Sour Cream and Lemon Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crumble

Sour Cream and Lemon Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crumble

garnished with fresh mint 

I am the first to admit that I am a little dessert crazy right now... no one in my house seems to be complaining so I plan to keep it up as long as I continue to fit into my jeans! This recipe is the 3rd in a series of favorite gluten-free lemon desserts... and I am likely to post more in the coming weeks as summer is the perfect time to celebrate the existence of the lemon! 

I served these in spoons as I was hosting a party.
This recipe is versatile enough that it can
be presented as one whole pie, in tartlet cups,
in martini glasses or in a spoon! 

Here are some of my favorite facts about lemons: 

(It is always good to have these facts on hand when justifying to oneself why one should eat more dessert...)

Lemons are a digestive aid (the Italians have it right with the limoncello after dinner!)

Lemons can help cleanse your liver (for all the limoncello you are drinking!)

Lemons can help boost your immune system (ooh! Health!)

Lemons can help keep you regular (yay!)

Lemons can help neutralize free radicals (that is a good thing, by the way)

AND.... Lemons destroy intestinal worms...you know, in case that is something you struggle with...  

So here is what you need in order to make this delicious dessert that will absolutely improve your overall health: 

Ingredients: 

3 egg yolks

Juice and zest of 3 lemons (about 1/2 cup) 

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter 

4 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup milk 

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cream cheese or mascarpone - softened

Method: 

Put all ingredients except for the sour cream and cream cheese in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir the ingredients until it thickens up quite a bit. If you are like me, you may have to pause to pick out a few lemon seeds that seemed to sneak in, despite my best efforts. Do not let the mixture come to a boil and be sure to keep on stirring! 

Once your lemon curd is a nice texture (the longer you cook it, the denser the pie will be), pour the curd into a glass bowl and let it cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour. 

Once the curd has thickened and chilled, fold in the sour cream and cream cheese. 

If you are making a traditional pie, pour the filling into an already made crust (see bottom of the page for an easy GF crust recipe!) immediately. For our get-together today, I was feeling fancy and chose to make dainty desserts. I put the filling into the spoons first and then topped it with crumbled GF chocolate chip cookies and fresh mint.

Alternate presentation idea

Don't get me wrong, I love huge, gooey, sticky sweet portions of dessert too, but sometimes it is fun to play around with presentation. You can achieve this classic presentation by crumbling some of the cookie in the bottom of the glass first, then add the pie filling and then top with more cookie crumble and mint. If you have taller glasses, you could easily layer cookie and pie filling in order to achieve more of a trifle effect. 

ENJOY!!!!!!!! 

Easy GF pie crust

I have made this crust at least 5 times and it has come out well every time. I will be sure to upload a photo the next time I make it!  I like to add the cinnamon when I am making cheesecake using this crust.... 

Ingredients: 

2 cups GF graham crackers, smashed

1/2 cup butter, melted 

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon sea salt 

1 tsp cinnamon (optional) 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Press the mixture into a 9 inch pie plate and make sure that you achieve an even texture all the way around. You can choose to build up the sides or to make a slightly thicker crust by keeping it all on the bottom of the plate. Bake for 7-10 minutes at 375F. Make sure not to let the edges brown too much! 

“We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.” –Alfred E. Newman

Homemade microwave caramel chews!!!

Microwave Salted Caramel Chews 
 Sweet. Salty. Simple. Delicious. 

I have been obsessed with candy for as long as I can remember. Jerry Seinfeld once said that the only clear thought he remembers having as a child is "get candy." I can totally relate. A few days ago, I popped into our neighborhood chocolatier (as you do) and picked 3 caramels out of the tin by the window. The cashier rung me up and I was astonished that I had to cough up $4.50 for 3 caramels. Granted, they were amazing, but totally overpriced.

So I made a vow to learn how to make yummy, chewy, sweet, salty caramels and never pay a premium for them again!!

I spent an hour reading through different caramel recipes and then decided on creating a hybrid... (mostly because I didn't have everything on hand that any one recipe called for!) And just in case you didn't know yet, caramel is made entirely of fat and sugar so please don't pursue this recipe if you are counting calories!!

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup brown sugar
8 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup Light Karo syrup
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp sea salt + some for sprinkling 

Method: 
Really, this couldn't be any easier...


