Book of Yum

This Fourth of July we went to a local park for a picnic and fireworks with some very special friends. I love packing a picnic lunch for Independence Day, and there are some dishes that have become something of a tradition.

Our 4th of July menu was:
Grilled Sesame Tofu (recipe below)
Summer Vegetable Rolls with Peanut Sauce
Balsamic Honey Grilled Eggplant
and
Gluten-Free Raspberry Almond Financiers (recipe below)

If you look at my post for July 4, 2007 you’ll note that I made peanut sauce last year too, for sesame grilled vegetables. But I also made some new recipes for this year’s feast… like this delightful recipe for Balsamic Honey Grilled Eggplant.

This recipe was a real keeper, and one that I have a feeling I’ll be making a lot in the years to come. DH is skeptical of eggplant, and he seemed to enjoy it- and I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. To me it was like grilled and savory candy (but better).

I also experimented with a recipe from Martha Stewart that I’d been eying for a while. Of course, as written the recipe was full of gluten, gluten, gluten, but I thought it would probably convert reasonably well to be gluten-free. Even though we’re currently packing up our whole house for a move, I deliberately left out my mini-muffin tins just for this recipe. Oh, how I love my mini-muffin tins. Like real muffin tins, but cuter. Anyway, I was thrilled for the opportunity to use up some of the organic, local raspberries I’d been storing in the freezer, and an Indpendence Day Picnic seemed like the perfect time for financiers. Although, to be honest, I didn’t quite know what financiers were. To me they just seemed like little jam-filled-mini muffins.

Luckily, the Joy of Baking was able to enlighten me.

“Financiers are French tea cakes (pronounced fee-nahng-syehr), also known as Friands (meaning “dainty” or “tasty”). They are made from a sponge-like batter of beurre noisette (brown butter), egg whites, flour, toasted ground almonds, and powdered sugar. Financiers are similar to Madeleines in that they both use a sponge-like mixture that is baked in special molds. When baked Financiers are soft and springy with a slightly domed top and a lovely golden brown crust.” (Source: Stephanie Jaworski)

Financiers are a natural for gluten-free conversion, as a good portion of their batter is made with almond flour and eggs, two high protein ingredients that help compensate for any lack of gluten in our flours. Unfortunately commercial varieties will also contain gluten-flour, but you can make them at home with excellent results. As it happens, I converted the recipe to be dairy free, but for a more traditional recipe you could use butter instead of the DF, CF margarine and let the butter brown. This browning of the butter adds great nutty flavor. Just be careful not to burn it! I think traditionally financiers are made in special molds, like madeleines, but home cooks use mini muffin tins very successfully. I knew I was happy I bought that mini-muffin tin!

In Love with Financiers?
Try Gluten-Free Girl’s Chocolate Financier Recipe, brought to you by Smitten Kitten.
Or, an agave-nectar sweetened version of the recipe
An adorable Gluten-Free Apricot Financier Recipe
Or a gluten-free adaption of a Almond Tea Cake Financier Recipe

But food aside, the best thing about any holiday is sharing it with special friends that are your family-away-from-family. Last year we spent it with my favorite adopted “little sister”- and this year we spent it with one of our favorite couples. These are friends that have been with both of us for the long haul, and I hope will always be a part of our life. Happy Fourth of July, everyone! I hope your holiday was absolutely delicious, and that you got to spend it with your very favorite people!

Yummy Grilled Tofu Side Dish  Tofu  American

Ingredients 1 lb of firm tofu (Chinese Style is best for this kind of recipe) 2 tbsp GF soy sauce (preferably San-J Low Sodium Tamari) 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup 1 Tbsp rice vinegar 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (we like a Japanese brand) 2 pressed cloves of garlic Directions Drain water from tofu, and cut horizontally in thirds or half. Wrap in towel and leave for 30 minutes or so until water has absorbed into towel. Mix marinade ingredients, and marinate tofu for at least 30 minutes. If possible, grill, if not, broil or pan fry. Makes a wonderful protein addition to salads, sandwich fillings, and perfect with rich rice dishes like risotto. Notes I’ve been making this recipe for years and it always goes over very well at parties. Very flavorful and easy. Can be doubled for a crowd. You may wish to brush or spray grill with oil, as the tofu can stick.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Vegan Vittles Recipe ID:  1036 Added:  March 14, 2007 Last Modified:  July 6, 2008

