pan to a cutting board at once. Cut each of the rolls at an angle into 6 slices. Cover to keep warm. Reheat the pan juices, swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. To serve arrange the chicken and mushrooms on a bed of arugula leaves tossed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Warm the pan juices and strain them over the chicken.

I couldn't find Fontina at my local grocery store so I used Gruyere in place of it. I served this along with roasted asparagus, and my killer mash potatoes. We finished off the night with brownie sundaes, including vanilla ice cream and Carmel sauce :)

Hot Like Jalapeno!

I love jalapeno poppers.. but the frozen kind are breaded and not gluten free. So I made grilled ones last night for dinner. I used Williams Sonoma's recipe

Cheddar and Corn Stuffed Jalapenos

Ingredients:
18 large jalapeño peppers
1 1/4 cups finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup chopped corn kernels
2 Tbs. minced green onion, white and green portions
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Cut 1/4 inch off the top of each jalapeño pepper; reserve the tops. Using a thin knife or small melon baller, hollow out the centers of the peppers, removing the seeds and ribs; do not cut through the flesh. Prepare a grill for indirect grilling over medium-high heat. In a bowl, stir together the cheese, corn and green onion, and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the center of each pepper with 1 to 2 Tbs. of the cheese mixture, filling to within 1/8 inch of the top of the pepper. Place the filled peppers upright in a jalapeño pepper roaster and set the cut tops back on top of the peppers. Place the pepper roaster on the grill over indirect heat and cover the grill. Roast until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted, about 25 minutes. Transfer the jalapeño poppers to a platter and serve immediately. Makes 18 jalapeño poppers.

I didn't have the handy dandy roasting rack so just laid mine on their sides (and I used a George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine, because-well I live in an apartment and grills are against the rules).

Sour Cherry Icecream

I love cherries! When I was little I used to pretend to be a cherry leader and sing ""cherry! cherry! waa waa waa!" (yep I was the chearleader for cherries... I must have been inspired by strawberry shortcake) Since it's summer the cherries are ripe and delicious and in effort to savor every single one I made cherry ice cream! (I didn't want the small amount left in the bowl to go bad) mmmmm! Homemade ice cream is the BEST and it so easy to make.

I used this recipe from 101cookbooks...

Batch Family Mountain Cherry Choconut Ice Cream
1 1/2 cups sliced Bing, Lapin or Sweetheart cherries

1 pint whipping cream

1 pint half and half

2 egg yolks (hs note: to eliminate risk of food poisoning from raw eggs, use pasteurized eggs product for this recipe)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped raw almonds

1/2 cup shaved dark chocolate (or to taste)

Whisk whipping cream, half and half, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add cherries and stir. Chill mixture for 30 minutes in freezer. Pour into ice cream maker canister. Run machine until mixture reaches milkshake consistency. Add almonds and chocolate and mix until they're incorporated. Continue running machine until ice cream reaches desired consistency.

I left out the almonds and chocolate.. only because I was lazy and didn't feel like chopping the chocolate and almonds. This recipe is great.. and the cherries are nice and tangy next to the sweet ice cream!

photo from food and paper

Can't wait for June

I have always been a BIG Betty Crocker fan.. in fact it was on of my many nicknames growing up. I'm so excited and have a sense of relief that Betty Crocker is introducing gluten free cake mixes that will be available in major super markets! As soon as I get my hands on one I will give you a review :)

Twilight Party

Last night my girlfriends and I met for our monthly book club meeting, and since we read Twilight, we had a slight Twilight theme. We enjoyed Vampire Vineyards wine and I made quesadillas with a apple chutney made with deep red apples (as iconic as the cover of Twilight). My girlfriend made gluten free chocolate chip cookies. She used the Arrowhead Gluten free cookie mix and they turned out great. It was a fun evening ;0

I'm hooked!

I love blogs... one that I constantly check is Design Sponge and I really love these hooks!

I love Daily Candy

I was really excited when I read the subject line of one of my Daily Candy emails "No Gluten for Punishment". I was even more excited when inside was a recipe from NY Gluten Free Bakery Baby Cakes. I had to share!

Lemon-Raspberry Teacake
Ingredients2/3 c. rice milk1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar½ c. rice flour¾ c. Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose baking flour1½ tbsp. baking powder1 tsp. xanthan gum1 tsp. salt½ c. coconut oil¾ c. agave nectar1/3 c. applesauce1 tsp. pure vanilla extract1 tbsp. lemon zest2 tbsp. pure lemon extract½ c. raspberry preserves
1. Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly oil a 7-by-4-by-3-inch loaf pan.
2. Pour the rice milk and vinegar into a small bowl; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt.
3. Add oil, agave nectar, applesauce, vanilla, zest, and lemon extract to dry ingredients and stir until batter is smooth. Add milk/vinegar combo and combine just until blended.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Swirl raspberry preserves through batter and bake on the center rack for 35 minutes, rotating the pan 180° after 18 minutes. The teacake will be golden brown and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.
5. Let the teacake stand in the pan for 20 minutes before inverting onto cake stand. Serve warm with preserves on top.

Also check out her cook book! Erin McKenna ~ BabyCakes: Vegan, Gluten-Free, (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked About Bakery.

In Honor of Cinco de Mayo

Last night I made Fish Tacos for dinner.. the recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart! They were GREAT! The flavors were very fresh and light. I served my with yellow rice and black beans. Also since I'm addicted to dairy I topped my with sour cream and Monterrey Jack cheese, but its not needed. Enjoy!

Rum Cake a Christmas Tradition!

Every Christmas my mom makes rum cake, the last two years I had to miss out on this traditon, as it is totally not gluten free. However this year I decided to try my hand at this recipe and it turned out pretty decent, especially served warm with whipped cream.

Ingredients:
1 package of gluten free yellow cake mix (I used Pamela's Brand)

1 box Vanilla Jello Pudding
3 eggs
½ cup cold water
1/3 cup oil
½ cup dark rum

Glaze
¼ lb of butter
¼ cup water
1 cup sugar
½ cup dark rum

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Grease and flour 12 cup bundt pan.
Mix all the cake ingredients together and pour into pan. Bake 1 hour, I started checking at the 30 minute mark since it was my first time, I think it took around 45 minutes. Cool Invert onto serving platter.

To Make Glaze:
Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in water and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes string constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum.

Prick the top of the cake and spoon the glaze over the cake. Allow the cake to absorb the glaze. Serve with whipped cream.