1) Add all ingredients into a glass bowl.
2) Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir.
3) Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir again.
4) Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir yet again.
5) Pour the caramel into a lightly greased pan.
7) Immediately sprinkle sea salt across the top.
6) Let cool. Cut. Wrap!
ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fried Eggplant and Tilapia Towers

Fried Eggplant and Tilapia Towers
                 As shown on a bed of baked kale chips and sweet corn

The eggplant in this dish is, hands down, the most delicious thing I have ever cooked. Also, its success was a complete fluke! I ran out of rice flour and had to improvise with a different kind of flour that I had purchased a few weeks ago but had yet to ever use: coconut flour...  Who knew that eggplant and coconut would be best buds!?

Coconut flour is high in fiber and can be used to replace up to 20% of the required amount of regular flour in any recipe. Its sweet flavor lends itself well to baking cookies and cakes but I found that it gave a great balance to the salty, peppery crust on the eggplant. By frying and then baking the eggplant, you are able to achieve a crunchy coating on the outside but a creamy, melty inside.



Eggplant Ingredients: 
serves 4 
1 medium eggplant
1/2 cup all-purpose GF flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp garlic powder
pinch of red chili flakes
1 tbsp salt
coconut flour
2 eggs, beaten
canola oil


Method:

1.) Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. Salt each side and stack them up between paper towels. Leave for at least 1 hour to remove a good amount of bitterness. The more patient you are during this step, the better your result will be!

2.) When your eggplant is ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375F and heat up your frying oil.  In a ziplock bag, combine all purpose GF flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, red chili flakes and salt.

3.) Sprinkle each slice of eggplant with coconut flour.

4.) Dip the slices in the egg, coating evenly.

5.) Put slices in the flour and cornstarch mixture one at a time and shake so as to coat evenly.

6.) Place the eggplant in the oil and fry until the outside is turning golden brown.

7.) Drain on a paper towel.

8.) Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the eggplant slices in a single layer. Bake for 30 minutes.

Fish Ingredients:
2 large fillets of tilapia, cut into 4 pieces each
paprika
salt
pepper
lemon juice


Method:
 While the eggplant is baking, prepare your tilapia by cutting each filet into 4 pieces. Season the fish with the salt, pepper and paprika and then fry in the same oil you used for the eggplant. The oil will have residue in it from the eggplant batter, but it adds a lot of extra flavor to the fish! You will know the fish is done when the outside is a golden brown and the inside is white and flaky.

Lay the fish on a paper towel as you take it out of the oil. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over each piece as you build the tower.

Building the tower:
When the eggplant is done, begin building your tower by placing a single layer of sweet corn and baked kale on the plate. Sautéed spinach would also work well if you don't have any kale on hand!
Next, stack alternating layers of eggplant and fish. (Don't forget to squeeze lemon juice onto each piece of fish for extra yumminess!) Once you have 2 pieces of fish and eggplant on each plate, top the tower with the garnish. The one I chose for this recipe is listed below, but as long as you use a bright, fresh veggie, you can't really go wrong!

Garnish: This confetti salsa is the perfect topper for this tower of fried goodness! It is fresh, bright, acidic and sweet and has no added salt, not to mention that it adds a pop of needed color. 

Dice 3 inches of cucumber, 1/4 of a red bell pepper and 5 mandarin orange segments. Add the juice of 1/4 of a lime and stir well.
Enjoy!!!!

Cucumber, Crab and Avocado Salad

Cucumber, Crab and Avocado Salad for One

You know those days when you "accidentally" end up eating bacon at all three meals? That happened yesterday. And now the guilt has set it; it is a salad kind of day. 

This recipe came together quite easily and only took a few minutes to prepare. Having grown up in Maine, I am horrified to say this- I used canned crab meat... and it actually tasted pretty good! 

(If you don't have fresh crab at the ready just be sure to use 100% crab meat; the imitation crab stick is not gluten free.) 

Ingredients for a single serving: 

3 inches of cucumber, sliced thinly

2 tablespoons of crab meat 

1/4 avocado, diced 

diced bell pepper

chopped green onion

salt & pepper

julienned green apple

juice of 1/2 lime 

Optional additional ingredients: Chopped bacon, chives, cilantro, crispy fried corn tortilla strips. 

Method:

This salad is all about fresh, bright flavors and a delightful presentation; try to have a light hand when adding each of the layers! 

1) Lay the cucumbers on your plate in a single layer, with some overlapping. 

2) Stack the ingredients on the bed of cucumber in the following order: 

crabmeat

avocado

bell pepper

green onion

salt and pepper

green apple matchsticks 

3) Squeeze the lime juice over the entire salad. 

4) Enjoy! 

Caramelized Vidalia Onion Tart

Caramelized Vidalia Onion on a Black Pepper and Garlic Tart 

I knew that Wesley was in for a loooooong nap this morning since he slept quite poorly last night. 