Gluten-Free Raspberry Almond Financiers Dessert  Alternative Grains  European

Ingredients 8 tbsp. dairy free margarine like Earth Balance 1/3 cup honey (I like raw honey) 2 cups finely ground almonds (I use Trader Joe’s or you can grind your own) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup finely ground brown rice flour (like Authentic Foods’) 1/4 cup sweet (white) rice flour 1/4 cup tapioca starch 1/2 tsp salt 5 lg. egg whites (you can probably veganize this by using 3-4 Ener-g foods egg replacer eggs, soy yogurt, or flax seed eggs) 1 cup raspberries (if frozen, defrost first), pureed and strained (not strained is ok if you don’t mind seeds) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two mini muffin tins with GF nonstick cooking spray. Melt your margarine in a small saucepan on medium-low heat, whisking occasionally and heating for 6-7 minutes. At the end, whisk in your honey and let it combine thoroughly. Put your ground almonds, sugars, flour, and salt in a standing mixer (or large bowl) and whisk together on low. Turn up the speed to medium-high and add your egg whites (or egg replacer eggs) one at a time, combining each one thoroughly until adding the next. Use a spatula to make sure all the ingredients on the side of the bowl integrate with the rest of the ingredients. Lower mixer speed to low and add your warm honey-margarine (whisk quickly first to make sure it hasn’t separated) in one long, continuous stream. Turn up speed to high for 45 seconds. Fill your mini muffin tins half full. Then take a scant 1/2 tsp of your raspberry puree and pull up a little of the batter with a knife, dribbling the puree in and then settling the batter over the top to make a raspberry heart shape. Or, just make a little jam circle on the top if the heart is too much effort. Bake for 7 minutes or so, turn your rack around and bake another 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy! Notes Another cute little mini-muffin, er, I mean financier, recipe!

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Modified from Martha Steward Living to be dairy and GF Recipe ID:  1264 Added:  July 6, 2008 Last Modified:  July 7, 2008

I wasn’t exactly intending to blog about tonight’s dinner, honestly. I mean, how many pizza recipes does one need? We’ve already had some pretty fancy pizza recipes here at the Book of Yum. But this week, due to a chaotic household, it just seemed better not to use the oven, and so when I was planning the menu I thought I’d try a new pizza technique- grilling the pizza crust. It’s a technique I’ve heard about many times but never tried myself, and I thought it was high time. It’s perfect, really, especially in hot weather when turning on the oven seems like cruel and unusual punishment. (Granted, it hasn’t been all that hot here… but it should be!) I have a lot of Chebe mixes left from the last bulk order I did with them, and during busy weeks, there’s nothing I love more than the “open the package and dump it in the bowl” style of baking. This time I made two small ones from the mix because I just love making more than one topping but still having separate pizzas. Then it was time to grill. I’m big into the propane grill, baby. Supposedly it is the DH’s, but I use it about 10 times more often than he does- I’m always grilling veggies or tofu or something because it adds so much flavor to everything. But what could a grill do to a pizza crust? The answer? A lot. I was worried that the crust might stick to the grill, but happily, it didn’t. And it baked so fast- far quicker than if you had baked it in the oven. Just a few minutes and one side of the pizza looked DONE, and even had sexy grill marks to prove it. I turned it over, let it grill for another few minutes, and then went happy with my toppings. To be honest, I had something of a little problem- largely, no pasta sauce in the house whatsoever. I did have half of the juice from a can of chopped tomatoes, and some tomato paste, so I made a very basic red sauce base. To my surprise, it worked just fine and actually tasted great. Then I grilled up a portabella mushroom basted with olive oil, garlic, and seasoning, and did the same to my sweet red pepper. With the addition of some sliced calamata olives and cheese, I had a great basic veggie pizza that matched my taste buds perfectly. But I still didn’t have enough red sauce for the second pizza, so I decided to go all out and try something I’d never had before- marguerita pizza. According to online sources, this is one of the first official pizzas and was produced by Italy’s Royal chefs in honor of Queen Marguerita in 1896 when she asked them to make her an assortment of pizzas resembling the bread pizzas she had enjoyed among commoners. Traditionally, the marguerita pizza contains “fresh sliced tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil, fresh garlic, onion and a hint of Romano (no tomato sauce).” (source: In Mama’s Kitchen) Sounded good to me! And in fact, it was absolutely delicious. I’ll definitely be making BOTH of these pizzas again, and I have a feeling that my grill is going to be even busier this summer baking up a slew of yummy pizzas. Oh, and since there was cheese AND grill marks involved, the DH loved this recipe too.

