Good Gravy (with Chicken and Biscuits)!

This dish is a play on chicken with biscuits and gravy, only milk- and gluten-free. The recipe called for peas, but since I have to avoid those, I chose edamame for a nice texture addition.

Chicken with Biscuits and Gravy


Biscuits (makes 10)
2 c. Bisquick Gluten Free mix 
1/3 c. ghee (clarified butter, found at Indian markets and some supermarkets; can also use butter or shortening)
2/3 c. soy milk
3 eggs


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Cut ghee into Bisquick mix, using fork until particles are the size of small peas. Stir in remaining ingredients until soft dough forms.
3. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 13-16 min, or until golden brown.


Chicken and Gravy
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. edamame (shelled)
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. grains of paradise
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. gluten-free flour
1 3/4 c. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 c. soy creamer
3 c. cooked chicken


1. Cook onion, carrots, salt and grains of paradise in butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 min.
2. Sprinkle gluten free flour over vegetables and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
3. Stir in broth and thyme and bring to a boil, stirring, then boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.
4. Add soy creamer, chicken and edamame to gravy and gently stir until chicken and edamame are heated through, about 3 minutes.


To serve, spoon chicken in gravy over biscuits.

Vietnamese Cooking

My friend, Hillary Nguyen Merritt, recently passed away at the young age of 23. We had met at the Arthur Murray Worcester Studio about 6 years ago when I first started and instantly became friends. A few years later, she became my roommate. When she moved out about a year later, she left behind a brand new wok and a cookbook "Vietnamese Cooking Made Easy". She told me to hang on to these items, as I would probably get more use out of them, and hang on to them I did, though I have yet to use the wok (it kinda scares me) and just recently dove into the cookbook.

I must say, there are several recipes within the book that are friendly to my diet (or easily substitutable). I figured it was a fitting occasion to celebrate the life of my little Vietnamese friend by cooking from the recipes she left behind several years back. Needless to say, the first recipe I tried was delicious and I can't wait to try more. I give you:

Cabbage Roll Soup

Serves 4-6

16 cabbage leaves, blanched in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes until soft, the drained, for wrapping

16 spring onion greens, blanched in boiling water for 10 seconds until soft, then drained

6 C. chicken broth

1 tbsp. fish sauce

1 portion Fish Sauce Dip

Filing

8 oz. ground turkey (the recipe calls for pork, but any ground meat will do)

8 oz. fresh medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

16 spring onion bulbs

3 tsp. dried cilantro or coriander leaves (or 3 tbsp. fresh)

2 tsp. fish sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. grains of paradise (recipe calls for black pepper)

1/4 tsp. five spice powder

1. Prepare the fish sauce dip (recipe below)
2. Prepare the filling by grinding all ingredients to a smooth paste in a blender, set aside.
3. To make each cabbage roll, place 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling along one edge of a blanched cabbage leaf. Fold the leaf over the filling, then fold in the sides and roll up tightly. Tie the roll securely with a blanched spring onion green. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make a total of 16 rolls.
4. Bring the chicken broth and fish sauce to a boil over high heat in a stockpot. Add the cabbage rolls and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until cooked. Remove from heat.
5. Serve hot in individual serving bowls with a bowl of fish sauce dip on the side.

Fish Sauce Dip (yield 1 cup)
2-3 finger length chilies, deseeded and sliced
1/4 c. sugar
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp. vinegar
3 tbsp. fish sauce
1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt

Grind the chilies to a coarse paste in a mortar or blender, then combine with all the other ingredients and mix until the sugar is dissolved.

**Note: the fish sauce dip calls for 3 garlic cloves. While it tastes good without, I imagine it's great with them as well, if you're not allergic like me. Blend garlic with chilies and then follow directions as written.**

Mmmm...Bacon (Risotto)

Gotta love me some bacon. My newest creation:

Bacon Asparagus Risotto


1/2 lb bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 lb asparagus spears, cut into bite-sized pieces
5 c. organic chicken broth
3 tbsp. butter
1.5 c. arborio rice
1/2 c. dry wine (I used sherry, but whites would work well too)

1. Cook bacon in large saute pan over medium high heat until crispy. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon, reserving bacon grease in pan.

2. Cook asparagus in bacon grease until crisp-tender. Set aside.

3. Bring broth to boil in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to very low; cover and keep warm.

4. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan. Add rice and stir about 2 minutes. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 c. hot chicken broth. Reduce heat and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth 1/2 c. at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, about 30 minutes.

5. Add asparagus and bacon and stir until heated through. Remove from heat. Salt and grains of paradise to taste.

Lemongrass Chicken Coconut Soup

My most recent creation: Lemongrass Chicken Coconut Soup. I've adapted the recipe from a Thai cooking class I took with Mark DesLauriers. I highly recommend his classes...it's a small group class, with tons of instruction and most importantly, good recipes.

Lemongrass Chicken Coconut Soup
4 c. coconut milk
1 c. chicken stock
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, bruised and minced
2 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 shallots, chopped
1.5 lbs. chicken breast, cut into 1" cubes
.5 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsbp. palm sugar (substitute brown sugar if unavailable)
8 oz. cherry tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces if large
8 oz. carrots
3 tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
cilantro to garnish

1. Put the coconut milk, chicken stock, lemongrass, ginger and shallots in saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.

2. Add the chicken, shrimp, fish sauce, palm sugar, and carrots and simmer, stirring constantly for 5 min, or until the chicken and shrimp are cooked through.

3. Add the tomatoes, lime juice and crushed red pepper in the last few seconds, taking care not to let the tomatoes lose their shape.

4. Taste, then adjust seasoning if necessary, This dish is not meant to be overwhelmingly spicy but to have a sweet, salty, sour taste. Serve garnished with cilantro.