1 Long nap for Wesley = plenty of time to invent a new recipe!!


My favorite memory of caramelized onions is when I was about 5 months pregnant with Wesley. I had very few food cravings throughout my entire pregnancy, but there was this one week in particular where I survived almost entirely on caramelized onions and goat cheese. Sometimes it would take 3 large onions and a log of goat cheese to satisfy my craving. It has taken until now, 16 months later, for me to even think about making them again....

Back to the cooking...

I spent an hour this morning studying recipes for homemade biscuits, tarts and crusts. I wanted to front load all the information about proportions so that I could come up with something that was somewhere between a biscuit and a crust. I am actually quite amazed that I was able to pull this off on the first try! The center is flaky and moist like a biscuit but the outside is dry and crunchy like a crust. I think I owe the success of this recipe to butter.  Oh delicious, sinful butter.


Ingredients for the tart:
1 cup all purpose GF flour
5 tbsp butter- cold and diced into small cubes
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp xanthan gum
6 tbsp cold water
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp fine salt

Method: 
1) Preheat oven to 450F. Put the cold, diced butter cubes in a medium bowl and add the flour, corn starch, xanthan gum, baking soda and 3 tablespoons of water. Cut the butter into the mixture with a spoon- you will get a bit of a workout. Continue cutting the butter for at least one minute.

2) Add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time, combining everything in between.

3) When you have formed an even paste, add the black pepper, garlic powder and salt. Combine well.

4) Spray or oil your baking vessel. You can use a cookie sheet or a shallow muffin tin.

5) Grab the dough with your hands and form 8 1-inch balls. Flatten the dough on the pan and make sure that they are even all the way around. It is easy to make them too thin on the edges; try to avoid that!

6) Spray a little cooking oil on top. This step may, or may not be, optional. Since I have only done this recipe this one time, I will have to get back to you on that later.

7) Place in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. The tarts will begin to brown when they are done.


Topping:
2 large vidalia onions:
Sliced thin and caramelized; cook in oil over medium heat for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

There is a lot of room for your culinary imagination when it comes to additional toppings for these tarts. The best part about inventing this recipe was playing around with all the different combinations based on what I had on hand!  I ate all 8 tarts in an effort, you know, to follow proper scientific method.... 

Oven Roasted Brussles Sprouts and goat cheese 

Goat Cheese and Diced Red Bell Peppers  

Mascarpone Cheese, grape tomatoes and avocado with extra black pepper. 

White Bean and Basil Burger with Fried Shallots

White Bean and Basil Burger 

(Please don't read this recipe and mistake me for a vegetarian)

My almost 1 year old, Wesley, is obsessed with beans. Since his stomach is pretty tiny, he can only eat so many beans in a day; this means that I have an excess of beans around me all the time.  You will probably see an abundance of bean recipes pop up and I appreciate your continued attention as we move through the bean phase...  

A bean is, for all intents and purposes, a blank canvas. Without a ton of flavor of its own, you can dress it up to make friends with nearly any flavor profile. This recipe uses Great Northern beans but I am sure that Navy beans or Cannelloni beans will also do the trick. I prefer the slightly nutty flavor of these beans so I tend to use them a lot. 

Ingredients: 

3 1/2 cups cooked Great Northern beans

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 

2 eggs

1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese 

2 tablespoons oil, plus some for cooking 

1 tbsp garlic powder

salt and pepper 

Method: 

Place the beans in a medium bowl and squish them with your hands until you form a lumpy paste. (Mmm... sounds like something you can't wait to eat, right?) It is okay if there are several whole beans still in there- it actually will help to provide a nice texture. 

Add the eggs, basil, oil, garlic powder and a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Combine the mixture well with a spoon and then add the parmesan cheese. I happen to really love cheese and I have made these burgers before with double the amount of parmesan. This recipe reflects my attempts to cut down a smidgen on the dairy intake. 

Once you have combined all the ingredients, heat up some oil over medium heat (I like to use canola oil for this part) in a non-stick skillet. Form patties with your hands and place them into the hot oil. Try not to touch them for  at least 2 minutes, otherwise you might make them fall apart. Cook on each side 3-4 minutes. 

As a garnish for the burger, I sliced and fried some shallots in the leftover oil. I also added some fresh grape tomatoes because they are so sweet and juicy. The burger can tend to be a little on the dry side so it is nice to have the contrast there. 

Place a bed of baby spinach on a toasted slice of Udi's GF sandwich bread (my fav!!) and then stack the burger, tomatoes and fried shallots. I serve this burger with a homemade parmesan cracker- the recipe is below! Enjoy!! 