This pizza would be perfect for an Independence Day party, or just for a quick dinner before you see the fireworks. Looking for other gluten-free fourth of July recipes?

Try my Recipe for Grilled Sesame Vegetables
with this accompanying Ginger Peanut Sauce (Complete with pics from our 4th of July last year)
My World-Famous Grilled Sesame Tofu Recipe
a classic Gluten-Free Macaroni Salad Recipe
Japanese potato salad Recipe
Grilled Kabocha and Sundried Tomato Pate
GF Lemon Blueberry Muffin Recipe (Add raspberries and white frosting for a red,white and blue treat!)

Want another yummy pizza recipe?
Try my favorite Grilled Veggie and Smoked Cheese Pizza Recipe
Allergen Free Gluten-Free Pizza Recipe (with crust recipe)
Or this unexpected Zucchini Crust Pizza Recipe

Hope this helps you get some ideas for your Fourth of July Celebration! If you have links to your favorite recipes for the forth of July, share in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

Gluten Free Grilled Chebe Marguerita Pizza and Grilled Veggie Pizza Recipe Main Course  Alternative Grains  Italian

Ingredients Pizza Dough: 1 pkg. Chebe pizza mix 2 eggs 1 tbsp. oil 4 tbsp. your choice of “milk” (dairy or non-dairy) Marguerita topping: Grated nonfat mozzarella cheese (1/4 packaged ball) or favorite non-dairy substitute 1 medium organic tomato Handful fresh basil salt Traditional topping- Tomato sauce: 3 tbsp juice from can of chopped canned tomato 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp. olive oil sprinkle of sugar and salt Veggies: 1 portabella mushroom 3 peeled garlic cloves 1/2 sweet red pepper 8 kalamata olives nonfat mozzarella cheese, grated (or favorite nondairy cheese substitute) Directions Combine Chebe pizza ingredients according to package instructions and knead dough into a ball. Separate into two balls. Take a gallon sized ziploc bag and place your chebe dough inside the bag and flatten it out (pressing on the OUTSIDE of the bag so your hands don’t get icky) into a nice circle in about 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch thick. Remove dough from bag and place on a plate, and reserve. Now make your second pizza. Turn on your grill to medium high heat and place your pizza crusts on the grill (without toppings) letting it cook with the lid open for a few minutes. You may wish to rotate the dough if your grill cooks unevenly. Turn your pizza crust over when that side has nice grill marks and grill the other side for another few minutes. Remove from grill and cover with toppings.* Grill for a few minutes on low, covered. When cheese has nicely melted, remove from grill and cut into pieces. Yummy! *For the marguerita pizzas, top the pizza with mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, a sprinkle of salt and a handful of basil. Drizzle with a little high quality olive oil and finish grilling. *For the traditional veggie pizza, crush your garlic cloves and put them in a small bowl with a tablespoon of high quality olive oil and your favorite pasta/italian seasoning herbs. Baste your portabella mushroom and red pepper and grill, turning when each side is done. Remove from heat and chop into pieces. Also mix your tomato sauce ingredients in another bowl. Top your pizza with tomato sauce, grilled veggies, and cheese, adding olives on very top. If you like, after the pizza has baked with toppings, you can broil it in the oven so the cheese gets all brown on top. Be careful not to burn!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Grilling technique from chebe site, toppings my own creation. Please do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1263 Added:  July 1, 2008 Last Modified:  July 1, 2008