Homemade Parmesan Cracker:

1 tbsp all purpose gluten free flour

1 tsp water

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Dried basil, oregano and rosemary blend

Preheat the oven to 350F. Stir the flour and water in a small bowl until all the flour is absorbed into the liquid. Add the cheese and stir by hand until well combined. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and then take small handfuls of the cheese mixture and place them on the sheet. Press each little mound down until it is uniformly flat; be careful not to make the edges too much flatter than the centers. Sprinkle the dried herbs onto each cracker. Bake until they turn golden brown (about 10 minutes). Bake for a shorter time if you want them to be a little gooey, and for longer if you prefer them crispier. 

White Bean and Cilantro Stuffed Avocado

White Bean and Cilantro Stuffed Avocado 

Did you know that avocados have more potassium than bananas? Did you know that they could lower your cholesterol? Did you know that the avocado is technically a large berry? So much to appreciate about this delightfully creamy fruit!

One of my favorite culinary moments is when an avocado becomes ready to eat. Crack it open too soon and you will be disappointed by a hard, flavorless bite. Wait too long and you will be turned off by the brown mushy mess before you.
When you get it just right, though, almost nothing else compares to the smooth, sweet, buttery taste of an avocado.



This dish celebrates the creamy texture of the avocado and works well either as a snack or as a side. Because it is packed with fiber, flavor and is low in fat, you can feel good about serving it to your whole family!!

Ingredients: 
(This recipe serves 2 people)
1 avocado
2 cups cooked white beans
1/2 cup cilantro
1 egg
1 tbsp oil, plus some for cooking
1/2 cup shredded muenster cheese (cheddar and mozzarella also work!)
1 lime (juice and zest)
salt & pepper to taste


Method: 
I often make this white bean stuffing because it is delicious. I also make this stuffing often because I absolutely love the first step in the process: wash your hands well, roll up your sleeves and reach into a bowl of beans and squeeeeeeeeeeeze! Grinding the beans into a paste a) feels amazing between your fingers and b) serves as a great way to relieve stress. Don't worry about making sure that it is a smooth texture; it is okay to leave some beans whole.

Add the egg, cilantro, oil, cheese, salt and pepper and stir until everything is evenly combined. Heat up a few tablespoons of oil on medium high heat in a medium frying pan. Add the entire mixture into the pan and stir occasionally until about half of the stuffing is browned.

Next, cut the avocado in half and remove the seed. Squeeze a little lime juice into the well of the avocado and then fill the well with the white bean stuffing and then squeeze a little more lime juice over the top. Sprinkle some fresh grated cheese and lime zest over the top and serve!

GF Mini Lemon Cakes with Lemon mascarpone cream

 Gluten Free Lemon Cakes with Lemon Mascarpone Cream, berries and mint 

Full disclosure, this cake was nearly 2 weeks in the making. I tried several different combinations of batter until I finally got it right last night. It was definitely worth the effort. These little rice flour- based hunnies were so divine that, despite my best efforts,  I was only able to save two for James. After two weeks of failed concoctions I deserved to eat 10 in one sitting, right? 

Let's start with the easy part first. The cream is, quite simply, equal parts mascarpone cheese and lemon curd. You can make as much or as little as you need/want/crave! I topped the frosting with a few fresh raspberries and some fresh mint.

Cake Ingredients:
1 stick of butter (melted)
1 cup white rice flour
1/4 tapioca flour
2 eggs
5 ounces vanilla greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large lemon- juice and zest (should yield about 1/3 cup of lemon juice)
1 tsp baking powder

Method: 

Place 1 stick of melted butter (still warm) in a bowl and add the lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar. Stir until it is well combined and the sugar melts into the liquid. 

Add two eggs and whisk them into the mixture. 

Add one 5 ounce container of vanilla greek yogurt (I like Oikos the best, but I am sure any brand will do the trick!) and continue whisking.

After everything is totally combined, add the rice and tapioca flours. Continue whisking until everything is a smooth, creamy texture. 

Oil/spray/grease your baking vessel and pour in the batter. I chose to use a shallow muffin tin to make these mini cakes but I am sure the batter would do well as one unified cake as well. 

Bake at 350F until the edges start to brown. For these mini cakes, this took about 35 minutes. Once the cakes are out, top them with the lemon mascarpone cream (remember, just equal parts lemon curd and mascarpone cheese), some fresh berries, some chopped fresh mint and serve!

Note: In my experience, gluten free baked goods never last as long as regular baked goods. Be sure to serve them right away to make sure that you aren't offering an inferior product :)